Blog Post Assignment #4: Katie Inman

Some of the abiotic factors that our plant depends on for survival are water, soil, and sunlight. Other plants, animals, and insects would be an example of biotic factors that affect our plant. We have been seeing insects affecting our plant recently. We think that it is some type of caterpillar because it is munching on the leaves. This is predation, done by a primary consumer. Also, invading grasses have been growing around our plant which is completion for ours because it grows taller it could cover ours blocking the sunlight. This grass could also be taking water and nutrients from the soil. So far, we have not seen any animals affecting out plant but is squirrel could come in and burry their acorn for winter but dig up our plant in the process.

The winner in competition between two plants is the one who grows more or benefits more from the resources, but it is hard to determine which one that is.  You don’t always know what a successful version of the certain plant is like and when you throw limited resources on top of that it is even more difficult.

An example of succession in the garden is when the other plants die, but other ones sprout up where it was. This would be secondary succession because the plants are growing from dirt, where as in primary succession the start with no dirt.

Blog Post Assignment #3 : Katie Inman

Our plant has grown a little taller and the leaves have gotten bigger. It has 3 big leaves on the taller stems and a couple smaller leafs on the lower stems. The stems are like tooth pics and are a dusty green. The plant is smaller than others like it in the garden.  All of the larger leaves have been slightly eaten.

Our plant participates in the movement of water in the biosphere because it uses water to grow and survive. Without water our plant who die. We know that it is a part of the cycle, because it is not dead and it is very smaller to do lack of water.

It also participates in the movement of carbon is the biosphere, by using sunlight. Our plants main source of carbon is from sunlight and it uses this to grow and prosper. When something eats it or it dies it will be transformed to the eater or back into the soil.

Another thing our plant participates in is the movement of nitrogen in the biosphere. Nitrogen in the atmosphere is changed by bacteria then is absorbed by the roots of the plant. When it dies the nitrogen will go back into the atmosphere

Blog Post Assignment #4: Whitley Moody

1. Our plant depends on many abiotic factors including, weather, temperature, and sunlight exposure.  Some biotic factors that affect our plant are other pants competing for sunlight, bugs that eat our plant, and humans who may come and mess with the garden.

2.I know that our plant is engaged in competition because there are many plants surrounding our plant, so it must compete for sunlight, nutrients from the soil, and rain water when it rains.

3.  A "winner" in this situation would be a plant that thrives and begins to produce food.  A "loser" would be a plant like ours that is dying and slowly losing it's leaves.  No, sometimes it isn't clear who is "winning or "losing" because many plants are close to the same size, so it will be hard to determine which is growing better.

4.  Our plant is also being used as a producer which is preventing it from growing.  Some type of animal, a squirrel, worms, bugs, ants, etc. is eating our plant.  This is a good thing for the animals eating our plant because they are being fed, but for our plant it is bad, because it is preventing it from growing.

5.In our garden, an example of succession would be how close and how many plants there are in the planter boxes.  In each planter box there is a whole class worth of plants.  This is probably primary succession because it was built on new land that was fresh.

Blog Post Assignment #4 : Maddie Gong

1. Some abiotic factors our plant needs to survive are water, sunlight, oxygen, soil and temperature. Some biotic factors that affect our plant include animals, insects, bacteria and other plants.

2. We know our plants are engaged in competition because there are many other plants surrounding it nearby. Our plants are competing for nutrients, water, sunlight and space to grow with the other plants.

3. "Winners" and "Losers" are determined by whoever's plant grows the best. It's not always clear on who "wins" and who "loses" because it one may be changing in ways that we can't see or notice. The fact that the competition may be occurring underneath the soil surface, inside the plants or other places we cannot really see makes the determination complicated sometimes.

4. Our plants are also involved in mutualism and herbivory. They are involved in mutualism because they work and benefit from the other plants in the garden. The plants also participate in herbivory because our plants has been producing a food source for little insects or organisms. The organisms are affected by the new sources coming in.

5. In the garden, an example of succession is how close and the amount of plants that are planted. In each planter box, a plant from each group is planted less than a foot away from each other. It seems more like primary succession because our plants weren't grown on damaged land.

Blog Post Assignment #3 : Maddie Gong

1. This week, we noticed a lot of new things about our plants. It has grown a little bit but it didn't grow as much as we had hoped. Compared to the class, our plant is probably the smallest one. Also, our plant has many holes so small bugs, animals or organisms have been eating it. 

2. Our plants participate in the movement of water in the biosphere because our plants need water to grow. Water is one the of the main sources plants need in order to grow and survive. Our plants' roles in the water cycle relate to the changes observed in our plants because they haven't grown that much due to lack of water supply. Last week, our plants grew because it had rained for a couple of days.

3. Our plants participate in the movement of carbon in the biosphere because our plants need sunlight. Like water, sunlight is another main source all plants need to grow. Our plants' roles in the carbon cycle relate to the changes observed in our plants because they haven't grown due to lack of sunlight. Since the weather has been cold and cloudy, the sun hasn't been able to come out.  

4. Our plants participate in the movement of carbon in the biosphere because our plants also need nitrogen to grow. Nitrogen is changed by bacteria and ammonium into nitrates and then absorbed by plants. Our plants' roles in the nitrogen cycle relate to the changes observed in our plants because they haven't grown that much due to lack of producing and consuming nitrates correctly.

Blog Post Assignment #4: Annika Gordon

             Abiotic factors affect plants and animals every day, and most living things depend on some of those for survival. Some of these factors that affect our plant include rain, weather, and temperature. Rain and sun are both essential part of a plants life and without  them, would die,but with too much of either will kill the plant.
           I know that there is compote on for my plant because it is really small compared to the plants surrounding it.The plants around my plant are most likely taking the nutrients that my plant needs to grow bigger, causing it to stay the same size while the other plants grow bigger. My plant is competing for nutrients, water, sunlight, and room in the planter box.
            The "winners" are those organisms that continue to grow and thrive while the "losers" are the ones that either die or do not grow and continue to be healthy. The line between "winners" and "losers" can be very small and not very clear. Sometimes it's between two thriving organisms which can make it hard to chose the "winner" and "loser".
            Some other types of interaction that my plant is involved in are symbiosis, because of its close relationships with the insects that eat it and benefit from doing so, and parasitism, when animals and insects eat my plant limiting its chances at survival.
           In the school garden, succession or something similar is occurring. Evidence, such as the fast growth of new plants and the replacement of grasses with larger plants, the brassica orelacea, both point to secondary succession happening.

Blog Post Assignment #3: Annika Gordon

              This week, 10/17/16, my group and I have noticed several changes in our plants. First, our plant's leaves has grown significantly as well as doubled in number of leaves. Also, we've seen at least 5 holes in the plant. Overall our plant is only about 12 cm tall with about 7-8 leaves all around 6 cm long.
             Our plants participate in the water movement by taking in the water from the earth. By taking in the water it helps the plant grow causing the growth in number of leaves and  height.
           By taking carbon in from the atmosphere, my plant is contributing to the carbon cycle. The plant also takings in and breaks down natural carbon with it's roots.
             My plant also contributes to the nitrogen cycle in a few ways. The plants take in nitrates and ammonium as well as releasing organic residue into the earth.

Blog Post Assignment #3: Whitley Moody

1.  In the past week I have begun to notice many things about our plant. First off, our plant is not growing as well as we hoped.  When we compare it to other plants in our class, ours is probably the smallest.  Also, our plant is half eaten so there are clearly bugs eating our plant.

2.Our plants take in water to grow, and that is the part they play in the water cycle.  Because they take in water, our plant clearly must have not gotten enough water this past week because it was not growing as well as others.

3.Plants release carbon into the air through plant respiration, so our plant is contributing to the carbon cycle. I have a feeling that our plant doesn't release enough carbon to be productive because it is probably dying.

4. Plants consume nitrates through their roots.  Our plant seems to be dying, which means it is probably not consuming nitrates properly.  If our plant was stronger it would give a stronger contribution to the nitrogen cycle.