BIO PT Wetland Ecosystem: ANT AND MOSQUITO ANTS Characteristics of Organism

Most ants have the same basic physical structure. They range in size from 2 to 25 millimeters. They are usually yellow, brown, red, or black. They have three major body parts, namely the head, thorax and abdomen. The thorax can still be broken down into two major parts, namely, the alitrunk where the legs and wings are located and the petiole, which is found directly in front of the abdomen and is found ONLY in ants. Ants have jaws with varied structures so that its possible for them to perform several tasks such as grasping, tearing, cutting and many more. Most ants have a stinger at the end of the abdomen. The stinger is only found in female plants. They also have very sensitive antennae that are used for communication.

Behavior of Organism Ants communicate with each other through tappings with the antennae and smell. They are considered as one of the most socialized animals. They are thought as having a collective intelligence, and each ant is considered then as an individual cell of a bigger organism. The ant colony is made up of one or more queens and many female workers. The queen emits a scent that makes all the workers behave in the way they do. An ant that loses its way to the nest does not live long. Adaptation and Feeding Some structural adaptations of ants are their pincer-like jaws and antennae. Their jaws are used for biting and a few species (red imported fire ants and harvester ants) are very aggressive and will inflict a painful sting. Their antennae are used for communication. Behavioral adaptations include division of labor and nest-building. Most ants are generalists, eating a variety of small insects that they capture, dead insects they happen to find, nectar, or honey dew. They need a balance of carbohydrates and protein. Protein is especially needed for the queen to make eggs and for the larvae to grow. Reproduction In most ant species, only the queen ant lays eggs. The wingless worker ants are all sterile females and winged ants are the fertile females and males. The future ant-queen mates with a male ant, and then looks for a new nest. The male ant dies soon after mating.

The queen only mates once in her lifetime and may mate with several males -- the male sperm are stored live in her system for years in a special organ. The queen can control whether a sperm is released to enter the egg of not. She lays the first few eggs and cares for the larvae herself, but after these emerge as adults, they take over and she lays eggs for the rest of her life. The worker ants collect the eggs and care for the larvae and the pupae. The average worker ant lives only 2-3 weeks, but since new ones are being produced all the time, the colony sustains itself quite well. Habitat Most ant species live in the soil. Some, like the carpenter ants, also live in wood (they excavate, but do not actually eat the wood). Some ants live in cavities made inside plants, such as acorns, twigs, and galls. MOSQUITO Characteristics of Organism Mosquitoes have two pairs of wings, but their second pair of wings are reduced to short, peg-like structures called halteres. Mosquitoes have thin, long bodies and three pairs of extremely long legs. They have scales along the veins of their wings and long beak-like, sharp sucking mouth parts called a proboscis. These two features distinguish mosquitoes from other flies. Mosquitoes also have feathery or hairy antennae. Behavior of Organism Mosquito larvae are aquatic and are TOTALLY dependent on water to develop. Mosquitoes form swarms composed of males. They are the ones who carry out mosquito dispersal flights in search of a guest to give his blood or to allow the propagation of the species. Depending on the species of the mosquito, the ability to fly is different. Culex pipies remains in place as conditions are favorable, while Ochlerotatus caspius makes long travelling windblown. Mosquitoes bite particularly at dawn and dusk. Adaptation and Feeding A mosquito flaps it's wings about One Thousand times a second. The sound of a mosquito's hum is actually the sound of its wings flapping. A female mosquito's wings flapping have a higher tone than a males wing. The males flapping wings (hum) help them find mates. This is an adaptation because the males hum helps them locate a mate. Only female mosquitoes bite. They suck the blood to preserve the eggs in its body. They don't really bite because it can't move its jaw. They just place needle like tubes into the victim to suck the blood. This is an adaptation because if it can't move its jaw it has to have some way to suck the blood.

Mosquitoes feed on sweet nectar, fruit, and other sugary substances. The females of some mosquito species also feed on blood, which they need in order for their ovaries to mature and for their eggs to develop. The female blood meal can take place before or after she has mated. Female mosquitoes detect their blood hosts partly through the sense of smell and partly by sight. The distance over which a mosquito can detect a blood host can range from 20-90 ft (6-27 m). Research indicates that mosquitoes are attracted to hosts already under attack by other mosquitoes.

Reproduction Female mosquitos are ready to mate within a few hours after reaching their adult stage, and males are usually ready within 24 hours. Mating typically occurs while the mosquitoes are in flight, but sometimes it occurs on the ground. The tone of the female wing beat attracts males, and they grab the females with their hind legs. Mating among mosquitoes is related to their swarming habits, which in some species, but not all, is the preliminary behavior to mating. Swarming usually occurs around sunset and near fences or other objects and can last from 10-30 minutes. Habitat Mosquitoes prefer shallow, stagnant water within which to lay their eggs. They most commonly infest ponds, marshes, swamps and other wetland habitats. However, they are capable of thriving in a variety of locations and can successfully grow in numbers even when not in their natural habitat. Many species of mosquitoes use containers of water as egg-deposit sites. Hot, humid environments are best for mosquito growth and survival. Infestations can occur easily in tropical areas. Some species have also been known to inhabit freezing locations such as the Arctic Circle. Land Ecosystem (Beach Shore): Crab and Coconut tree CRAB Characteristics of Organism A crab is a small sea creature. Crabs live in shells and they dont move very fast. All crabs have eight walking legs and two claws. There are about 45,000 types of crabs. Some crabs live on land and others live in the water. The crabs that live in the water have paddles on their back legs. This is what makes them able to swim. Behavior of Organism Crabs are mostly active animals with complex behavior patterns. They can communicate by drumming or waving their pincers. Crabs tend to be aggressive towards one another and males often fight to gain access to females. On rocky seashores, where nearly all caves and crevices are occupied, crabs may also fight over hiding holes. Fiddler crabs dig burrows in sand or mud, which they use for resting, hiding, mating and to defend against intruders.

Adaptation and Feeding Crabs have an advanced neurological system that includes highly developed senses of smell and sight. Its compound eyes include several thousand optical units it uses to spot food, danger, or potential mates from long distances. The antennae have specialized receptors that can sense chemical stimuli, which helps them search for food. Their mouth parts and legs also have similar receptors. When a crab comes in contact with a food source it quickly passes it into its mouth. Crabs are omnivores, feeding primarily on algae, and taking any other food, including mollusks, worms, other crustaceans, fungi, bacteria and detritus, depending on their availability and the crab species. For many crabs, a mixed diet of plant and animal matter results in the fastest growth and greatest fitness Reproduction When male and female crabs reproduce, the male carries the female. Mating lasts about five-and-ahalf hours, but the crabs may stay in this position for up to three days afterwards! The female stores the male's sperm on the underside of her abdomen, where it will be used for two more spawnings that occur within her three-year lifespan. The females migrate to slightly saltier waters after mating and attach between 100,000 to two million eggs to the sperm stored under the abdomen. The incubation period lasts about two weeks, until the crab larvae hatch and are released into the ocean to fend for themselves. For the next 40 days, the crab larvae continue to grow until they reach the adult crab stage. Habitat Land Crab Habitat Land crabs are able to live on land. Land habitats must provide access to food and water, protection from predators and places the crabs can make homes and lay eggs. Land crabs burrow deep into the soil for access to water, and can live up to 5 miles from the ocean. They can also live in the sand on shore. Sea Crab Habitat Water crabs can live deep in the ocean, as king crabs do, or in shallow tide pools, as hermit crabs do. Both of these habitats provide the water they need, a plentiful supply of worms, mollusks and small fish for eating, and numerous places to hide. COCONUT TREE Characteristics of Organism Not considered a true tree, it has no bark or branches, but rather is one large stem, slightly larger at the bottom, topped with a growth of large leaves called fronds. When mature, a coconut palm can reach 60 feet in height and its feather shaped leaves grow 18 feet long and 4 feet wide. Once pollinated, the resulting coconut fruit grows in clusters, half hidden among the fronds. A coconut is classified as a drupe, a fruit that encases its seed in a hard, stone-like covering. The

coconut has three layers. The exocarp is smooth and green. The mesocarp is fibrous, giving the coconut a shaggy appearance. These two layers are usually missing from the coconuts you find in the market. The third layer is the endocarp, and is the brown, bark-like covering surrounding the rich white coconut meat and sweet coconut juice. Coconuts are oval shaped and grow up to 15 inches in length and 12 inches in width. Behavior of Organism

Adaptation and Feeding The coconuts that form at the base of the canopy atop a coconut palm are large, fibrous and buoyant. As they mature and drop, wind and water can transport the coconut great distances. Sea water does not kill the round seed inside the air-filled, fibrous husk. Coconut seeds are able to immediately germinate; they require no dormancy or treatment to cold or cracking to sprout. Wherever the coconut rests, the milky water inside the seed provides ample moisture to sustain the seedling as it sprouts, even in seasonally dry beach sands. The durability of the coconut allows the species to travel great distances to populate new lands and sprout in seemingly less than ideal conditions. Coconut trees are autotrophic, meaning they do the process of photosynthesis in order to produce the energy they need to survive. Reproduction Palm trees are flowering plants, and as flowering plants, they reproduce through seeds. The flowers are pollinated either by wind or insects, and after pollination, fruit develops. The amount of time the reproduction process takes can vary widely between species. Some species of palm will only produce one flower every few years, while others produce a multitude of flowers every year. After the fruit is ripe, the seeds can be harvested. Depending on the species of palm, the seeds either drop to the ground (coconuts) or are blown on the wind to a new location, where they take root, grow, bloom, become pollinated, produce fruit with seeds, and then the cycle begins again. Habitat The coconut palm thrives on sandy soils and is highly tolerant of salinity. It prefers areas with abundant sunlight and regular rainfall (150 cm to 250 cm annually), which makes colonizing shorelines of the tropics relatively straightforward. Coconuts also need high humidity for optimum growth, which is why they are rarely seen in areas with low humidity. Water Ecosystem: Starfish and Seaweed STARFISH Characteristics of Organism

This star-shaped carnivorous animal is usually a dull yellow or orange, but can also be brightly colored. Starfish vary greatly in size from under 1/2 inch to over 3 feet. The arms of the starfish are used for movement, catching prey and digestion. Unlike other animals, the starfish is able to grow a new arm if one is lost. Many starfish have five arms, but there are some deep-water species that carry more than fifty. The starfish's arms surround a small disc-like body, which houses a mouth in the center of the underside of the body. Behavior of Organism Starfish are well known for their powers of regeneration. A complete new animal can grow from a small fragment such as an arm. In some species (Linckia multifora and Echinaster luzonicus) one of the arms will virtually pull itself away, regenerates and forms a new animal. Autonomy (self amputation) usually is a protective function, losing the body part to escape a predator rather than being eaten. But here it serves as a form of asexual reproduction. In other species of sea stars (Allostichaster polyplax and Coscinasterias calamaria) the body is broken into unequal parts then the missing limbs regenerate. Adaptation and Feeding Starfish bodies are highly flexible. The starfish is capable of making itself surprisingly rigid through the use of skeletal plates that are imbedded in their flesh. Blunt spines project from these plates. By making itself rigid, the starfish is able to protect himself from being eaten, handled or moved by protracting these spines. In addition, some starfish are covered with an organ called, pedicellariae. Pedicellariae make the starfish's arms light sensitive, so they are better able to manipulate themselves. Despite the added benefits of their many arms, the starfish has no eyes, ears or nose and rely solely on their legs for almost everything. Most starfish feed on slow-moving or stationary animals. Clams, oysters and snails are the diet of choice, though starfish are also known to eat fish eggs and mollusk. The starfish stomach actually extends itself through the mouth to grab and consume food. The material is then transported to the starfish's digestive glands, which are located within its arms. Reproduction Most starfish spread their eggs and sperm naturally into the water, and fertilization occurs externally. A female starfish will shed several million eggs into the water in a two-hour period. After it is matched with sperm, a hollow ball (called the blastula) develops. Much like the butterfly, the starfish changes form during early life, transforming itself from an embryo to blastula to larva to miniature starfish, a process that takes two months. Habitat Starfish are found in most of temperate and tropical oceans of the world. They are exclusively marine and are bottom dwellers. They are found in a variety of habitats from the intertidal zone down to the bottom of deep seas but they are mainly found in shallow marine environments. They are found in sand, amongst rubble and on coral reefs and rocky bottoms below low tide as well as in estuaries and under the sand on beaches.

KRILL Characteristics of Organism

Behavior of Organism Adaptation and Feeding Seaweed is autotrophic, which means it produces its own food; using sunlight, macroalgae convert carbon dioxide and water into oxygen and sugar (photosynthesis). Microalgae also provides a food source for many plant-eating marine animals, such as snails, sea urchins and fish, as well as a natural habitat by expanding into extensive beds. Reproduction Seaweeds reproduce both asexually (vegetative growth) and sexually through the release of spores. Seaweeds also exhibit a wide range of development strategies. Some species, especially green algae, grow rapidly when nutrients (nitrogen) are available, only to reproduce and die once the nutrients are depleted. Other species are perennial and never seem to stop growing, even in adverse conditions such as severe water temperatures or limited sunlight. Habitat Most seaweed attaches to hard surfaces such as rocks, shells or other algae, using a specialized basal structure called a holdfast; however, a few seaweed species survive over mud or sandy bottoms. http://biology.arizona.edu/sciconn/lessons2/shindelman/background.html http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-195985/ant http://www.bubblegum-productions.com/anthony/social.htm http://insected.arizona.edu/antinfo.htm http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_adaptations_of_ants http://blog.planetnatural.com/pest-problem-solver/lawn-pests/ant-control/ http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_ants_reproduce http://science.jrank.org/pages/4451/Mosquitoes-Characteristics.html http://www.botanical-online.com/english/mosquito.htm http://www.orkin.com/other/mosquitoes/mosquito-habitats/ http://www.ehow.com/about_6374913_type-do-crabs-live-in_.html

http://www.ehow.com/list_7727237_characteristics-coconut-trees.html http://www.ehow.com/info_8698279_adaptations-coconut-tree.html http://www.allsands.com/science/animals/starfishinforma_vaa_gn.htm