Thomas' Botany Blog

Commensalism: is a symbiotic relationship/association between two organisms/species in which one species/organism is benefitted by the other, and the other is neither benefitted or harmed. The commensal (the species that benefits) obtains nutrients, shelter, support, etc. from the host. But, the host is unaffected. There is some overlap in this relationship… for example a bee and a flower. The bee receives nutrients form the flower, but is unaffected because that is what is suppose to occur. This is the association between two different species in which one species benefits and the other isn’t significantly affected. Commensalism does exist today, and some examples include: ·        The bee and the flower ·        The Monarch Butterfly and Milkweed ·        Burdock Seeds on the Fur of Passing Animals ·        Emperor Shrimp and Sea Cucumbers ·...

Picture from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutualism_(biology) As expressed in the previous blog post, the second type of symbiotic relationship is mutualism. This is a relationships where both organisms are benefitting from each other. In the picture above, we see a hummingbird drinking from a plant. This type of symbiotic relationship is mutualistic because the hummingbird is receiving nectar from the flower as food. On the other end, as the plant is giving away nectar, eventually the hummingbird will spread the pollen and nectar from the flower across the area and surrounding areas hoping to eventually add to the biodiversity of the ecosystem. Picture from: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutualism_(biology) In the picture above, we see an anemone fish next to a sea anemone. This is another example of a mutualistic symbiotic relationships because the sea anemone provides this specific fish a place to live, and an escape from predators. Predators cannot stand the...

Picture from: http://www.necsi.edu/projects/evolution/co-evolution/mutualistic/co-evolution_mutualistic.html Mutualism: An interspecific cooperation/symbiotic relationship that is beneficial to both organisms involved. Both species of organisms will benefit from association of one another and will not be harmed. Also known as a “biological barter” Mutualism plays a key part in ecology. It is vital for ecosystems to survive on Earth. 48% of plants require relationships with fungi to provide them with inorganic compounds. Picture from: https://sciencestruck.com/mutualism-relationships There are two types of these mutualistic relationships. 1.        Service-resource relationships are common. They are important for pollination, and cleaning. a.        In pollination, the animals use nectar or pollen from the plant and disperse it in other areas to allow for more of the same species of plant to grow. ...

Our class had the privilege to participate in a bush tour led by Jim during our lecture time. Jim was an outside lecturer who was very eager to give us a new perspective on bushes and plant life on the Urbana University campus. I was so surprised to know that our campus is filled with so many different types of bushes. I was intrigued to be introduced to many different types of bushes on the campus. Urbana University is a biodiverse campus in the deciduous forest ecosystem. This ecosystem is rich in plant life. The soil is rich and nutrient which allows many different types of plants to grow, develop and change. This will create a rich life history for each of the plants in this environment. Jim first began the lecture with introducing us to vocabulary terms that will be used throughout the rest of the course. (urban, forest, hardwoods, canopy, and understory) He then asked us a question about how woody plants are important. Most people in the class answered the they filter the a...

Our class had the privilege to participate in a campus tour at Urbana University. I was so surprised to know that our campus is filled with so many different types of trees. On our campus I would estimate that we have over 1,000 different types of plants all living to create a biodiverse environment.             Urbana University is a biodiverse campus in the deciduous forest ecosystem. This ecosystem is rich in plant life. The soil is rich and nutrient which allows many different types of plants to grow, develop and change. This will create a rich life history for each of the plants in this environment.             Dr. TingTing Cai, a Professor of Botany Sciences at Urbana University led our entire class on a campus tour exposing us to each of the different trees as well as their features and quick and easy ways to make each of the trees identifiable.   ...

Picture from: https://www.neevmagazine.co.in/why-are-trees-important/ Today our Botany class was given the pleasure of a speaker Tracy Bleim to present on trees. She began the lecture on asking us one important question. “Why do we love trees?” She expressed of the common and complex reasons that trees are used for in our daily lives. She expressed that they have historical value, they are used to build our homes, and they provide extensive biodiversity for our environment. I was very interested with the facts that she presented throughout her lecture. I was intrigued to find out that there is not a filtration system for water in the United States of America that can remove pharmaceutical waste, but she explained that wetlands can indeed remove this waste. The biodiversity that is located in a wetland can actually remove this waste. It is fascinating that the biodiversity itself can remove unnatural waste. There were many other interesting facts presented during this inf...

Picture from: http://year6funscience.blogspot.com/2011/12/competition-among-plants_08.html As expressed in the previous blog post, the first type of symbiotic relationships is competition. This relationships is where two organisms compete for resources such as nutrients in the soil, sunlight, water, shelter, etc. In the picture above in this environment, these plants are competing for sunlight, nutrients in the soil, and space. Trees in this area grow taller to reach the top of the canopy to allow themselves to experience sunlight while their roots must grow in different directions below the surface to allow for nutrients to get directly to the plant. This type of symbiotic relationship is known as the starter to natural selection. Plants in this environment who do not grow, adapt and change to the environment to receive the resources that are limited will die off from the area while plants that do grow, adapt and change to the environment will survive in this environme...