ECOLOGY PROJECT

Benjamin Sanchez Lopez

This area is located in my garden which is situated in Don Torcuato Bs As.

This area is formed by a Jacaranda tree, a daisy bush, part of the pool fence, a small fountain with clear rain water surrounded by geraniums. The area is covered by ryegrass.

Daisy bush

Jacaranda tree

Fountain

Pool fence

Geranium

RyeGrass

Weather of area and measurments

• Temperature: 31ºC • Type of day: Sunny day• Humidity: 37%• Wind: 17 kph• Chance of rain: 0.00%• Pressure: 1.012 mb• Visibility: 10 km• Date: 15/11/014

The area measurment: 5m x 7m

Daisies: this variety has yellow petals surrounding yellow center. They bloom over a long period, from early summer until fall. The bright flowers contrast nicely with the glossy, dark green foliage, forming bushes. The flowers are also suitable for cutting.These daises are easy to take care and are considered of as low maintenance plants, and they attract butterflies and bees. 

Jacaranda tree: it is a sub-tropical tree native to south and central America that has been widely planted because of its beautiful and long-lasting blue flowers.The tree grows to a height of 5 to 15 m . Its bark is thin and grey-brown in color. The twigs are slender and slightly zigzag. The flowers are up to 5 cm long, and are grouped in panicles. They appear in spring and early summer, and last for up to two months. They are followed by woody seed pods which contain numerous flat, winged seeds.

Geranium: An easy-to-grow perennial, geranium is often used in borders and as a ground cover. Can grow in different conditions from full sun to shade. Flower colors include pink, blue, white, and purple. Most geraniums bloom in midsummer, although some species will bloom in Spring and fall. 

Clover is a legume, meaning it fixes nitrogen from the air and puts it into the soil. It's an amazing chemical process, one that reduces the need for additional nitrogen from fertilizers.Its a weed killer

Weed: Crabgrass is fast-growing annual that reproduces by seeds and by rooting at the lower joints. This weed appears from mid-spring through summer when the ground is warm. They have to be extracted as soon as they appear because they reproduce fast. You have to dig it out by the roots with a spading fork. Perennial ryegrass is the best competition for crabgrass. Fertilizing is key and must be done in the spring and in the fall to prevent weeds.

Perennial ryegrass: it has become the most widely planted extensively,. From home lawns to athletic fields to golf course tees, fairways, and rough areas this is an important grass.Perennial ryegrass is a cool season perennial bunchgrass best adapted to mild climate areas.

This is a Shar-pei dog and he is 3 years old, this race cames from China.

A street dog of less than one year old

Secondary and terciary consumers (both like to hunt birds)

Lark: Belong to a large family of perching birds, of terrestrial habitats . Native to America . Their colors and markings vary from different geographic areas but generally have mixed brown spots and grays above and the underparts are yellow or white with black about to the head and throat. They run well and hop. They like to live near people and don´t become afraid of them

Sparrow: They are found in all America, and are generally social birds, with many species breeding in loose colonies and most species occurring in flocks during the non-breeding season. You can find House Sparrows in most places where there are houses or other buildings. In cities you may see some that are dull and grubby. Females are a plain buffy-brown overall with dingy gray-brown under parts. Their backs are noticeably striped with buff, black, and brown.

Eaglet: Predators, they are birds of pray and hunt by day.Carnivores they eat reptiles, small mammals, fish and small birds. Their nests are in top of the trees.Eagles are different from many other birds of prey mainly by their larger size, more powerful build, and heavier head and beak.

The common ground dove (Columbina passerina) is a small bird that inhabits in all America. As its name suggests, the bird spends the majority of its time on the ground walking but still has the ability to fly.The common ground dove lives in open areas that have trees and bushes. They are also found in forests with sandy areas, farmlands, and savannahs and near human infrastructure. Common ground doves seem to hold territories but they are rarely aggressive when dealing with intruders.The common ground dove feeds on vegetation, seeds and fruits. It can also feed on insects and will feed from bird feeders if available to them. They often eat while they are still moving and searching for other food items. Common ground doves can suck water into their beak and swallow it by lifting their heads, which is a common feature shared with other members of its family.

Snail: members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have a coiled shell that is large enough for the animal to retract completely into. Garden snails produce a layer of mucus on which they slide.It has a reputation as a garden raider because iteats every plant in our garden. A snail can easily cover a meter in 5 minutes, so in the course of an evening a snail can travel the length of a football field and back. .

Ants: are social insects living in colonies comprised of one or a few queens, and many workers. The queen generally stays deep and safe within a nest. Most ants that you see are workers and these are all females. Depending on species, workers may be similar in size, or come in a range of sizes.Ants tend to come in dark or earth tones. Different species are black, earth-tone reds, pale tans, and basic browns.They feed on green leaves.Most ant species live in the soil. Some, like the carpenter ants, also live in wood (they excavate, but do not actually eat the wood). Some ants live in cavities made inside plants, such as acorns, twigs, and galls.A variety of reptiles or amphibians (particularly toads and lizards), spiders, other insects such as assassin bugs, and other ants may prey on workers. Bats, birds, and occasionally, people capture and kill or eat the flying males and females.

Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica, and have become established in nearly every habitat with the exceptions of air and sea colonization.

The habits of housefly make it suitable for the spread of disease as they breed in fresh horse manure, human excreta, garbage, decaying fruit and vegetables. Flies are attracted to food by its sense of smell. It can not eat solid food. It vomits on solid food to make a solution of it and then suck it in a liquid state. The housefly has the habit of defecation constantly all the day. Thus it deposits countless bacteria on exposed food. This is what brings so many diseases.

Mosquitoes are insects that have been around for more than 30 million years. And it seems that, during those millions of years, mosquitoes have been honing their skills so that they are now experts at finding people to bite. Mosquitoes have a battery of sensors designed to track their prey, including:Chemical sensors - mosquitoes can sense carbon dioxide and lactic acid up to 36 meters away. Mammals and birds gives off these gases as part of their normal breathing. Certain chemicals in sweat also seem to attract mosquitoesVisual sensors - if you are wearing clothing that contrasts with the background, and especially if you move while wearing that clothing, mosquitoes can see you and zero in on you.Heat sensors - Mosquitoes can detect heat, so they can find warm-blooded mammals and birds very easily once they get close enough.

Counting the number of individuals of each species• Trees:

Jacaranda tree (one)

• Bushes: Daisy bushes(two)

• Grasses:20x20cm (564) so in 5x7=35 (49350000)

• Flowers:• insects.:fly(one)

, snail(one), mosquitos(3), ants(7)

• Birds:Doves(5), calandria(2), aguilucho(1), gorrion(1)

• Dogs:shar-pei(1), street dog(1)

0,02x0,02=0,004m27x5=35m20,004m2----------564 35------------49350000Grass calculation

Food chain

Producer:grass(10000 joules=100% of energy)

Primary consumer:snail (1000 joules=10%of energy)

Secondary consumer: bird lark ( 100 joules=1% energy)

Terciary consumer:dog shar-pei (10 joules=0.1% of energy)

Food chain

Producer: trebol (10000 joules=100% of energy)

Primary consumer:ant(1000 joules=10%of energy)

Secondary consumer:spider ( 100 joules=1% energy)

Terciary consumer:dove (10 joules=0.1% of energy)

ENERGY LOSS

At each level of the food chains , 90% of the energy is lost in the form of heat and in the metabolic processes of each consumer.

As only the 10% of the energy produced is transfered to the next trophic level, by the time the energy flows to the tertiary consumer only 0,1% is received by it.

This is why not more than 3 or 4 levels are seen in Nature, the energy absortion is less in each trophy level.

Food web

Producers:reygrass geranium , cloverPrimary consumer: Ant and snailSecondary:lark, spider and doveTerciary: eaglet, lark, dog and dove.

Human impact

insecticides:(insects)

Herbicide:(plants)

Human impactPESTICIDES Pesticides are the only toxic substances released intentionally into our environment to kill living things. This includes substances that kill weeds (herbicides), insects (insecticides), fungus (fungicides), rodents (rodenticides), and others.The use of toxic pesticides to manage pest problems has become a common practice around the world. Pesticides are used almost everywhere . In the area I am analyzing pesticides are regularly sprayed , insecticides to kill ants and herbicides to stop weeds.

   

Human impact

Insecticides are toxic to living organisms. Some can accumulate in water systems, pollute the air, and in some cases have other dramatic environmental effects.When ants are killed, the food chains are altered. Many consumers don`t have their food .It is important to understand that not only ants are killed but also soil microorganisms, and worms which naturally limit pest populations and maintain soil health

The use of herbicides can also weaken plant root systems and immune systems reducing concentrations of essential plant nutrients in the soil such as nitrogen and phosphorous.I have realized that through several years of using pesticides, my area has less butterflies, bees and frogs. They have left the area because of the pesticides. I can conclude that pesticides destroy trophic levels altering the food chains and webs too.

Human impact

Fountain: Build and placed by humans.This fountain was placed in the area by my mother producing a good human impact. Birds when it is full of water come to it to drink and this gives the presence of a trophic level formed by doves, larks, sparrows in this environment.

Positive human impact

Solutions

solutions1- reduce the amount of pesticides used2- use natural pesticides: Natural Pesticides – Pyrethrum, garlic, hot peppers, Natural Herbicides – Citrus oil, corn gluten meal 3-If you feel use is unavoidable, consider using a pesticide bait product.This type of application can reduce unwanted exposure. Because they containPoison, it is crucial to always place baits out of the reach of children, pets, and wildlife.

The infotmation abot the animals,insects and plants were taken from the internet.

By Benjamin Sanchez Lopez