Ecology

Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment.

Food chain

A food chain shows how each living thing gets its food. Some animals eat plants and some animals eat other animals.

Food web

A food web depicts feeding connections in an ecological community . A food web can also be a couple of food chains interwoven.

Biome

Biomes are larger units of organization that categorize regions of

the Earth's ecosystems mainly according to the structure and

composition of vegetation.

 

Tropic pyramid 

A tropic level is defined as "a group of organisms acquiring a

considerable majority of its energy from the adjacent level

nearer the a biotic source."

Keystone species

A keystone species is a species that is disproportionately

connected to more species in the food-web.

 

Migration 

Animal migration is set apart from other kinds of movement

because it involves the seasonal departure and return of

individuals from one habitat to another. Many bird species

migrate to take advantage of global differences of seasonal

temperatures, therefore optimizing availability of food sources

and breeding habitat..

Migration

Land birds have a flight range of around 2,500 km

Shorebirds can fly up to 4,000 km

Some bird species undertake shorter migrations, travelling only

as far as is required to avoid bad weather or obtain food.

•Reptiles

•Reptiles are air-breathing which are characterized by laying shelled eggs

•some vipers and constrictor snakes give live birth

Three Main Types of Reptiles

"Squamata"---Largest Branch of the Reptilian Family

"Crocodilia" -- Last of the Ruling Reptiles

"Testudines"---The Oldest Reptiles

•Snake venom

NEUROTOXIC: Attacks the nervous system , and causes the victim to suffocate to death.  

SITOTOXIC: Damages the tissue , causing necrosis , and the victim will die because of the serious necrosis and blood loss.  

HEMOTOXIC: Damages the blood vessels , and this causes the blood to become very thin. The victim will eventually bleed to death , and this takes usually about 3-5 days.  

MIOTOXIC: Is a mixture between hemotoxic and neurotoxic  venom , and has the affects of both venom's.

What is an amphibian

What is an amphibian

•Amphibians are characterized as cold-blooded

 •Many amphibians lay their eggs in water. Amphibians are superficially similar to reptiles 

•A juvenile are water-breathing form to an adult air-breathing

Toad

Toads cannot transmit warts to people through handling or skin contact. The bumps on a toad's 

skin help the animal blend into its environment visually by breaking up its outline . A group of toads

are called a knot

   

Frog

Frogs are most noticeable by their call, which can be widely heard during the night or day. A popular

distinction is often made between frogs and toads on the basis of their appearance, but this has no

taxonomic basis . 

 

Frog call

Some frog calls are so loud, they can be heard up to a mile away. The call of a frog is unique to its

species

Some frogs lack vocal sacs , but these species can still produce a loud call.

The main reason for calling is to allow males to attract a mate.

Trees

Maroela

Inner bark of the marula tree may be applied to scorpion stings and snake bites to alleviate pain. The leaves are chewed on to help indigestion and to treat heartburn. Marula oil, made from the seed kernel, can be used as a type of skin care oil.

Sekelbos

A lotion made from the leaves and bark is used to rinse out the mouth and to soak a cloth which is bound around the head to soothe headaches.
Eyes - The dried seedpods make a soothing eyewash for red, tired eyes.
Snakebites, insect stings - Snakebites, scorpion stings and insect stings are treated with the leaf and bark - the leaf is chewed well and then applied and bound over the area.
Stomach pains, diarrhoea - The leaf can be chewed to ease colic and heartburn and can be made into a tea to remedy stomach ailments and diarrhoea.
Wounds - A lotion made from the leaves and bark is used as a wound cleanser and healer. Dried powdered bark is sprinkled onto the wound to promote healing.
Skin - Dried powdered bark is directly applied to skin eruptions, sores, blisters and abscesses for both man and animal.
Chest - In Zimbabwe the dried leaf and root is smoked for pulmonary tuberculosis and chest ailments, and to clear the head during a cold.

Birds

Brood parasites

The egg-layer leaves her eggs with another birds nest, is more common among birds than any other type of organism. After a parasitic bird lays her eggs in another bird's nest, they are often accepted and raised by the host at the expense of the host's own brood.

Brood birds must lay their eggs in the nests of other species because they are incapable of raising their own young. Some brood parasites are adapted to hatch before their host's young, which allows them to destroy the host's eggs by pushing them out of the nest or to kill the host's chicks

Bird feathers

Feathers are a feature characteristic of birds. There are several types of feathers, each serving its own set of purposes. Feathers are epidermal growths attached to the skin and arise only in specific tracts of skin called pterylae. The distribution pattern of these feather tracts (pterylosis) is used in taxonomy and systematic. Feathers require maintenance and birds preen or groom them daily, spending an average of around 9% of their daily time on this.

Migration

Many bird species migrate to take advantage of global differences of seasonal temperatures, therefore optimizing availability of food sources and breeding habitat.

Land birds have a flight range of around 2,500 km

Shorebirds can fly up to 4,000 km

Some bird species undertake shorter migrations, travelling only as far as is required to avoid bad weather or obtain food.

Mating

During breeding season in response to the hormones, the male's testes become several hundred times larger than normal to produce sperm, with the left testis usually larger. The female bird's ovaries also enlarge during breeding season to produce the ovum. Female birds usually only have one functional ovary, the left one.

Over 90 percent of birds are considered monogamous. Most birds keep the same mate for the entire mating season and some stay paired for their entire life. Courtship, generally the male's responsibility, usually entails singing but can also consist of tail drumming or dancing.