Spring has Sprung in a Deciduous Forest

After our first observation of spring life. We went out for our second about three weeks later at the same locations as last time. Everything that we did the first time either produced more or died. We saw that the cones on the end of the pine tree branches had gotten bigger. There was more butterflies than last time, flowers had already bloomed, their was bugs flying around, and the grass was really green unlike last time when it was brown. I could hear birds chirping and a little wind that made the leaves blow back and forth. As I was listening I could feel the light wind blow through my hair and I could feel the warmth of the sun as it beamed down.

We left the edge of the field to go down the hill, through the trails, and down to the pond. As we got to the pond it was all open so the sun was beaming down more than in the field but this time there was a medium wind that rocked the branches back and forth. When I got done feeling how the nature was I stopped to see what i would hear on this beautiful day. I heard the wind whistling as it went through the trees and the water as the wind blow it up on shore. This time though there was a lot things I could see other than last time. I saw the pond in front of me with trees all around the pond except in one spot. But in that one stop is were I could see a bus garage with a lot of buses and other vehicles in that area. The trees around the pond were blooming and their was a dock that went out in the pond. Plus their were female cones and pine cones growing around the pond that were dying.

When we left the pond we went down the trails until we found a good spot on the creek. As I walked down the trails you could hear the water rolling down the stream, then you could hear the scuffling of leaves as people walked down the trail, and the sound of branches cracking as they rock back and forth from the wind. This sight was very different than the last it was cooler because the trees provided shade and it was a light wind because the trees were taking all the impact of the wind. But I saw a couple little frogs. Someone tried to catch the but they would always get away. We also seen a crawfish, trees blooming, leaves, and a water strider gliding across the creek

Animal Ears Lab

1. Our lab on April 4, 2011 was on if you have big ears does it help you hear farther away. For example animals in the wild that have bigger ears so they can can hear if any predators are around. Some animals have bigger ears so they can find there food. So for our lab we are going to see how far you can hear a pen click with a regular ear and a enhanced ear.

2. So we are going to stand in front of some one that has a pen that clicks. Every time you hear it click you take one step back. You do that tell you can not hear the clicking anymore with a regular ear. Then when you are finished with that you measure how far you are away from where you started. After that you take a paper plate and cut a triangle in it then slide it behind your ear. Do the same process again and see if you get farther or shorter than you got with your regular ear.

3.

Students	Distance with Normal Ear	Distance with Enhanced Ear
Jessie	27.9	52.9
Albert	55	50
Reese	45	60
Tangie	68.6	58.6
Brandon W.	58.6	78.6
Kasey	25.3	15.3
David	40.6	55.6
Emily P.	30.6	25.6
Sierra	53.8	55.6
Stephanie	34.4	47.8
Raeshar	57	63.7
Rayshawn	47.6	41.6
Montez	45.6	30.6
Devon	51.6	87.9
TJ	40.6	63.3
Travis	50.6	55.6
Conner	89.7	128.9
Brandon H.	58.6	87.2
Emily S.	64.7	76.3
Total	945.8	1135.1
Average	49.8%	59.7%

4. Did the addition of the larger ear make a difference in the distance at which you were able to hear the pen click? Explain

Yes it did but it depends on what is around you when you are doing this lab. Like for example the wind could be blowing really hard in your ears, the direction the wind is blowing, what is in front of you (column), people talking, and other noises that affect how far you can hear.

5. Animals with big ears

 Kangaroo

Fennec Fox



Jerboa

Kudu

Elephant

Animals without big ears

Ear less seals- because it helps them dive better

Polar bear- Because they don't have the capacity to hear far away

Hippopotamus- Because they are mostly in the water and they don't need to hear far away

Ecotower Obseration #3 4/8/11

1. Betta fish ( we have one that is alive)
Crickets ( We put six crickets in at first and now all are dead)
Snails ( Two snails in the ecotower are dead now)
Worms ( The three that we put in their are buried in the soil and don't know if they are dead or alive)

2. We think that the algae is still good and keeping the fish alive. We think the animals up at the top died because they weren't getting enough oxygen and the plants were beginning to die. But the worms are still unknown because we can't see anything to tell if they are dead or alive. Then the snails died and the snails shells were floating at the bottom of the bottle.

3. Bean plants (The three bean plants grew tall but are starting to die)
Algae ( Stayed alive but are turning brown)
Other plants ( The plant that was alive in our first observation is starting to die)

4. We think that the bean plants and other plants are starting to die because they are not getting any carbon dioxide. We also think the algae is turning brown because it isn't getting enough oxygen.

5. The water is getting a little darker yellow tint with particles floating around in the water. Plus some of the algae is turning brown and sinking to the bottom.

6.

7. I predict that most likely the fish will die next since the algae is beginning to die. The fish might live but eventually it will die. I think the plants up top will die since their not getting into carbon dioxide.

EcoTower Observation #1 3/25/11

1. Betta fish ( we have one that is alive)
Crickets ( We put six crickets in at first. The next day we on spotted four and then when we sealed the tower all of them died.)
Snails ( We put two snails in the ecotower and both are alive)
Worms ( The three that we put in their are buried in the soil and don't know if they are dead or alive)

2. We think the fish and snails are still alive because they are able to survive off the algae and the oxygen from the water. The crickets and worms are dead because, we believe, the carbon cycle failed. We were unable to see the worms to observe if they were dead or not.

3. Bean plants (Put three beans in the soils and a week later they all sprouted up)
Algae ( Stayed alive before and after we sealed the tower)
Other plants ( We put two other plants on the land area and one of them died and the other survived)

4. We think the bean seeds grew because they were able to grow roots in the soil. The soil stayed moist to bring the seeds alive. One of the plants that was given to us by Mr. Jennings, grew successfully. But the other plant died because the roots were unable to grow into the soil. The algae is still alive because it is in the water, providing it with moisture and oxygen.

5. When we sealed our ecotower the water was clear but now after a week it has a yellowish tint when you look in it.

6.

I didn't expect the cricket to die so soon i thought they would die but i thought the carbon cycle would have worked and kept the crickets alive at least for a little while.

7. I think that the water part of our ecosystem will keep progressing as if it was out in the world. I think the water will keep getting dirtier and dirtier after weeks go by. But  I also think the bean plants will grow more and more plus i am not sure but think the worms are still alive and keep nutrients in the soil.

Ecotower Sealing Day

Why we did this this project?
We did this project to make a mini ecosystem and do something that would show all three cycles working at once. Plus plan how to use the energy pyramid by using biotic and abiotic factors to support our animals.

Emily S.- one bottle, duck tape, fish, crickets, worms, snails, grass, and strainer
Travis- soil, caulk gun, and caulk
T.J.- bottle and gravel
Mrs. Richardson- algae
Mr.Jennings- Plants

The three water cycles used in our project was water, carbon, and nitrogen. The animals in our ecosystem are bata fish, crickets, worms, and snails. Grass, algae, and other plants were used as the producers for our ecosystem.

I did not sneak a peak at our ecosystem and did what i was suppose to do.

Succession and Abiotic Factors

As the world evolves every day the abiotic and the biotic drastically change. Abiotic factors are things that are not or haven't ever been alive. When biotic factors are organisms that were alive at one point. For Rayshawn and my experiment today we investigated on how succession influences surface temperature. We got the temperature from different surfaces with different textures.

The relationship between succession site and temperature is the less shade the higher the temperature. A biotic factor that influences the temperature of each site is the trees because they provide the shade that changes the temperature

Signs of Springs

Sign 1

Location: Edge of practice football field

For our first sign of spring at our first site we spotted a female cone starting to bloom on a pine tree. Plus their was honey suckle growing up the tree with the female cones on it. The weather was really nice, it was in the 50's with a light wind enough to lift your hair up a little bit. As we stood still we could hear crows crowing and a whistling noise as the wind blew through the trees.

Sign 2

Location: Down beside the pond

As we walked down the pond we spotted little pine cones and female cones growing on little trees beside the pond. If you looked close at the female cones they had pollen on them that's name is Alder cat kins. That's another sign of spring for our second site. When we were taking our observations we heard a bird fly over cawing. Then you could hear the trees rocking back and forth in the woods as the wind picked up a little since our first site. You could really feel how nice the weather was their because it's really open. Even though the wind picked up a little the sun was still beaming down. While standing by the lake Mrs. Richardson told us it was 54 degrees outside.

Sign 3

Location: Back in the trails of the woods

As we were walking down the trail towards our third site we spotted a butterfly fluttering through the trees. That is a huge sign that spring is coming and when we walked a little bit further their was spring growth on a trees. It was the beginning stages of the tree about to bloom. The only thing I really heard was leaves crunching as people walked on them and the water going down the stream of the creek. It was a little chilly in the woods because we were in the shade. But the wind was only blowing every now and then but it wasn't even enough to pick up a piece of paper.

Sign 4

Location: The front circle of the school

For our forth and final site to find signs of spring we were in front of the school. As soon as we got to the site i automatically spotted the trees starting to bloom. Almost all the trees in front of the school started to have red blooms on the edge of their branches. We were in a open field so the sun was beaming down which made it a little warmer but their was a light wind that gave you chill bumps when it blew. But it was only strong enough t blow the branches of the trees back and forth. Plus thats what we could hear was the branches making a knocking noise as they hit each other.