18, 2016 Honors Contract ENV 150 Carnivorous plants are fascinating creatures. Normally, plants gain nutrients through the process of photosynthesis. Carnivorous plants are, however, are a special case. Just the thought of knowing that plants of all things can eat animals is mind blowing! It completely defies their very nature. For that reason, they have crept their way into the media industry. Even though there exists no carnivorous plant that can actually kill a human, the thought has spread like wildfire. How interesting of a movie would it be for plants to have the ability to eat humans? In this paper, I want to look more in-depth at the way carnivorous plants operate and explore the history of how they have crept…
The Venus flytrap is a plant native to wetlands on the East Coast of the United States in North Carolina and South Carolina. The scientific name for the Venus Fly Trap is Dionaea Muscipula. It’s one of the most fascinating plants to have ever existed due to its omnivorous nature. Darwin noted, “‘I care more for Drosera than the origin of species ... it is a wonderful plant, or rather a most sagacious animal. I will stick up for Drosera to the day of my death.” The Venus flytrap reproduces by…
the two parts of the Venus flytrap’s trapping mechanism for ten days, after which the Venus flytrap awaits its next meal. The Venus flytrap must feed on its prey, due to the fact that it requires additional nutrients so it may construct cellular components to survive. The harsh soil in which the organism prefers to live in lacks these nutrients, and therefore must achieve them through its prey. Other than it being an interesting plant to see in action, it is also interesting to watch and…
Most people are familiar with the Venus flytrap. Small and ominous-looking, the plants are commonly sold as novelties, and many a curious child (or adult) has triggered its ..……. (baneful, sinister, doomful, malevolent) traps with a pencil to see its amazingly rapid response. However, carnivory in plants is not limited to the famous Venus flytrap. In fact, there are more than 600 carnivorous plant species, and the ability to catch and digest ………(dupe, prey, victim, quest) has evolved…
to the Nepenthaceae family, a group of monotypic carnivorous plants who use their specialized pitcher-shaped leaves to capture their prey through passive pitfall traps (Bauer, Di Giusto, Skepper, Grafe, Federle, 2012). The adaptation of carnivory in plants is as a result of nutrient-poor habitats in which the fitness of the plants depends on the availability of animal prey in that habitat. Animal prey increases seed production, flower production, and biomass, which are all essential for plant…
that would recycle these nutrients are unable to function at the low pH levels. In serpentine fens the low nutrients is cause by the amount of heavy metals in the water as well there alkalinity. Due to these factor they too are unable to recycle nutrients. Epiphytic plants are plants which are growing harmlessly on other plants. These habitats are often found in the canopies of rain forest and lack nutrients due to the absence of soils. The plants which living these environment have evolved…
The animal I chose for my freshman pre-ap biology final is important for many reasons. It has a hand in shaping food chains around the world as well as controlling rabbit populations and aiding farmers. Foxes are opportunistic feeders. They eat many things, thus controlling the population of both plants and animals. Like any animal, they support the food chain. Most foxes are either omnivores or carnivores, which makes them extremely important to the food web. Regardless of whether or…
Small mammals play a vital role in the ecosystem. They have significant influences on vegetation, soil, exert predatory pressure on other animals, provide food for predators, and influence other components and ultimately the whole system. Vegetation influences may include effects on primary productivity as small mammals can consume about 60% to 80% of plant species composition, and decomposition of plant materials. They influence the rate of decomposition of organic materials by adding as much…
Sarracenia Pitcher plant from seed. In order to grow a Sarracenia pitcher plant from seed, you need to have time, and patience. Sarracenia has to be watered with rain or purified water every day or every other day. Never allow the soil to get dry, but you also never want your plant to sit in water. Too much water can make a plant mold causing it to die, or be very difficult to take care of. Sarracenia is a carnivorous plant. Therefore it likes soil with little to no nutrients. The plant gets…
Summer season is the only reason this biome is able to still sustain life. This biome has a lot of yearly precipitation which includes the melting of snow. The snow in this biome usually reaches heights of 6-10 inches. In this biome you will find layers of permanently frozen soil, which is known as permafrost. The snow in this biome usually reaches heights of 6-10 inches. Even though there are not many deep root systems in the vegetation of the arctic tundra, there are still many…