Birds
Detrivores and Decomposers
Soil Science
Human Impacts
Plants
100
What are some physical features used to identify a bird (name atleast 3).
Beak, feet, color, size
100
What major taxonomic group contains spiders, ants, beetles, and crabs?
Arthropods
100
What do we call wet nitrogen rich materials and dry carbon rich materials when composting?
Green and Browns
100
What pesticide had major negative effects on bird populations?
DDT
100
What process do plants do that turns sunlight into food?
Photosynthesis
200
What does eye placement likely tell us about a bird?
Forward facing: predator
Outward facing: prey
200
Why do industrial level compost bins sometimes spontaneously combust?
Compost is a bunch of organisms metabolizing, which makes heat, sometimes so much it catches on fire.
200
What are the 3 essential nutrients in soil and their chemical symbols?
Phosphorous, Nitrogen, Potassium
P, N, K
200
What is citizen science and what is a famous organization that utilizes it?
Public participation in scientific research, NASA, National Geographic, iNaturalist
200
What is an endangered species you found in the greenhouse?
Corpse flower, venus flytrap...
300
Provide an example of a bird species that exhibits clear sexual dimorphism.
Peacock, quail, annas hummingbird, golden pheasant
300
What giant deep sea crustacean has a closely related cousin that we study in class?
Deep Sea Isopod
300
Name 5 organisms which have a positive contribution to soil health.
Worms, arthropods, bacteria, protozoa, isopods, beetles....
300
Where have the majority of American oil spills taken place?
Gulf of Mexico
300
What are 2 adaptations a desert living plant might have? Explain how they help.
Thorns: shading, protection
Large fleshy stems: Water storage
Shallow roots: No drying out
400
Provide 3 cool adaptations that owls have.
Nightvision, silent feathers, 360 head turn, owl pellets, great horned owl communication,
400
How do earthworms breathe?
They absorb O2 through their skin, which has a moist outer layer.
400
Why is soil health important to humans and our ecosystems?
Soil supports our primary producers, which in turn supports all life. Critical to agricultural success.
400
How much plastic does the average human have in just their brain?
About a spoonful (we digest roughly 70,000 microplastics a year)
400
What is the name of a plant which lives on top of another plant and is not a parasite?
Epiphyte
500
What famous Californian bird species was saved from the brink of extinction in the 90s?
California Condor
500
Name 3 anatomical parts of a worm.
Crop, gizzard, setae, clitellum, cerebral ganglia, intestine, pharynx...
500
What is the current common practice of growing a single crop called? And why is it ineffective long term?
Monoculture. The same crop over time will leach the same nutrients and weaken soil health.
500
Why is ocean acidification occurring and what organisms are most threatened?
More CO2 reacts with water, producing hydrogen ions and lowering the pH.
Anything with a calcium carbonate dependency. (corals, clams, crabs, cocolithophores)
500
What rock-side living fern at Alum Rock is named after the latin meaning of "many feet"?
Polypody