Invasive Species Competition

Invasive species are new to the earth and pose threats to many lives and the environment. They are knows as Alien Species because to many of us they are unknown. I chose five different types of Invasive Species particularly from South America and most of them that I found were from Brazil. I named five different criteria to specify each species such as: Organism name, description, areas found in, general impacts and geographical range.
The following name of the species are shown below along with the assessment with the criteria:

1. Scientific name: Acacia longifolia  
    Organism type: Tree or shrub
    Description: Small tree, bushy shrub, thin, size varies from 5-20 cm
    Areas found in:  Coast land, grasslands, shrub lands
    General impacts: Reduction in bio-diversity, changes in ecosystem and in habitats
    Geographical range: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, India, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Java, Myanmar, New Zealand, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka

2. Scientific name: Acacia melanoxylon
    Organism type: Tree
    Description: Evergreen tree, 8-15 m, straight trunk, heavy branches
    Areas found in:  Coast land, agricultural areas, natural forests, grasslands, planted forests, shrub lands,    estuarine habitats, urban areas, wetlands
    General impacts: Replaces non-native tree vegetation (e.x. grassland), invades the understorey of relatively open pine and eucalypt plantations. They block water flow in river/streams if the tree falls.
    Geographical range: Africa, Asia, Europe, India ocean, Pacific ocean, South America, United States

3. Scientific name: Acanthus mollis
    Organism type: Herb
    Description: Perennial herb, upright hairless stems (one metre), leaves grow upto 50 cm.
    Areas found in:  Coast land, riparian zones, natural forests
    General impacts: They form dense infestations under forest canopies. This supresses the growth and regeneration of native plant species.
    Geographical range: Natural ecosystems in Australia and has spread to several other states.

4. Scientific name: Achatina fulica
    Organism type: Mollusc
    Description: Narrow, conical shell which has a reddish-brown coloured, yellowish vertical markings, light-coffee is the common colour, adults are 20 cm long and their average weight is 32 g.
    Areas found in:  Coast land,agricultural areas, natural forests, planted forests, shrublands, urban areas, wetlands
    General impacts: damages tropical agriculture where there is loss of crop yield caused by herbivory, spread of diseases through transmissions of plant pathogens.
    Geographical range: Africa, United States, Asia, Pacific areas, Brazil

5. Scientific name: Aedes aegypti
    Organism type: Insect
    Description: Female mosquito that relies on human blood and passes on her virus through the skin
    Areas found in:  tropic, suburban, urban, subtropic
    General impacts: Causes yellow fever through transformation of viral blood from person to person. It is responsible for yellow fever virus and dengue virus
    Geographical range: Asia, Europe, United States, South America, Australia and Africa

It is easy to eliminate any specie based on one criteria where it is weak at. It would be easy to eliminate Acacia longifolia first because it is similar to Acacia melanoxylon and it is not found in many areas as well as it does not have as strong impacts as Acacia melanoxylon has. Achatina fulica and Aedes aegypti are very competitive because Achatina strongly effects the agriculture and Aedes has a tremendous effect on the human population. They both are widespread and it is very difficult to try to figure out which one is the most dangerous invasive specie.

Meat Consumption

"The UN says to reduce meat consumption to curb global warming."
I believe that humans should reduce meat consumption in order to prevent global warming and to improve their own health.
Article: UN says eat less meat to curb global warming
Stanza: The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation has estimated that meat production accounts for nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. These are generated during the production of animal feeds, for example, while ruminants, particularly cows, emit methane, which is 23 times more effective as a global warming agent than carbon dioxide.The agency has also warned that meat consumption is set to double by the middle century. (lines 17-21)
This particular stanza contributes an important piece of not only information but also advice to all of us. As we all know, everyone likes meat and consume meat every week. Meat consumption is increasing ever week. Juliette Jowet, the author of this article is a climate expert and an environment editor. I will use her as my reference in order to support my claim. She strongly recommends for a radical shift in diet. As an expert in climate, she can show the drastic effects on humans and its effect on food.
This article came out on The Observer on September 7 2008.  This particular stanza caught my attention because it has the main arguments that act as a defense for my argument. Her purpose of writing this article is intended for readers such as us to catch attention and to be aware of where our health is heading towards. The author is considered about health concerns and the impact of meat consumption on the environment. As she has mentioned, meat production causes an increase in a fifth global greenhouse gas emission. This will cause more global warming which will make the environment easily prone to disasters. If humans keep up the current pace of the percentage of meat they consume every week, Jowet claims that it is possible that it is set to double by the middle century. Therefore, consumers must impose limits on their diet and go for a healthier and better life-style.
I am basically not telling people to sharply decrease meat consumption but rather decrease it little by little every week. Cows can be useful in other agricultural and economical ways. For instance, cow milk is necessary because it provides nutritions and vitamin D that are essential for human health and growth. Cow dung is useful for growth of plants. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain cow population steady not only for its natural purposes but also for the future generation. If cow consumption is not controlled, there may be a time when cows will be extinct along with the disasters the next generation will have to face altogether.

Is the Indian Embassy field biologically diverse

The Indian embassy field is a diverse field because it is both biologically rich and even. This idea can be supported by the data we compared with all the Biology classes. There are 56 species with 193 units of the species in total. There is richness present because there is a large number of different species present. There is evenness present because even though there is a variety of plants, they are evenly distributed across the land.

Using the Simpson’s index, 

I can say that D = (3524) / (37056) = 0.095.

The solution to the equation is equal to 0.095 which is a number close to 0, which means the area is biologically diverse.

Using Simpson’s index of diversity 

I can say that D = 1 - 0.095 = 0.905 which is a number close to 1, which means the area is biologically diverse.

0.905 + 0.095 = 1, which would make the field 100% diverse but according to the solution, the Indian embassy field is 90.5% diverse.

Plant Measurements

My research plant's name is Cega-machado.
The measurements taken from my plant in the school campus:

Size:

• Height of plant: 165 in.
• Crown: 167 in.
• Diameter at breast height (DBH):  14 cm

Light penetration of leaf:

• Light penetration without leaf: 101826 lux
• Light penetration with leaf at the top of tree: 3530 lux
• Light penetration with leaf at the middle of tree: 3446 lux
• Light penetration with leaf at the bottom of tree: 3228 lux
• Average of light penetration of all leaves: 3401 lux

pH of soil:

• Amount of liquid: 40 ml
• Amount of soil: 20 g
• pH of soil taken from crown (right): 6.4 pH 
• Nutrients in the soil: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulfur, Calcium, Magnesium, Manganese, Copper and Zinc
• pH of soil taken from crown (left): 6.29 pH
• Nutrients in the soil: Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulfur, Manganese, Copper and Zinc
• Average of pH: 6.35

How has my plant adapted successfully in its habitat?

My plant has adapted to its environment through natural selection to be successful in its natural habitat. Natural selection is "Differential Reproductive Success". Long time back, my plant may have looked like something else. It would be only capable of living in its old environment. But with time, things change. Such as bacteria, air, humidity, insects, etc. After the Industrial Revolution, the coal from industries caused the trees to turn black. With this, the leaves changed and with time, they adapted themselves to such environment. Insects change depending on the various types of pollen they take from various plants. So when they come to that tree, they tree eventually changed since the insects drop the pollen on a plant they receive from other plants or trees.
My plant is not from Brasilia since all the plants surrounding it were brought from other places. Brasilia historically was an empty red land with hardly any life in it. The land was devastated. My plant has adapted to the weather, the Brazilian red soil and the different insects and bugs around this place. It has drastically changed due to the time period it has stayed here. 

The plant may possibly have symbiosis with the organisms around here and the soil in which the plant was kept together since years. It is the soil and the weather that will provide all the necessary minerals to that specific plant and help it to grow into a tree.