AP Biology Summer Assignment: Photo Blog

  (Term #7: Anther and Filament of Stamen) Definition: Stamen are male flower organs. The stamen is the structure that holds up the anther, which is where pollen is produced. Explanation: Clematis flowers have many stamen, as demonstrated by this photograph. Pollen is produced in the anther at the tips, giving some a blurry appearance.

  (Term #15: Bilateral Symmetry) Definition: Organisms that have bilateral symmetry can be divided into reflected halves along only one plane; the organism's left side is a mirror copy of its right side. Explanation: This (dead) earwig demonstrates bilateral symmetry. If you drew a line down the middle, the left and right sides would be mirror copies of each other: for example, both sides would have an antenna, half of the forceps, and three legs.

  (Term #75: Pollen) Definition: Pollen produces flowers' male gametes, which are spread by wind, water, and pollinators to other or the same flower(s) to fertilize their eggs. Explanation: Pollen is clearly visible on the anthers of this daylily flower. Pollen comes in various colors; this flower's pollen is yellow.

  (Term #88: Succession) Definition: Ecological succession refers to changes in ecosystems over time. Primary succession is building an ecosystem "from scratch" in a new location; secondary succession is the development of an ecosystem in a location where there previously was life after a disaster or major change in the habitat. Explanation: This photograph shows primary s uccession on sand (psammosere). Plants slowly spread from existing populations onto newly exposed sand.

(Term #74: Phloem) Definition: Phloem is a tissue in the inner bark of trees used to transport sugars from photosynthesis in the leaves around the plant. Dead phloem becomes part of the outer bark. Explanation: This cut branch of a tree clearly shows fractured bark (dead phloem) and the gap between the inner wood and bark.

(Term #94: Xylem) Definition: The tissue that transports water and minerals from the roots around a plant is xylem. Dead xylem is wood. Explanation: The center of the tree stump shown in the picture is wood -- dead xylem. The uneven cut shows the vertical structure of the xylem tissue.

  (Term #87: Stigma and Style of Carpel) Definition: The carpel is the female flower organ. The style is a tubelike structure that connects the flower's ovary with the stigma. The stigma at the tip of the carpel receives pollen, which moves down the style to fertilize eggs in the ovary. Explanation: The longest structure in the center of this daylily flower is the carpel. The stigma is a slightly lighter yellow/white compared to the style, which leads to the flower's ovary in the center.

(Term #23: Coevolution) Definition: Coevolution describes how the relationship between two species impacts their respective evolvements. Explanation: Beetles and flowering plants, such as magnolia trees, evolved side-by-side. The beetles eat pollen and pollinate the flowers in the process. Magnolia trees evolved to have attractively scented pollen and thick, tough flower petals and carpels, to support beetles' weight.

(Term #2: Adaptation of a Plant) Definition: Adaptations are the changes in characteristics of an organism to encourage survival. Explanation: Many plants, such as the one shown, have evolved to be vines, allowing them to be in the path of sunlight. Some vines wrap around surfaces, while others climb by sticking to surfaces with sap or aerial roots.

  (Term #1: Adaptations of an Animal) Definition: Adaptations are changes in an organism to better help them survive in their environment. They can be behavioral or physical. Explanation: One a daptation of grasshoppers is their strong legs, allowing them to hop long distances to avoid predators. Additionally, this grasshopper is the same shade of green as the plant it consumes, better camouflaging it from predators.

  (Term #49: Heterotrophy) Definition: Unlike autotrophs, heterotrophs are organisms that cannot produce their own food, and must instead consume other organisms to get energy. Explanation: Deer are heterotrophs; they eat grass and other plants for energy. (Sorry for the blurry photo; I didn't want to approach the deer and disturb them!)

  (Term #36: Eukaryote) Definition: Eukaryotic organisms have cells with genetic material inside a membrane-bound nucleus. They can be either single- or multicellular.  Explanation: All plants are eukaryotes and multicellular. Each individual flower on this Lantana plant is made up of eukaryotic cells. 

  (Term #11: Autotroph) Definition: Organisms that produce their own food from nutrients, chemical energy, and/or sunlight are called autotrophs. Explanation: Grass is an example of an autotroph that uses photosynthesis, forming sugar from water, carbon dioxide, and energy from the sun.

  (Term #17: C3 plant) Definition: C3 plants are plants that have not adapted to resist photorespiration (caused by the combination of oxygen, rather than carbon dioxide, with RuBP during cellular respiration) which consumes energy and fixed carbon. Explanation: The majority of plants are C3 plants, including oak trees like the seedling shown in the photograph.

  (Term #40: Frond) Definition:  A frond is the leaf structure of a fern, where photosynthesis occurs.  Explanation:  An Autumn Fern is shown in this photograph. Its ferns are green and red-green in color.