15. Succession

Succession is the process of an organism’s structure changing over time. This diamondback terrapin, a species of turtle found in Delaware, has been found to have undergone several types of succession. One of the most important is the development of salt glands which allows the terrapin to live in estuaries near the coast, commonly found […]

14. Seed Dispersal

Seed dispersal is the movement of seeds from their original plant to another place to grow more plants. This plant, known as the ‘split rock plant’, has an interesting seed dispersal method. There are capsules within the plant that open up when it rains and close when it’s dry. The raindrops hit the capsules and […]

13. Population

A population is a group of the same species living together in one area. In this image you can see a population of lily pads living in a pond. If you look closely, you can see that this population is thriving as there is one water lily that has bloomed and several others growing through […]

12. Pollinator

In this image, you can see a bee resting on the left side of the center of this flower. The bee is the pollinator as it moves around different flowers collecting their pollen and dispersing it to other flowers.

11. Pollen

Pollen is the fine yellow substance that comes from plants and is transported by bees to further a population. In this picture you can see small specks and piles of pollen. There’s a beehive directly above this which is likely the reason that there is pollen on this wood.

10. Osmosis

Osmosis is the movement of water from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration. This can be demonstrated when watering a plant because the water seeps into the soil where there isn’t as much water. Therefore, the roots are able to also use osmosis to absorb the water when there isn’t […]

9. Lichen

This is a tree which has lichen on it (the leafy green spot). This specific example is further classified as foliose lichen by its appearance. Lichen grow through a form of mutualism between fungi and algae. It also serves as a food source for many animals and can be found in birds’ nests.

8. Homeostasis

In this picture, you see my dog, Theo, panting after coming in from playing outside. This panting releases heat in the form of air and brings new, cooler air into the body. This is a common process of homeostasis because this process helps the dog to maintain its usual body temperature.

7. Heterotroph

A heterotroph is an organism that needs to get its food from outside sources. These mushrooms, fungi, need to get food by breaking down dead material in the soil. Since they have no chlorophyll they have to do this and therefore are heterotrophs.

6. Genetic Variation within a Population

A genetic variation within a population includes any differences in DNA which can be expressed in phenotype or genotype. This picture shows the population of cats within my home and as you can see, their main genetic variation is their fur color. While in a house this may not matter for evolutionary purposes, it could […]