Goldenrod

The goals of this study was to find interactions between the goldenrods that had the gall and the ones that where besides them but without the gall. There were 15 pairs and each pair where cut from the bottom and all the fifteen pairs where find in the same area and this could cause less variation in the data. When comparing the means of the goldenrods flowers the ones that had the gall weighs more than the ones without the gall and this could been since there are insects parasitizing the gall and the other ones do not have a gall and insects do not mess with it as much that the ones that have the gall. The goldenrods with the gall where heavier than the ones that had no gall and this could be because the gall is on top and the golden rod should…

Solidago Canadensis (Canada Goldenrod) is an invasive species found in most of the United States, Canada and recently introduced to Europe and parts of Asia. It grows from August to October, when exposed to sunlight or partial shade, preferring moist environments, that lack trees and can grow well after a perturbation. Mostly pollinated by butterflies, bees and other insects (because it provides pollen and nectar) it is commonly use as bovine food, to produce honey or as a medicinal plant (for…

A beautiful flower prized in Europe, our Goldenrods, are treated as weeds and destroyed every year and Ragweeds flourish and cause seasonal misery. A botanist would point out that even Ragweeds have great value to wildlife, many birds and small rodents eat the seeds of the plant in winter as the seed heads are often above the snow. That is the botany of the plants and the psychology of humans and the fallacies they fall for. In this case, “seeing it with your own eyes,” is not going to help…

New England Forests When the pilgrims arrived in 1620, they cut down most of the forests in the New England area in order to clear land for farming and to build houses. However, from 1850 to 1950, many people abandoned farms in favor of jobs in the textile industry. Others moved away because the land in the Midwest was cheaper. In any case, once these farmers left, the forest ecosystem began to recover. Seeds were carried to the abandoned fields by animals and the wind. Over time, the fields had…

Determining the affects of natural selection on gall fly (Eurosta) larvae from different predators Ariel O’Neil Biology 1020H Abstract This lab was done with the objective of determining if directional selection causes early larvae death in the gall fly. By first examining the parasitoid wasp and birds predatory actions we can hypothesize and predict the smaller galls will be most likely to survive directional selection. To figure out if this is true or not a large variety of goldenrod galls…

Nebraska has many natural resources. Nebraska’s most important products are beef cattle, corn, soybeans, and hogs. Livestock products account for about 2/3 of Nebraska’s farm income, and beef cattle are the most important source, followed by hogs. Corn is Nebraska’s most important crop, with much of it going to feed cattle and hogs. Petroleum, sand and gravel, clays for bricks, tiles, and pottery are also important resources. Two thirds of the High Plains Aquifer lie under Nebraska. Nebraska may…

The other types of prairie plants are called forbs and their names are the rosinweed, saw-toothed sunflower, wild bergamot, yellow coneflower, black-eyed Susan, compass plant, cup plant, new England aster, prairie dock, rattlesnake master, stiff goldenrod, tall coreopsis, blazing star, culver’s root, mountain mint, purple coneflower, shooting star, showy tick trefoil, wild indigo, and the wild quinine. Those are all the prairie plants. Some facts on the prairies are that the prairies tall grass…

defend the plants against predators like herbivores. Historical Account: Bees and flowers: In the article “Bumble Bee Predators Reduce Pollinator Density and Plant Fitness” Author and researcher Reuven Dukas conducted this study to find out the if predatory activity by bumble bee wolves also known as bee killer wasps were negatively affected by the bumble bee density at flower patches and, fruit production of the bumble bee pollinated western monkshood. The data was collected between the…

This is a low-growing and small flower barely growing a few inches. The petals and young leaves of this violet are edible. The leaves of the Viola Sororia do not grow off the stem making it look like the leaves are a part of a different plant. Canada Anemone The Canada Anemone is native to most of North America. This flower is a part of the Buttercup Family. This is a white flower with five petals and three to five parted leaves. The Canada Anemone can become aggressive in conditions that are…

Increasing carbon dioxide levels are causing the bees to potentially have to find a new source of food. Pollen gives bees their only source of protein. This means that if pollen is somehow changed the bees could be affected by it directly. Supposedly the rising carbon dioxide levels “sap the nutritional quality of pollen”(Millius). Protein in the goldenrod plant species has gone down from eighteen percent to twelve percent over the last 172 years. During this time is is said that carbon…