Gymnosperm

This is a cycad I saw in my grandparents' backyard.  A gymnosperm is a plant that has seeds unprotected by an ovary or fruit.  Cycads are classified as gymnosperms because they develop a large cone in the center for reproduction. 

K-Strategist

This is an oak tree from the front yard of a house in my neighborhood.  A k-strategist is an animal that produces few offspring that require a large amount of energy to produce and raise.  They have longer life expectancies ( compared to r-strategists) and can reproduce more than once.  An oak tree takes multiple years before it is mature enough to reproduce.  Oak trees reproduce for many years and have a life expectancy of hundreds of years. 

Predation

This is my dog eating meatloaf.  Predation is the preying of one animal on others.  Although my dogs love all kinds of meat, they were not trained to be hunters.  In this picture Desi is "preying" on her lunchtime snack. 

Tropism

This is a plant growing in my backyard.  Tropism is the turning of all or part of an organism in a particular direction in response to an external stimulus.  One type of tropism is phototropism. This is when a plant grows towards the sun, so they can use it for photosynthesis.  This plant is growing up, towards the sun. 

Hydrophobic

This is my friend's cat. To be hydrophobic is tending to repel or fail to mix with water.  Cats hate water because when becoming fully wet, they lose body heat. Cats also become very heavy when wet, which can be very uncomfortable for the animal. 

Territorial Behavior

This is my dog peeing on a walk. Territorial behavior are the methods by which an animal, or group of animals, protects its territory from incursions by others of its species.  Dogs mark and protect "their territory" by urinating. 

Homologous Structures

This is my aunt's cat's leg and my cousin's arm.  Homologous structures are structures derived from a common ancestor or same evolutionary or developmental origin.  A cat's leg and human's arm are considered homologous structures, proving that these two creatures had a common ancestor. 

R-Strategist

This is a weed I saw in my neighbor's front lawn.  R-Strategists are species that reproduce early in their lifespan and produce large numbers and usually small and short-lived offspring in a short period.  Weeds grow at a rapid pace and reproduce very quickly. 

Genetic Variation Within a Species

These are goldfish from my friend's aquarium. Genetic variation within a species is genetic diversity in a population or species as a result of new gene combinations. These goldfish are all apart of the same species yet they all look different. This is because of genetic variation. 

Epithelial Tissue

This is skin from my leg.  Epithelial tissue is membranous tissue covering internal organs and other surfaces of the body.  Simple epithelial tissue, which is only one cell thick.  When the tissue is two or more cells thick it is called stratified epithelium.  An example of stratified epithelium is skin. 

Vestigial Structures

This is my sister's eye.  A vestigial structure is a structure in an organism that has lost all or most of its original function in the course of evolution.  The plica luminaris is the flap of skin that covers the outside corner of the human eyeball.  It no longer has a purpose but it is still there from our ancestors.  It is thought to have been part of a nictitating membrane, which is now unnecessary to the human eye. 

Rhizome

This is the grass in my backyard.  A rhizome is a continuously growing horizontal underground stem that puts out lateral shoots and adventitious roots at intervals.  Grass uses rhizomes to reproduce and establish new grass. 

Analogous Structures

This is a butterfly I found in my backyard and a bird I found at my summer camp. Analogous structures are strcutures of different species having similar or corresponding function but not from the same evolutionary origin.  Both of these organisms have wings with the same function.  Although birds and butterflies have a common ancestor, the ancestor did not have wings, which means the wings were not inherited from the common ancestor. 

Radial Symmetry

This is a sea anemone I found in the tide pools at Mother's Beach.  Radial smmetry is symmetry around a central axis.  Radial symmetry is very common for sessile animals, animals that are fixed in one place.  Sea anemone are sessile and radially symmetrical. 

Meristem

This is a plant I found growing on my fence in my backyard.  A meristem is a region of plant tissue, found chiefly at the growing tips of roots and shoots and in the cambium, consisting of actively dividing cells forming new tissue.  The growing tip of this plant's shoot is visible. 

Endotherm

This is a possum that I saw in my backyard.  An endotherm is an animal that is dependent on or capable of the internal generation of heat; a warm-blooded animal.  Possums are mammals and all mammals are warm-blooded. 

Detrotivore

This is a worm I found in my friend's backyard.  A detritivore is an animal that feeds on dead organic material, especially plant detritus.  Worms eat things in soil such as decaying roots and leaves.  

Seed Dispersal

This is a pine cone I found on a walk with my dogs.  Seed dispersal is the movement or transport of seeds away from the parent plant.  Female conifers hold seeds.  These seeds can be dispersed by wind or animals.  Wind can move seeds and animals can eat the cones and deposit the seeds in its droppings. 

Pollinator

This is a bee I saw in my neighbor's front yard.  A pollinator is one that pollinates. As bees fly from one flower to another, collecting pollen to feed their offspring, they subconsciously moves pollen from one flower to another, pollinating the flowers. 

Lepidoptera

This is a moth I saw in my friend's backyard.  The Lepidoptera is an order of insects that includes moths and butterflies. This moth is a part of the Lepidoptera family, like all other moths and butterflies. 

Hydrophilic

This is a starfish I saw in the tide pools at Mother's Beach.  To be hydrophilic is having a tendency to mix with, dissolve in, or be wetted by water.  Starfish are hydrophilic organisms because they are wetter by water all day.  Without proper moisture, a starfish will dry up and die. 

Exoskeleton

This is a praying mantis I saw in my grandparents' backyard.  An exoskeleton is a rigid external covering for the body in some invertebrate animals, especially arthropods, providing both support and protection.  After hatching, the praying mantis' exoskeleton hardens. 

Keystone Species

This is a hummingbird that I spotted in my backyard. A keystone species is a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.  Pollination is the reason hummingbirds are classified as a keystone species. If hummingbirds were to not do their job, other species of plants would take over the ecosystem 

Ectotherm

This is a tomato hornworm found on my garden's tomato plant. An ectotherm is an animal that is dependent on external sources of body heat. Hornworms are classified as cold-blooded or ectothermic organisms. When kept as pets, heat lamps are used as the hornworms' heat source. 

Pollen

This is a yellow flower found in my neighbor's front yard. Pollen is a fine powdery substance, typically yellow, consisting of microscopic grains discharged from the male part of the flower or from a male cone. Each grain contains a male gamete that can fertilize ovule, to which pollen is transported by the wind, insects, or other animals. This specimen has visible anthers, where the pollen is produced.