...Taz and Ant; One Endangered, One Invasive Taylor Drake Biology 106A, Fall 2012 In a world dominated by humans there are many things that also inhabit Earth, one of those being animals. Sometimes these animals can thrive in certain or multiple geographical areas while others, due to humans, may fail to adapt and survive. An invasive species is one that has a native geographical range but then somehow gets transferred to a new geographical range where it possibly can thrive and cause problems such as the Red Imported Fire Ant. On the other hand, there are some species of animals that are endangered and on the brink of extinction like the Tasmanian devil. With the encroachment of humans on the animal’s environment, they have hindered their ability to thrive forcing them to become endangered. Humans influence on the ecosystem, animals have to adapt like the Red Fire Ant or be forced to near or possible extinction like the Tasmanian devil. 1 The Tasmanian devil (Figure 1), Sarcophilus harrisii, is the largest carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae found on the Australian island of Tasmania (Figure 2) (Tasmanian devil). The devil is normally black with a white patch around its neck and generally about the size of a small dog weighing between fifteen and twenty Figure 1. The Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisii pounds (Tasmanian Devil). On Tasmania, it lives in coastal scrubs and eucalypt forests but is also found near places of human inhabitance because S...
Words: 1930 - Pages: 8
...with the state of armed conflict that is war, and for as long as there has been civilization there has been war. Upon first glance, Henry David Thoreau’s “The Battle of the Ants” seems like a simple descriptive story of a battle between two different species of ants, one red and one black, but if one were to further inspect the text, they could see that Thoreau uses the ants and their battle as a satirical allegory for human conflict. Thoreau chooses to use ants as a metaphor to make it clear to the reader that war is futile, pointless, and a waste of life. “The Battle of the Ants” begins with Thoreau casually walking out to his wood-pile as he stumbles upon the battle between the red ants and the black ants. After this, he compares these ants to humans, making the allegory apparent from the start. “It was the only battle which I have ever witnessed… On every side they were engaged in deadly combat, yet without any noise that I could hear, and human soldiers never fought so resolutely” (575). Thoreau uses hyperbole early in his essay to reinforce its anti-war theme as he describes the fighting ants to be in the middle of war. However, he implies that this war is miniscule by reminding the reader of its setting: a wood-yard. Thoreau goes on to describe an even smaller battle he witnesses between two ants, again, amid the chips, giving more scope to the idea that war is irrelevant compared to the broader schemes of the world. “I watched a couple that were fast locked in each...
Words: 1097 - Pages: 5
...Red imported fire ants (RIFA) are invasive nuisance insects that have spread throughout the southeastern United States since their initial arrival more than sixty five years ago. Red imported fire ants, or Solenopsis invicta Buren, is native to Mato Grasso, Brazil and other areas throughout central South America and was accidentally brought to Mobile, Alabama in the early 1940s. Although the method of introduction is not clear, the USDA states that it is possible that the species may have arrived in the United States on ships’ ballasts. Since their initial invasion in the 1940s, the species has spread throughout fourteen states. Red imported fire ants impose substantial negative impacts on people, animals, rural and urban environments culminating...
Words: 1945 - Pages: 8
...Brenda Greer 05/11/2011 Biology Concepts John Distefano The Texas horned lizard, known by most people as a horny toad has been on the Texas endangered species list since 1967. The Texas horned lizard has a spiky body, which gives them their name horned lizard or horny toad. The horny toad can be found in Texas, Georgia, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, the Carolinas, and Mexico. The Texas horny toad is the largest and most widely distributed of the 14 species of horned lizards in the western United States and Mexico. These unique looking creatures have a flat body and are fierce looking. The head of a horny toad has numerous horns; the two central head spines are much longer than the other horns. Most of the Texas horned lizards have a light line that extends from its head down the middle of its back. The Texas horned lizard is the only species that has dark brown stripes that radiate down from their eyes across the top of their head. The horny toad can be found in aired regions as well as semiarid habitats that have at least some loose soil for burrowing. They are usually found in sandy soil with a limited amount of vegetation. They can also be found in areas with gravely soil as well. The Texas horned toad hibernates from September or October to around late April or May. While the horny toad hibernates they slow their metabolism down so they can go for long periods of time with no food or water. Their mating usually occurs soon after hibernation. After the female...
Words: 1593 - Pages: 7
...Likening the red ants and the black ants to "the republicans (colonists) and the imperalists (the British)," Walden compares the battling insects to humans: For numbers and for carnage it was an Austerlitz or Dresden. Concord Fight! Two killed on the patriots' side, and Luther Blanchard wounded! Why here every ant was a Buttrick--"Fire! for God's sake fire!"--and thousands shared the fate of Davis and Hosmer (two colonists killed)....I have no doubt that it was a principle they fought for, as much as our ancestors, and not to avoid a three-penny tax on their tea; and the results of this battle will be as important and memorable to those whom it concerns as those of the Battle of Bunker Hill, at least. Clearly, Thoreau satires the importance that men have put upon going to war on "principle." Facetiously, he earlier compares the red ant who runs into battle to the the Spartan whose mother told their sons to return victorious or dead: "It was evident that their battle cry was "Conquer or die." Studying the red and black ants fighting for no other reason that they hate each other, or one has taxed the other, brings Walden's passage to the point/thesis of the futility of war as well as the terrible waste of life that it is. FUTILITY: I never learned which party was victorious, nor the cause of the war; but I felt for the rest of that day as if I had had my feelings excited and harrowed by witnessing the struglle, the ferocity and carnage, of a human battle before...
Words: 321 - Pages: 2
...The Battle of Ants By Henry David Thoreau You only need sit still long enough in some attractive spot in the woods that all its inhabitants may exhibit themselves to you by turns. I was witness to events of a less peaceful character. One day when I went out to my wood-pile, or rather my pile of stumps, I observed two large ants, the one red, the other much larger, nearly half an inch long, and black, fiercely contending with one another. Having once got hold they never let go, but struggled and wrestled and rolled on the chips incessantly. Looking farther, I was surprised to find that the chips were covered with such combatants, that it was not a duellum, but a bellum, a war between two races of ants, the red always pitted against the black, and frequently two red ones to one black. The legions of these Myrmidons covered all the hills and vales in my wood-yard, and the ground was already strewn with the dead and dying, both red and black. It was the only battle which I have ever witnessed, the only battle-field I ever trod while the battle was raging; internecine war; the red republicans on the one hand, and the black imperialists on the other. On every side they were engaged in deadly combat, yet without any noise that I could hear, and human soldiers never fought so resolutely. I watched a couple that were fast locked in each other's embraces, in a little sunny valley amid the chips, now at noonday prepared to fight till the sun went down, or life went out....
Words: 1237 - Pages: 5
...The iDeal Reader Henry David Thoreau, ‘‘The Battle of the Ants’’ © The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2000 Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), transcendentalist essayist, naturalist, editor, and social critic, was born David Henry Thoreau in Concord, Massachusetts. Thoreau graduated from Harvard University and taught briefly at a school in Concord but resigned rather than be expected to strike his students. He ran his own school from 1838 to 1841, teaching Latin, Greek, and science. In 1938 Thoreau also began lecturing, which he continued intermittently, often emphasizing his strong opposition to slavery, but his message was not always well received. Thoreau began his lifelong friendship with Ralph Waldo Emerson when he tutored Emerson’s brother William in 1843 on Staten Island, boarding with Emerson and his wife. He helped Emerson edit the Transcendentalist magazine The Dial. Thoreau kept a journal at Emerson’s urging, which aided him in his writing. He took a canoe trip with his brother John during the first two weeks of September 1839, which experience he transformed into a volume of poems and essays entitled A Week on the Concord and Merrimac Rivers (1849). While he published 1000 copies himself, only about 300 sold. On July 4, 1845 Thoreau moved into a cabin on the shores of Walden Pond, on land belonging to Emerson, about two miles from Concord, and lived there alone for over two years. Thoreau condensed this outdoor life as if it were a single year in his...
Words: 1884 - Pages: 8
...possible suitors, he has ostracized himself from all others, which causes him extreme emotional pain. c. Example: The hidden statue is a metaphor to Narcissus’s inevitable fate. Significance: Just as the statue is difficult to see behind the mountain tops, Narcissus is unable to see his destiny, which is to die. Although it is difficult to detect, the constant presence of his pre-determined future is undeniable. 3. Body Paragraph #2 Juxtaposition d. Example: The figure of the living man contrasts sharply with the stone hand. Significance: This is the most explicit reference of the stark difference between the world in which Narcissus is alive and the realm after his death. Obviously, the living man, colored in warm reds and yellows, depicts a living Narcissus, full of emotion and vibrancy. On the other hand, the stone hand, colored in cold greys and silvers, indicates the eerie silence of his demise....
Words: 697 - Pages: 3
...Climate change Welcomes the Asian Needle Ant into its ecosystem The Asian needle ant is a native species of ant which has begun vastly spreading throughout the ecosystem; eliminating various native ant species and therefore corrupting how the ecosystem functions. The six-legged, brown-red insect appears to have an almost identical appearance to the Fire ant and Argentine ant; as well as 30 other species of ants. The Asian needle ant has already rapidly migrated from Asia, and can already be found in forests in 9 different states around North East America. It is not uncommon for ants to establish populations outside of their native habitat; with over 200 ant species already discovered in other habitats, with the international transportation and tourism trading system said to be the main cause. Guénard, Benoît, (2009) Formicidae. But what causes the Asian needle ants to invade new habitats and eliminate other ant species? Ants and their survival are greatly affected by changes in temperature and humidity. Therefore, climate change causes the colonisation of ant species in colder climates that are more suitable. Studies and experiments based on the distribution of the Argentine ant have proven that the major factor responsible for their numbers increasing Worldwide is due to climate change. The invasion of the Asian needle ant has had a large range of negative impacts on the ecosystem and its natural ecological functioning. The species is one of the most difficult to rid...
Words: 1283 - Pages: 6
...First Quarter Week 1 The Crow and the Pitcher Adapted from Aesop by Dinah C. Bonao On a hot summer day, a thirsty crow looked for water to drink. “It’s hot! I am thirsty!” said the crow. “I need to find water.” (Have the pupils predict: What do you think will the crow do?) The crow flew from one place to another looking for water to drink. He finally found a pitcher near a well. But there was only little water in the pitcher. He tried to drink from the pitcher but no matter how much he tried, he could not reach the water. “My beak is too big. The pitcher’s neck is very narrow. How will I get the water?” he thought. (Have the pupils predict: What do you think will the crow do so he could reach the water in the pitcher?) Then an idea came to the crow. He picked up some small stones. He dropped them into the pitcher one by one. (Have the pupils predict: After he had dropped some stones into the pitcher, what do you think will happen?) “One, two, three…” Plop, plip, plop. Little by little, the water rose in the pitcher. “Four, five, six…” Plop, plip, plop. The water rose some more. Soon the crow could reach the water. “Now, I can drink!” said the crow. “Ah! It’s cold and good!” Discussion Questions: 1. At the beginning of the story, what did the thirsty crow do? 2. Where did he find water? 3. Could he drink right away? Why not? 4. How do you think the crow felt when he could not drink? 5. What did the crow do then? 6. If you were the crow, what would you do? ...
Words: 3710 - Pages: 15
... The red on this boat seemed to slowly fade away as the sun receded into the clouds. Both mules on each side seemed to slightly lag behind the boat. All of a sudden a crack of lightning and a boom of thunder shook the plateau about 3 miles away from the boat. The planks on the boat shook with mighty force as a strong wind past through the trees and over the boat. Marco however was on...
Words: 680 - Pages: 3
...Good Things to Know about Worm Castings This is an overview of benefits known about worm castings. The overview is generated from information disseminated by such major Universities as Ohio State, Cornell University and UC Davis. This information also comes from other institutions and companies such as the California Vermiculture, LLC and the Australia SIRO. Their research goal was to establish the value of worm castings. Their test results have shown improved flower size, bloom quantity, quality, and color. Fruit and vegetable tests results have shown yield improvements from 15% to 57% as well as improvements in taste and appearance. The information you need to know and consider is presented below in a list format, which we believe is easier and quicker to reference and grasp. Some of the discoveries made will surprise you. Most people will be amazed by the following information if they have no prior exposure to the absolute beauty and completeness of the worm casting. Basic points to start: Worm Castings are the worm feces. The castings are made up of live biological organisms. The organisms include fungi, actinomycetes , beneficial bacteria, pseudomonads , plant growth regulators, yeasts, molds, trace elements and the famous N-P-K ratings used by fertilizers, to reference the Nitrogen, Phosphorus and K (which is the chemical symbol for Potassium) quantities promoted by the fertilizer industry (more on this below). Worm Castings are harmless to plants (in any dosage)...
Words: 1849 - Pages: 8
...lot of vegetation.! ! ! Boreal Forest Canada Plants:! The plants in the Boreal Forest, as said before, are mainly conical shaped plants that have needles. The conical shape and needles is to make sure that they aren't always covered in snow and so that the trees can survive the harsh winters. The main species of trees are firs and pines.! ! ! Animals:! Boreal forests, also known as taigas, are home to many species living species within the forest grounds. The forest is home to Arctic mammals such as black bears, Arctic foxes, Arctic wolves, geese, caribou, sheep, deer, moose, reindeer and ox. Birds are also abundant in the boreal forest, and they include the red tail hawk, eagles, owls and geese. There are not that many types of insects but there are some species, such as ants, mosquitoes and scorpions living inside the forest.! ! Weather:! The plants and animals that live in the Boreal Forest biome have to adapt to days that vary between 5 Degrees Celsius and -5 Degrees Celsius and are really cold. Winters are very long and particularly cold and the days are short. It rains a lot in Boreal Forests and varies between 20 and 200 cm per year. There is also a lot of snow in Boreal Forests and winter is generally long compared to summer The Boreal Forest biomes around Canada and at Russia share plant life and animal life. ! Interesting facts:!...
Words: 435 - Pages: 2
...Oksana Pervushina ANT 2511 Questions Module 13 1. What information has been discovered regarding his diet and lifestyle? Ice and cold weather have done a great job of reserving the iceman so well that scientist were able to identify his age and last meals. Approximately he had two meals before his death, but both included grain, possibly in the form of herb bread, roots and fruits. First meal, possibly consumed in a mid-altitude, consisted of ibex meat and einkorn. Second meal before his death was red deer meat and fresh vegetables. It is unclear of the food was cooked, but researchers have discovered ash scruples possibly from cooking on fire. Also evidence, isotope lodged in teeth animal, shows that people in this part of Europe, Valle Isarco, survived by agriculture and keeping animals. But other researches have studies his knees and discovered evidence of wear and tear caused by daily running and hunting routine. Also, Otzi’s tools, cooper blade ax, iron arrows, a firestarter, a dagger, support the theory that iceman have had hunting lifestyle and perhaps he was a leader in his village because of all fine weapons. 2. Did Otzi have tattoo’s?? If so, how many and what might they represent culturally? Otzi’s body has 57 tattoos bluish-black color in the forms of lines and crosses made with charcoal that was rubbed in his skin. Other scientists propose that tattoos were made from fireplace soot and injected beneath the skin with a bone or wooden needle. Archeologists...
Words: 724 - Pages: 3
...-CD Aeschylus The seven against Thebes of Aeschylus ?CO O -co Presented to the library of the UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO by Mr. Edgar Stone J£Vf<- J£ The Nelson Playbooks Edited by JOHN HAMPDEN, M.A. THE SEVEN AGAINST THEBES No. 304 THE VILLAGE DRAMA SOCIETY In association with the British Drama League The Society sends out sets of plays for selecand gives advice on questions of production. It will arrange Drama Schools, and provides Lecturers and Adjudicators. The Costume Department makes a speciality of beautiful and accurate historical costume, tion, taking into account not only stage lighting for indoor plays, but distance and daylight on outWell-known portraits have door performances. The department been copied in many instances. can now undertake to dress Pageants, Mystery plays, Shakespeare, Restoration, Eighteenth Century, and early Nineteenth Century plays, as well as Greek drama. Further particulars may be had from : The Hon. 274 Secretary, Village Drama Society, New Cross Road, London, S.E.14. The Seven Against Thebes of iEschylus RENDERED INTO ENGLISH VERSE BY EDWYN BEVAN AUTHOR OF "THE HOUSE OF SELEUCUS" THOMAS NELSON AND SONS, Ltd. LONDON AND EDINBURGH LIBRARY ( All rights in this translation ai-e reserved 3§ PREFACE Out of the old festivals of the wine-god, Dionysos, in which songs had been sung by a chorus, dealing with stories of the legendary past, there was developed at Athens, in the fifth century B.C., the drama,...
Words: 15869 - Pages: 64
