Importance of Reproduction

Why do plants reproduce?

Living things do not live forever. They will die one day. To ensure survival and continuity of their own kind, they need to reproduce.

Like animals, plants reproduce to ensure the continuity of their own kind.

Most plants reproduce from seeds. However, there are some that do not reproduce from seeds. They have other way to reproduce young.

Ferns, moss and algae reproduce from spores.

   

Some plants reproduce from plants parts. Bud found on the underground stem of potato and ginger will grow into new plants.

Young plants will grow on the leaf margins of the bryophyllum plants.

In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of

 an organism or of a group of organisms (taxon), normally a species

Living things that cannot ensure survival and continuity of their own kind become extinct.

An example would be the Yunnan Malva and the Wood’s Cycad, which are extinct in the wild.

Encephalartos woodii belongs to the cycad family. These plant species evolved approximately 240 million years ago in the early days of the dinosaurs. They are the ancestors of the flowering plants. Like all other cycads, Encephalartos woodii are dioecious. That means that there are male and female plants. In 1895, Medley Wood collected a male specimen of Encephalartos woodii from a steep mountainside in Natal, South Africa. Since female plants have never been collected, they are thought to be extinct.

   


To date, Wood's male specimen is the only representative of the species ever found. It may even be the only specimen left. Luckily, the plant regularly forms side-shoots at the base of the stem that are cut off and cultivated into separate plants. By sending these plants/stems to other botanical gardens worldwide, the risk of extinction is lowered and the male Encephalartos woodii can exist without female species members. This is the Hortus' way of supporting the survival of this unique plant species.

TYPES OF CAMOUFLAGE

Types of camouflage:-

Animals use coloring, texture and markings to blend into their environments. Predators use camouflage to make it hard for their preys to see them sneak up. Other animals use camouflage to hide from their predators.

There are four basic types of camouflage:

1. Concealing Coloration: when an animal hides itself against a background of the same color. There are many well-known examples of this type of camouflage (e.g., polar bears, artic fox, snowshoe hare). Concealing coloration camouflage is one of the reasons why many animals living in the Artic are white, while many animals living in forests are brown (e.g.,  deers).
   
   A snowshoe hare has white fur in winter. But this color is not a good for camouflage purposes during summer. During summer, this hare grows a brown colored coat.  Since a hare's coat/fur, like our hair or fingernails, is made up dead cells, it can not just change the color of its coat. Instead it has to shed its winter coat and grow a new coat in summer.
   
   While mammals and birds can not change colors rapidly, some reptiles and fish can change colors in a flash. Chameleons change color to hide themselves and sometimes to show their mood! The octopus can not only change color but can also change the texture of their skin (to blend with their surroundings even better).


2. Disruptive Coloration: The stripes, spots or other patterns on some animals are used to make it hard for other animals to see the outline of their bodies. A herd of zebras crowded together might look like one large mass to a lion rather several zebras. This makes it hard for the lion to single out a weak zebra and come up with a good plan of attack.
   
   Tigers and leopards also use disruptive coloration. Predators like leopard move around in low branches. Their spots helps them hide well in such an environment where there lots of shadows of leafs and spots of light come through. So they don't stick out against such a background.


3. Disguise: This is like concealing coloration except that the animals blend in with their surroundings by their shape and/or texture rather than color.
   
   Most of the examples of creatures that use this type of camouflage are insects. Examples include Katydid, Indian leaf butterfly, and Walking stick insect. 


4. Mimicry: Animals that use mimicry are imposture. They mimic the characteristics of unappetizing animals. A monarch butterfly is toxic and unappetizing to birds. Viceroy butterflies safeguard themselves from birds who prey upon them by looking a lot like monarch butterflies.

CHARACTERSTICS OF VERTEBRATES

Classes of vertebrates

Piceses

Amphibia

Reptilia

Aves

Mammalia

Pisces :-
Pisces is a Class in the Subphylum Vertebrata of the Phylum Chordata, so they have all of the characteristics of both of these groups in addition to the following:

• Skin covered in scales
• Ectothermic, cold blooded
• Soft shelled eggs that must be laid in water
• External fertilization
• All members are fully aquatic
• Limbs modified into fins
• Gas exchange through gills

Amphibians:-

• To identify an animal as an amphibian, it should have each of these characteristics:
•          Amphibians have a backbone. They are vertebrates.
•          Amphibians are cold-blooded. They cannot regulate their own body temperature.
•          Amphibians spend at least part of their lives in water and on land.
•          Amphibians do not have scales and their skin is permeable (molecules and gases can           pass through).
•          Amphibians have gills for at least part of their lives. Some species have gills only as            larvae, while others can have gills throughout their lives.
•           Most amphibians go through metamorphosis.

Reptiles:-

To identify an animal as a reptile, it should have each of these characteristics:

·         Reptiles have a backbone. They are vertebrates.·         Reptiles are covered in scales.·         Reptiles breathe with lungs.·         Most reptiles lay eggs. Some reptiles, like the boa constrictor, give birth to live young.·         Almost all reptiles are cold-blooded. One of the exceptions is the leatherback sea turtle, which can regulate its body temperature to some degree.

Aves:-

Aves is a Class in the Subphylum Vertebrata of the Phylum Chordata, so they have all of the characteristics of both of these groups in addition to the following:

• Waterproof skin covered in feathers
• Endothermic, warm blooded
• Hard shelled eggs that are waterproof (cleidoic - closed egg)
• Beak or bill rather than teeth
• Bipedal (walk on two legs only)
• Forelimbs developed into wings
• Most members are highly adapted for flight with forelimbs modified as wings and many weight saving features such as hollow bones

Mammal Characteristics:-

·         All mammals are warm blooded.

·         Most young are born alive.

·         They have hair or fur on their bodies.

·         Every mammal is a vertebrate.

·         All mammals have lungs to breathe air.

·         Mammals feed milk to their babies.

AMAZING FACTS ABOUT OWL

Amazing facts about owl.

·         There are around 200 different owl species.
·         Owls are active at night (nocturnal).
·         A group of owls is called a parliament.
·         Most owls hunt insects, small mammals and other birds.
·         Some owl species hunt fish.
·         Owls have powerful talons (claws) which help them catch and kill prey.
·         Owls have large eyes and a flat face.
·         Owls can turn their heads as much as 270 degrees.
·         Owls are farsighted, meaning they can’t see things close to their eyes                           clearly.
·         Owls are very quiet in flight compared to other birds of prey.
·         The color of owl’s feathers helps them blend into their environment                               (camouflage).
·         Barn owls can be recognized by their heart shaped face.