Nature Walk #3

I went to the reservoir for my third nature walk. Unlike my fungus nature walk, I was able to find a ton of examples of Archaeplastida. First, I tried to find some non-vascular plants. I had a difficult time finding them on the grass because it was covered with leaves. I found it much easier to spot some moss on some of the rocks on the side of the reservoir. I actually found it very interesting why the leaves of ferns didn't change color with the coming of fall. During class, we learned that ferns don't have true leaves, unlike angio- and gymnosperms, who have true leaves. I was able to very easily find a gymnosperm because they were very large (trees). I decided to observe a pine tree because in class we learned about male and female cones and how that ties into their reproduction cycles. The female cones are fertilized, and the female cones are very large and fall to the ground. The male cones are blown by the wind and dispersed. I included the Canadian gooses as well to add a bit of diversity in my observations. In class we learned that animals are classified under the metazoan branch and more specifically in the chordates. They have features like bilateral symmetry and cephalization. Also, for one last plant-related observation, all the plants I had observed had a green color. This is from the presence of chlorophyll, which we learned in part evolved from green algae in the Archaeplastida. Also, as we learned with flowers they will eventually develop into fruit, which is a distinct feature of angiosperms.

Publicado el 24 de octubre de 2024 a las 08:42 PM por