Christian Cabreja Scavenger hunt

The Forest

This a picture of the woods behind my house. This could be considered a part of the Temperate Deciduous Forest biome which contains decomposers, producers, consumers and all levels of predators. This type of ecosystem supports life for about half of the united states.

Jet

This is my dog Jet, he would be a large predator if he was a wild dog. Jet’s taxonomy would be Canis familiaris like all other domestic dogs. He is a mix of two breeds, a great dane and a bull mastiff. Jet is a heterotrophic animal meaning that he must hunt or find his own food because he cannot produce it himself.

Hummingbird

This picture is of a hummingbird outside of my kitchen window. We have nectar feeders around the yard to bring them in and keep them feed. They are also heterotrophic and must find their own food. The hummingbirds taxonomy would be Archilochus colubris because this specific species was a ruby throated hummingbird. Birds are oviparous which means that they can lay eggs and hummingbird eggs are among the smallest.

Butterfly bush

This butterfly bush in my yard is large and always full of various insects, from butterflies to bees, to waps to things i can't even identify. It uses its scent and vibrant color to attract these insects which are necessary for the pollination of the plant. This plant like most is an autotroph meaning that it creates its own food. The food it creates would be glucose, the simplest of sugars, from photosynthesis.

Moth

This is a picture of a moth on my wall. Moths are an insect related to the butterfly that fly and are usually nocturnal. A moth starts out as a caterpillar and when it is ready it creates a protective cocoon around itself to undergo the process of metamorphosis. Many moths are and their larvae are considered invasive species because they can destroy crops and forests. One example would be the gypsy moths that we have around here.

Pond and River

Down a trail near my house lies this river and small pond. This is a perfect example of an aquatic ecosystem. Many fish, plants, insects, reptiles and amphibians live in the pond or around it. It also doubles as place for forest creatures to get water from. The species of fish I have personally seen there would be rainbow trout, yellow perch, brook trout, bluegill, and landlocked salmon.

Blueberries

These blueberries in my fridge are  producers. They produced energy from sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water through the process of photosynthesis. The energy they produced goes into me so that I can stay up and running. If these were not picked they would have been eaten by some animal in the wild and then disposed of later to hopefully create a new blueberry bush with the seeds.

Tums

This bottle of Tums is an example of a basic compound which would be used to settle ones stomach. They are considered antacid tablets because the basic ingredients within them will react with acids in your stomach and hopefully bring your body’s pH closer to 7 which would be neutral.

My eye

My eye is an example of genes that myself and my family possess. I have brown eyes and every single member of my family that I have ever seen has brown eyes. This would mean that all of my family has had a dominant brown eye trait that has always shown through.

Vitamins

Here is a picture of a multivitamin that someone in my family takes. These consist of a variety of essential vitamins that help the body maintain functioning normally.

Hydrogen bond

The picture shows ice floating in water because this is the easiest visual of a hydrogen bond. However that simple example is minute in the big picture. Hydrogen bonding is what allows us to be here. The hydrogen bond is what creates the double helix in DNA and even allows DNA to be replicated. Without a hydrogen bond there would be nothing.

Jack

Jack is my crazy cat. He is a carnivore like Jet and a heterotroph meaning he must find food or in this case wait for food to be provided for him. He is a mammal meaning that his species gives birth to live newborns and provides breast milk for babies.

Fluke

This is a fluke that I saw diving. (a new activity of mine) A fluke is a type of flatfish the uses natural camouflage as a defensive measure against ocean predators. They are demersal creatures meaning that they feed and or live near or on the bottom of the ocean floor.

Spider

This spider is common around my area and keeps many of the bothersome insects away. Spiders are arthropods which means jointed foot in latin. Arthropods have an exoskeleton which protects them from most of the elements. Spiders are predators and they trap other insects in the web to be devoured later.

Seagull

Seagulls are always at the beach and that is because they are scavengers. Scavengers are animals that do not hunt and only eat excess food. Like a vulture that finds a dead animal in the desert. It exerted no energy to kill it and gains energy from eating it.