Coniferous Forest

The Coniferous Forest is a generally frigid forest area with a myriad of animal species and an abundance of plant life ranging from mushrooms to its ever useful evergreen trees. These evergreen trees along with other pine shaped trees are long and narrow, covering many mountains as well. Evergreens being so prominent in the area do certainly hold importance to men today. From usage regarding Christmas holiday to using coniferous oil produce as cleaning supplies. The Coniferous Forest and its trees are certainly a benefit to society and should definitely be preserved.

Coniferous Forest : Cone Shaped Trees and bushes

Locations:

You can find coniferous forests in Canada, Europe, Asia, and the United States

Animal food chain in a coniferous forest. *examples of Flora and Fauna*

Examples of Fauna: Lynx, Wolves, birds, Skunks, Owls, Weasels, Foxes, Moose, Elk, various insects, birds, and small rodents such as mice and squirrels.

 

James lovelock Summary

My presentation was on James lovelock and he was born on July 26, 1919 in Letchworth Garden City in the United Kingdom. He graduated as a chemist from Manchester University in 1941 and in 1948 received a Ph.D. degree in medicine from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In 1959 he received the D.Sc. degree in biophysics from London University. He is the author of approximately 200 scientific papers, distributed almost equally among topics in Medicine, Biology, and Instrument Science. He has filed more than 50 patents, mostly for detectors for use in chemical analysis. The electron capture detector was important in the development of environmental awareness. It revealed for the first time the global distribution of pesticide residues and other halogen bearing chemicals. This information that enabled Rachel Carson to write her book, Silent Spring often said to have initiated the awareness of environmental disturbance. Mostly what he is known for is the Gaia hypothesis The Gaia hypothesis, also known as Gaia theory or Gaia principle, proposes that organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a self-regulating, complex system that contributes to maintaining the conditions for life on the planet. The hypothesis, which is named after the Greek goddess Gaia, was form by James Lovelock.

Chernobyl Disaster

My presentation was about a disaster that took place in Ukraine. It was the largest uncontrolled radioactive released into the environment, that was ever recorded for any civilian operation. The disaster was a unique event and the only accident in the history of commercial nuclear power, where radiation-related fatalities occurred. It was caused while the testing of the reactor number four. They were testing the reactor, to determine how long turbines would spin and supply power to the main circulating pumps, which in that moment a loss of the main electrical power supply occurred. The reactor was on an unstable condition when the people tried to shut it down, and the explosion happened. It caused an explosion and a melt down.That caused reactor number four to spew over 200 times the amount of radiation. The Chernobyl Disaster affected over seven million people, including the areas of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine. The incident caused people to evacuate the location, and some never came back home. After the disaster, it caused people to become disabled, dead, or some even committed suicide. There were health issues such as the rise in thyroid cancer or any thyroid disease, immune system disorders, lung,heart, and blood problems, and finally learning problems for children. To solve that event, $400 million, U.S dollars, was put into that event, to improve the situation. 600,000- 800,000 firefighters and emergency workers were sent to help out from the Soviet Union to put out fires, bury radioactive equipment, shut down all Chernobyl reactors, and they also created a tomb to surround the radioactive material that collapsed from the reactor.

Coniferous Forest Summary - Tristan James

The Coniferous Forest is a generally frigid forest area with a myriad of animal species and an abundance of plant life ranging from mushrooms to its ever useful evergreen trees. These evergreen trees along with other pine shaped trees are long and narrow, covering many mountains as well. Evergreens being so prominent in the area do certainly hold importance to men today. From usage regarding Christmas holiday to using coniferous oil produce as cleaning supplies. The Coniferous Forest and its trees are certainly a benefit to society and should definitely be preserved.

SEMI-ARID DESERT

Flora	Fauna
Creosote Bush	Kangaroo
Bur Sage	Rabbits
White Thorn	Skunks
Cat Claw	Grasshoppers
Mesquite	Ants
Brittle Bushes	Lizards
Lyciums	Snakes
Jujube	Desert Bighorns
	Pronghorns

CLIMATE:

Hot semi-arid climates tend to be located in the tropics and subtropics. These climates tend to have hot, sometimes extremely hot, summers and mild to warm winters. Snow rarely (if ever) falls in these regions. Hot semi-arid climates are most commonly found around the fringes of subtropical deserts.

Cold semi-arid climate tend to be located in temperate zones. They are typically found in continental interiors some distance from large bodies of water. Cold semi-arid climates usually feature hot and dry (often exceptionally hot) summers, though their summers are typically not quite as hot as those of hot semi-arid climates.

physical characteristics:

Landforms in semiarid deserts are often carved by sudden torrential rains and flash flooding.

bodies of water:

water resources in arid and semi arid are very scarce due to the low rainfall and high evaporation.  

environmental importance:

Arid environments are limited and variable rainfall that supplies resources in pulses. Resource pulsing is a special form of environmental variation, and the general theory of coexistence in variable environments suggests specific mechanisms by which rainfall variability. might contribute to the maintenance of high species diversity in arid ecosystems.spiked lizard

scorpion

What do you think about deer culls?

December 3, 2012 (Newark, NJ) – District 5 Freeholder Brendan W. Gill of Montclair, Chairman of the Freeholder Board’s Deer Population Control Committee, convened a meeting of his committee on Thursday, November 29, 2012, at the Hall of Records.  

 

Director Salvante gave an overview of pertinent statistics, including the fact that a total of 2,654 deer have been removed from county property since 2008 (818 culled, 545 unborn fetuses, 1,291 killed in vehicle accidents on county roads). He also pointed out that the success of the County’s deer management program (whether due to culling or to the effectiveness of roadside reflectors) was manifested in the reduction in the number of deer killed on county roads: 182 (2012), 233 (2011), 229 (2010), 283 (2009), 363 (2008) and 303 (2007).

 

Bernier discussed the various elements of the deer management program and emphasized that the hunting aspect “…is not in any way intended to provide recreational sport.” He added, “The hunt is intended strictly for the purpose of deer management, and has three goals: to preserve bio-diversity in the county’s woodland and fields (especially its parks) by allowing for forest re-generation to reverse the damage done by the over-browsing of deer; to provide aesthetic and financial relief to homeowners whose landscaping has been damaged by deer; and to reduce the threat to public safety caused by deer-related motor vehicle accidents.” He also discussed the extensive efforts to notify the public of hunts, the stringent rules in-force to make the hunt as safe as possible, as well as the effort to use skilled and experienced marksmen and to include as many Essex County resident marksmen as possible.

 

Bernier also responded to questions from Freeholder Gill, other freeholders and members of the public about alternative population control means besides hunting. Regarding “trap-and-transfer”, he pointed out that it was attempted years ago in Essex County and failed; that is very difficult to accomplish, logistically; and that it often results in the death of deer from trauma and injury anyway. He also discussed the current impediments to the use of fertility control/immunocontraceptive drugs such as PZP and GonaCon: legality – the State requires that deer first must be captured, the drug must be administered by veterinarians, and permission must be granted in writing from all property owners within 2,000 feet of the designated darting area if the deer are to tranquilized prior to inoculation; cost - recent analyses indicate the cost to be $1,000 per deer, and likely higher here in Essex County, due mostly to the mandated participation of veterinarians; and application, the most problematic of all - 90% of the female deer must be immunized, they must be captured, tagged and kept track of to know when they must be re-treated, and they must be treated at least every year, if not every year. He went on to add that even if all of these impediments were to be worked out, the use of these drugs will only “…allow you tomaintain a population at or close to what it currently is; what it will not do is reduce the population.” “So, if you have too many deer already, fertility control agents are not going to bring that population down for at least ten years.”

 

Freeholder Gill emphasized the importance of moving forward with forest regeneration efforts and asked, “When are we going to reach the point where the number of deer is low enough that we won’t need to hunt anymore?” Bernier answered by saying that forest ecologists generally say a population of 20 deer per square mile will permit a healthy forest to survive, “…but, your forests are far from healthy and current research suggests you probably need to get the density down to about 5 per square mile in order for forest regeneration to really have the opportunity to succeed.” At the current rate, he indicated that the hunt in South Mountain Reservation would probably have to continue for another 2 or 3 years, that it would take longer at the Hilltop Reservation, and that at Eagle Rock, perhaps a hunt every other year for a while would suffice.

Source:  http://www.essex-countynj.org/freeholders/site/index.php?section=120312DeerCmteMtg

                                                  Tropical Savanna
                           By, Colin Nestor

Info: The biome from the project was well constructed and expresses the Tropical Savanna characteristics flora, fuana, climate, etc.

Climate: Tropical wet and dry climates. The Tropical Grasslands is hot year around typically never dropping under 64 degrees Fahrenheit. rainfall annually if from 20-50 inches per year.

Physical Characteristics: The characteristics of a savanna are a grassland mostly dominated by grass and other plants such as shrubs and tree-sized woody plants.The tropical Savanna supports a great seasonal environment for large mammals and other populations of animals.

Flora/ Fauna:      
     Animals:

• African Elephant
• African Wild Dog
• Black Mamba
• Caracal
• Chacma Baboon
• Egyptian Mongoose
• Emu
• Grant's Zebra
• Koala Bear
• Lion
• Nigriceps Ants
• Nile Crocodile

 Plants:

Tropical grasslands is dominated by grass, about 3 to 6 feet tall. The plants develop in regions where the climax community should be forest. Drought and fires although prevent the development of many trees.

Environmental Importance: Tropical grasslands are characterized by  very deep, rich soils and they are very important for the absorption, retention and purification of water.

                                         Baobab Tree

                             Savanna Elephant
 

Tropical Dry Broad Leaf Forest Corrections Darian Toms & Jovan Poggi

  L (Tropical Dry Leaf Forest)


         ( Bobcat)

The Tropical Dry Broad Leaf forest   are  in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive several hundred centimeters of rain per year.They have tress such as the Teak and the ebony mountain that looses moisture and their leaves shed allowing them to conserve water during the dry periods. Trees near the moisture parts tend to be the greenest. The Dry forest is home to monkeys ,deer ,cats many rodents and various birds. Dry forest is found is regions where there are several months of severe to absolute dry season, with most rain falling during a wet season. Dry forests found in very warm regions in the tropics where the mean annual temperature is greater then 17 degrees Celsius.

Savanna Eli Cain Carristian Brown Revised

Savanna Eli Cain and Carristian Brown

The biome I had was the grassland savanna biome. It's a very dry climate from the months of  May through October and the wet season is November through April. It is home to some of the deadliest animals, such as the black Mamba, the Nile Crocodile. The plants are just as interesting such as the whistling thorn. these flora and fauna are extremely interesting for many reasons. The Black Mamba is naturally untouchable by other animals and before a cure was found for it's venom the snake's bite was 100% deadly. The whistling thorn can also hold four different types of ants. The plant's can also use the plant as their own "fortress of solitude" because they can use the palnt to fend off other invading ants. This biome is very important to our world because if it was destroyed the flora, and fauna would have nowhere else to live which would just cause a bad chain reaction. The chain reaction would be is that these animals would have to find some other place to live and they would be non- indigenous creatures that could only do damage to other environments. We have seen harmful examples of invasive species such as the Killer Bee and the Snakehead Fish. Our area the temperate grasslands can be found in the plains of North America, the pains of South America, and in the open lands of southern Africa. The biome is very interesting and should be preserved.

Flooded Grasslands

Flooded grasslands are found on the four continents of the world; Europe, Asia, Americas, and Africa.The flooded grasslands are home to a variety of animals ranging from migratory birds such as flamingos, and pelicans to land animals like wildebeest and Chinese Water Deer. The flooded grasslands have two main seasons, the wet and the dry. During wet seasons the temperature can range from 70 to 90 degrees, and during the dry season temperatures can range from 80 to 100 degrees. When you look at a flooded grasslands during the wet season there are formations of small ponds of watering holes, for the animals that come to that area. During the dry season there is tall grass and brush. There are many types of plants and animals the range across the four different continents. In Africa there are Wild Dogs, Wildebeest, Gazelles, and Jackals. In Asia there are Chinese Water Deer, Goose-foot, and Dalmatian Pelicans. In the Americans there are plants like Saw-grass and white water Lily.

The flooded grasslands hold an importance to our ecosystem. Without them there would be loss of thousands of species of animals . The loss of these grasslands will cause devastation across all the continents. With the loss of these habitats there would be less space for these majestic animals because humans would develop on these lands and cause unwanted interactions between man and nature.  

semi-arid desert

SEMI-ARID DESERT

Flora	Fauna
Creosote Bush	Kangaroo
Bur Sage	Rabbits
White Thorn	Skunks
Cat Claw	Grasshoppers
Mesquite	Ants
Brittle Bushes	Lizards
Lyciums	Snakes
Jujube	Desert Bighorns
	Pronghorns

CLIMATE:

Hot semi-arid climates tend to be located in the tropics and subtropics. These climates tend to have hot, sometimes extremely hot, summers and mild to warm winters. Snow rarely (if ever) falls in these regions. Hot semi-arid climates are most commonly found around the fringes of subtropical deserts.

Cold semi-arid climate tend to be located in temperate zones. They are typically found in continental interiors some distance from large bodies of water. Cold semi-arid climates usually feature hot and dry (often exceptionally hot) summers, though their summers are typically not quite as hot as those of hot semi-arid climates.

physical characteristics:

Landforms in semiarid deserts are often carved by sudden torrential rains and flash flooding.

bodies of water:

water resources in arid and semi arid are very scarce due to the low rainfall and high evaporation.  

environmental importance:

Environments in arid and semiarid regions are extremely sensitive to climate changes. High wind activity in these regions has resulted in an extensively developed arid geomorphology, but past environmental changes are poorly understood because of the absence of relatively high-resolution proxies.

spiked lizard
scorpion

Savanna Eli Cain and Carristian Brown

The biome I had was the grassland savanna biome. It's a very dry climate from the months of  May through October and the wet season is November through April. It is home to some of the deadliest animals, such as the black Mamba, the Nile Crocodile. The plants are just as interesting such as the whistling thorn. This biome is very important to our world because if it was destroyed the flora, and fauna would have nowhere else to live which would just cause a bad chain reaction.

Arctic Tundra

                                                                   Arctic Tundra

Flura & Fauna

Bear berry: 

Bear Berries are autotrophic plants and are producers for animals such as the Polar Bear, and the Snowy owl.

 Polar bear:

The polar bear is a tertiary consumer and is an omnivore. It has no predators and it eats Bear berries, Musk oxen, Caribou, Walrus and the Harp Seal.

  

Arctic bumble bees:

The Arctic Bumble Bee is a primary consumer and a herbivore. It eats the nectar from the Arctic poppy. It also feeds off the Arctic Willow and The Diamond leafed willow. Its predators are small birds such as the Dunlin in the Arctic Alaskan Tundra.  

Arctic Poppy:

Arctic poppy is an autotrophic plant and is also a producer, the main predator which is not really a predator, in the arctic tundra: is the Arctic Bumble Bee.

Environmental importance

There are factors such as: global warming (the rising temperatures would cause the ice on the high peaks of the tundra to melt, this would cause a change to the landscape which eventually would affect the species living there), invasive species (that may affect the natural animals and plants life by affecting the food chain, for example the Red fox which was introduced by Europeans), air pollution (causing smog clouds to form which might contaminate reliable food sources, water sources and the oxygen within the Arctic Tundra) oil spills (caused by humans and threatens many wildlife species, possibly through water sources) as well as buildings and roads that projects heat to the surroundings causing organisms that live in the Arctic Tundra such as the Polar bear, have no use for its blubber and have to adapt to its new environment changing many things such as: the food chains and webs within the ecosystem, adaptions of many other species, etc. 

Climate

In the arctic tundra there are two seasons: winter and summer. In the summer, the sun is present almost 24 hours a day. This sun however, only warms the tundra up to a range of about 3°C to 12°C. In the winter the opposite light conditions are present. There are several weeks where the sun never rises. This causes the temperatures to drop to extremely cold levels. The average temperature of the tundra is around -28°C while extremes can dip to -70°C.

Characteristics

The Arctic tundra is a cold, vast, treeless area of low, swampy plains in the far north around the Arctic Ocean. It includes the northern lands of Europe (Lapland and Scandinavia), Asia (Siberia), and North America (Alaska and Canada), as well as most of Greenland. Another type of tundra is the alpine tundra, which is a biome that exists at the tops of high mountains.