Ecosystem Services

2019-05-03T01:32:23Z

Ktcrease: /* Regulating services */

Ecosystem Services

2019-05-03T01:31:56Z

Ktcrease: /* Provisioning services */

Ecosystem Services

2019-05-03T01:31:00Z

Ktcrease: /* Supporting services */

Ecosystem Services

2019-05-03T01:30:36Z

Ktcrease: /* Supporting services */

Coprophagia

2019-05-03T01:25:43Z

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[[File:Millipede.jpg|175px|thumb|right|Some species of Diplopods are obligate coprophages.]]
== Definition ==
'''Coprophagia''' or '''Coprophagy''' are terms associated with the act of consuming feces. The word is derivative of the Greek κόπρος (copros), "feces" and φαγεῖν (phagein), "to eat". ''Coprophagy'' comes in many different flavors; ''heterospecifics'' consume the feces of other species, ''allocoprophagy'' is the consumption of the feces of an individual of the same species and ''autocoprophagy'' is the consumption of one's own feces. It is typical of some animal species to eat feces, lagomorphs do so to allow tough plant material to digest more efficiently via two passages through the digestive tract. Other species may eat feces under specific behavioral conditions that are beneficial to the species, its symbiont and the surrounding environment. Coprophagous organisms are geographically and morphologically diverse and consist of mega-, macro-, and mesofauna.

[[File:dungbeetle.jpg|thumb|left|Two ''Scarabaeus sacer'' individuals rolling a ball of dung]]

== Invertebrates ==
Coprophagous insects of the [[Hexapod]] group of the [[Arthropod]] phylum, consume and digest the feces of larger species, such as mammals, because they have digestive tracts of lesser efficiency when it comes to breaking down nutrients in foods and making them biologically available for further uptake by plants or animals. In isopods, the inability to absorb nutrients from food in the posterior hindgut has been considered one reason for coprophagy [5]. When given the choice, isopods will participate in allocoprophagy or autocoprophatgy. The consumption of feces by isopods is thought to be linked to a deficiency in copper concentrations in the body due to the lack of availability of copper in leaf litter. Some species of flies and Dung Beetles are known to be coprophagic, they feed on the microorganism-rich excrement of other species. Dung Beetles make balls of dung by rolling them, they then bury the balls underground and lay there eggs within it.

A common temporary resident in the soils of temperate deciduous forests, the [[Hawthorn fly]] is plays an important role in leaf litter decomposition and exploits the rich resources in the feces of other soil organisms as another source of food [1]. Some coprophagic earthworms' affinity for feces enriched soil make them important disseminators of some microbial pathogens such as ''T. gondii'' [2].

[[File:Psilocybe.jpg|thumb|right|Some ''Psilocybe cubensis'' growing on a pile of dung.]]

== Coprophilous Fungi ==
Coprophilous Fungi such as species ''Cheilymenia'' are a type of [[saprobic]] [[ascomycete]] that feed and grow on the animal dung. The species of this group of fungi can be highly specialized and prefer the dung of one species of herbivore, or they may be generalized and not prefer any one type of herbivore dung. The spores of this fungi are unwittingly consumed by animals from vegetation, then excreted with the plant matter. These fungi often have thick-walled, pigmented spores that require passage through an animal digestive tract to begin germination [7]. The fruiting bodies, or mushrooms, of these fungi can be seen on top of dung piles. What is most interesting is that there exist vast mycelial networks within the dung piles that allow for the succession of the fruiting bodies. [[Psilocybe]], [[Panaeolus]], and [[Coprinus]] species are also sometimes found growing out of dung [3]. Fossils of certain coprophilous fungi species have been used by archaeologists to determine which types of animals were being domesticated around the initial forest disturbances by humans in the early Holocene deposits [7].

[[File:Nutrient Cycling.jpg|thumb|left|A diagram of nutrient cycling]]

== Nutrient Cycling ==
Coprophagous organisms can help an ecosystem cycle nutrients by breaking down materials that are not yet biologically available to plants for uptake and use. Biological aging or ''scenescence'' is the gradual deterioration of the functional characteristics of organic material, it results in the loss of nutrients to the environment. While the scope of importance of coprophagy in the field is not yet known, it is postulated that coprophagy by saprophagous soil animals that preferentially feed on the feces of [[phytophagous insects]] may add a further trophic level to soil–plant–animal interactions and increase the diversity of involved processes [6]. It is also suggested that nutrients are released faster by the feces of phytophagous insects than by leaf litter and that coprophagy by isopods may contribute to fast cycling of nutrients in the growing season of deciduous forests. It is suggested that nutrients released by coprophagous isopods may contribute to the regrowth by defoliated trees [6]. One study has found that the presence of coprophagous isopods resulted in an increase in both Calcium concentration and the [[C:N ratio]] of soils while deacreasing Potassium and Magnesium concentrations in soils over a twelve week period [6].

Coprophagous soil arthropods such as the ''Porcelio scaber'' isopod can increase nutrient release from animal frass and leaf litter via multiple digestions of the organic material [4]. The activity and respiration of soil microbes has been shown to increase in the presence of coprophagous [[detritivores]] in experimental settings [4]. Microbial inoculated feces represent microbial 'hotspots' in soil, they create gradients along airborne microbial metabolites that may attract foraging coprophagous isopods to the microbial hotspot [5]. Due to their feeding activity, terrestrial isopods contribute to decomposition processes by breaking down leaf litter and by promoting microbial activity. By ingesting their own feces which have been colonized by bacteria, the isopods can benefit from the presence of the microbes in their gut. The presence of such microbes in the gut helps the isopods to further absorb nutrients and then pass them into the soil [5].

== References ==
1. A. Špaldoňová, ''The role of soil microfauna in organic matter decomposition and stabilization'', (Charles University in Prague: Faculty of Science, 2014), 3.3.

2. S. Bettiol, et al., ''Earthworms as Paratenic Hosts of Toxoplasmosis in Eastern Barred Bandicoots in Tasmania'', (Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 2000), 147.

3. H. Lepp, ''Dung Fungi'', (Information about Australia's Flora: Fungal ecology, 2013).

4. M. Madritch, et al., ''Canopy herbivory can mediate the influence of plant genotype on soil processes through frass deposition'', (Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2007).

5. M. Zimmer, ''Nutrition in terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscidea): an evolutionary-ecological approach'', (Zoologists Institute, 2002).

6. M. Zimmer, et al., ''The role of coprophagy in nutrient release from feces of phytophagous insects'', (Soil Biology and Biochemistry, 2002).

7. J. López-Sáez, et al., ''Coprophilous fungi as a source of information of anthropic activities during the Prehistory in the Amblés Valley (Ávila, Spain): The archaeopalynological record'', (Institute of Geology and Minerals of Spain, 2007).

Ecosystem Services

2019-05-02T19:14:40Z

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Amoeba

2019-04-29T23:57:19Z

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=Description=
Amoebas, amoebae, or amoeboids is a generalised terminology that refers to a particular type of motile organism. Amoebas are eukaryotic cells or organisms composed of a single cell that modify their shape as a means of motile action. These types of organisms are found in protozoa, fungi and animal lineages.[1] Amoebas are found in abundant numbers across the planet, either in a hard outer shell, known as “testate” or “naked” without one. [2]

=Movement=
[[File:Pseudopodia.jpg|right|thumb|caption|The various forms of pseudopods [4]]]
The many different types of amoeba move through a structure known as a pseudopod, which means “false foot.” These are bends of the plasma membrane which allow the cytoplasm of a cell to spill into a particular direction, and then serve as an anchor to pull the rest of the cell in the desired direction. The action of the plasma membrane is controlled by actin filaments, similar to how our muscles flex. [3] These pseudopods can take on a myriad of forms, ranging from branching filamented protrusions, bloblike lobes or thin tapering points. [4]

=Anatomy=
[[File:Amoeba.jpg|left|thumb|caption|The various the various organelles of an amoeba (EnchantedLearning.com, Copyright 2001-2016)]]
Amoebas, across their multitude of taxonomic distributions, vary greatly in their anatomical morphologies. Different species of amoebas that live in different environments have pressures to survive that require unique solutions. Some amoeba, known as testate amoeba have a hard outer shell with which they protect themselves from harm. These shells vary greatly based on species, and can be made of a multitude of substances containing silica, calcium, chitin, sand grains and diatoms. [2] The osmotic potential of water in an amoeba is subject to high variability in freshwater systems, and as such amoeba in this environment require the use of a contractile vacuole. This organelle can pull or release water as needed to maintain stable conditions. [3]

=Dietary Processes=
The major action by which amoebas consume matter is through a process known as phagocytosis. When an amoeba encounters a particle of food, it responds by surrounding the particle with its various pseudopods, creating a vacuole of the food within its cytoplasm, and digests it with enzymes before releasing the processed material into its environment. Amoebas consume a variety of things, ranging from algae, bacteria, other protists to dead or decaying matter.[4] Protozoan amoebas are responsible for the consumption of massive amounts of bacteria. The growth of these protozoan amoebas in response to bacterial growth is thought to assist in the nutrient cycling and brings nutrients such as nitrogen from decaying matter closer to the root systems of plants. [5]

[1] "The Amoebae". The University of Edinburgh. Archived from the original

[2]Ogden, C. G. (1980). An Atlas of Freshwater Testate Amoeba. Oxford, London, and Glasgow: Oxford University Press, for British Museum (Natural History). pp. 1–5. ISBN 978-0198585022.

[3]Alberts Eds.; et al. (2007). Molecular Biology of the Cell 5th Edition. New York: Garland Science. ISBN 9780815341055.

[4]David J. Patterson. "Amoebae: Protists Which Move and Feed Using Pseudopodia". Tree of Life web project.

[5]Clarholm, M. (1981). Protozoan grazing of bacteria in soil—impact and importance. Microbial Ecology,7(4), 343-350. doi:10.1007/bf02341429

[6]Thorp, James H. (2001). Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates. San Diego: Academic. p. 71. ISBN 0-12-690647-5.

Amoeba

2019-04-29T23:25:21Z

Ktcrease: Created page with "=Description= Amoebas, amoebae, or amoeboids is a generalised terminology that refers to a particular type of motile organism. Amoebas are eukaryotic cells or organisms compos..."

=Description=
Amoebas, amoebae, or amoeboids is a generalised terminology that refers to a particular type of motile organism. Amoebas are eukaryotic cells or organisms composed of a single cell that modify their shape as a means of motile action. These types of organisms are found in protozoa, fungi and animal lineages.[1] Amoebas are found in abundant numbers across the planet, either in a hard outer shell, known as “testate” or “naked” without one. [2]

=Movement=
[[File:Pseudopodia.jpg|right|thumb|caption|The various forms of pseudopods [4]]]
The many different types of amoeba move through a structure known as a pseudopod, which means “false foot.” These are bends of the plasma membrane which allow the cytoplasm of a cell to spill into a particular direction, and then serve as an anchor to pull the rest of the cell in the desired direction. The action of the plasma membrane is controlled by actin filaments, similar to how our muscles flex. [3] These pseudopods can take on a myriad of forms, ranging from branching filamented protrusions, bloblike lobes or thin tapering points. [4]

=Anatomy=
Amoebas, across their multitude of taxonomic distributions, vary greatly in their anatomical morphologies. Different species of amoebas that live in different environments have pressures to survive that require unique solutions. Some amoeba, known as testate amoeba have a hard outer shell with which they protect themselves from harm. These shells vary greatly based on species, and can be made of a multitude of substances containing silica, calcium, chitin, sand grains and diatoms. [2] The osmotic potential of water in an amoeba is subject to high variability in freshwater systems, and as such amoeba in this environment require the use of a contractile vacuole. This organelle can pull or release water as needed to maintain stable conditions. [3]

=Dietary Processes=
The major action by which amoebas consume matter is through a process known as phagocytosis. When an amoeba encounters a particle of food, it responds by surrounding the particle with its various pseudopods, creating a vacuole of the food within its cytoplasm, and digests it with enzymes before releasing the processed material into its environment. Amoebas consume a variety of things, ranging from algae, bacteria, other protists to dead or decaying matter.[4] Protozoan amoebas are responsible for the consumption of massive amounts of bacteria. The growth of these protozoan amoebas in response to bacterial growth is thought to assist in the nutrient cycling and brings nutrients such as nitrogen from decaying matter closer to the root systems of plants. [5]

[1] "The Amoebae". The University of Edinburgh. Archived from the original

[2]Ogden, C. G. (1980). An Atlas of Freshwater Testate Amoeba. Oxford, London, and Glasgow: Oxford University Press, for British Museum (Natural History). pp. 1–5. ISBN 978-0198585022.

[3]Alberts Eds.; et al. (2007). Molecular Biology of the Cell 5th Edition. New York: Garland Science. ISBN 9780815341055.

[4]David J. Patterson. "Amoebae: Protists Which Move and Feed Using Pseudopodia". Tree of Life web project.

[5]Clarholm, M. (1981). Protozoan grazing of bacteria in soil—impact and importance. Microbial Ecology,7(4), 343-350. doi:10.1007/bf02341429

[6]Thorp, James H. (2001). Ecology and Classification of North American Freshwater Invertebrates. San Diego: Academic. p. 71. ISBN 0-12-690647-5.

File:Pseudopodia.jpg

2019-04-29T23:23:36Z

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Magnoliids

2019-04-21T22:21:08Z

Ktcrease: Created page with "=Definition= [2] Magnoliids, are a somewhat basal group of flowering plants containing somewhere around 10000 species. Early fossi..."

=Definition=
[[File:Magnoliid Phylogeny.jpg|250px|thumb|[2]]]
Magnoliids, are a somewhat basal group of flowering plants containing somewhere around 10000 species. Early fossils of magnoliid species can be dated back to the early Cretaceous period. The members of this group vary greatly morphologically and geographically. Members can be traced to every continent (except Antarctica) in a multitude of ecological environments, mostly temperate to tropical, ranging from tall, fast growing woody trees like the tulip tree to the herbaceous viny wild ginger. [4]

=Classification=
Magnoliids are a group of angiosperm organisms that include four subgroups, Canellales, Laurales, Magnoliales and Piperales. The differentiation between the larger group magnoliids and its subgroup magnoliales is sometimes confused as the result of multiple reclassifications of these groups over their course of study. [3]
[[File:Tulip_Poplar.jpg|200px|left|thumb|Leaf and flower of the Tulip Tree ''Liriodendron Tulipifera''[5]]]
=Description=
Magnoliids are very basic forms of angiosperms, and have characteristics that carry through to other members of angiosperms, but do have slight variations between themselves. Most magnoliid flowers have unfused carpels, surrounded by one, two or no spirals of trimerous petals. Leaves of magnoliids are generally pinnate with slight variation between species. Pollen of magnoliids are generally single pored, and have two cells present during fertilization. One cell produces the pollen tube, and the other cell, the sperm nuclei, fertilizes to form the embryo. [[File:Magnolia_Seed.png|400px|right|thumb|Seed from a particular species of magnoliid tree viewed with a Scanning Electron Microscope[1]]]Most other angiosperm plants release pollen with two sperm nuclei, but most magnoliid members release sperm with only one, which splits into two during double fertilization. Seeds formed by magnoliid members are often released before the embryos are fully developed, but the large endosperm common with members of this group assist in its germination process by providing enough nutrients to properly develop. [4]

=Agricultural Uses=
Magnoliales, a subgroup of Magnoliids, have widespread economic and agricultural uses. Timber of members of this family, such as lancewood found in South America and the West Indes, has a yellow wood of fine texture with very fine grain suitable for carving and miscellaneous shape-dependant uses. The fine grains of these trees may be ground up into a powder and used for a yellow dye. Several genera of these species have very flexible, elastic qualities useful for wheels, masts of ships and some house beams. Custard apple, sweetsop, pawpaw and a few other species of trees are grown for their fruits. The Myristica Fragrans plant is the source of both nutmeg and mace. [6]

[1] Hu, Xiao-Min & Zeng, Qing-Wen & Fu, Lin. (2012). Magnolia hookeri var. Longirostrata (Magnoliaceae), a New Taxon from Yunnan, China. Annales Botanici Fennici. 49. 417-421. 10.5735/085.049.0618.

[2]Soltis, P. S. and Soltis, D. E. (2004), The origin and diversification of angiosperms . Am. J. Bot., 91: 1614-1626. doi:10.3732/ajb.91.10.1614

[3]The Angiosperm Phylogeny Group, M. W. Chase, M. J. M. Christenhusz, M. F. Fay, J. W. Byng, W. S. Judd, D. E. Soltis, D. J. Mabberley, A. N. Sennikov, P. S. Soltis, P. F. Stevens, An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG IV, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, Volume 181, Issue 1, May 2016, Pages 1–20, https://doi.org/10.1111/boj.12385

[4]Sampson, F. Bruce, and James Edward Canright. "Magnoliid Clade." Encyclopædia Britannica. September 22, 2017. Accessed April 10, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/plant/Magnoliid-clade

[5]Berry, Paul E., Peter Stevens, Arthur Cronquist, David L. Dilcher, Dennis William Stevenson, and Martin Huldrych Zimmermann. "Angiosperm." Encyclopædia Britannica. December 05, 2018. Accessed April 15, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/plant/angiosperm.

[6]Sampson, F. Bruce, Paul E. Berry, and James Edward Canright. "Magnoliales." Encyclopædia Britannica. December 10, 2017. Accessed April 21, 2019. https://www.britannica.com/plant/Magnoliales.

File:Tulip Poplar.jpg

2019-04-21T22:08:14Z

Ktcrease: Ktcrease uploaded a new version of File:Tulip Poplar.jpg

Soil Particle Size Analysis Methods

2019-04-16T17:43:46Z

Ktcrease: Created page with "==Soil Particle Size Analysis Methods== thumb| There are three basic classifications of soil particle size. They include clay, silt and sa..."

==Soil Particle Size Analysis Methods==

[[File:sieve.jpg|right|thumb|]]

There are three basic classifications of soil particle size. They include [[clay]], [[silt]] and [[sand]], from smallest to largest, respectively. There are several different methods to determining how much clay, silt and sand is in a sample of soil, two include sieving, and using a hydrometer. There is another method used in determining the amount of organic mater in soil, to do this one might use the [[Loss on ignition test]], however the purpose of this article will be to focus on clay, silt and sand only.

===Sieving===

To begin the soil sample needs to be dried to a constant weight, eliminating all the moisture held in the soil. This should be done in an airtight oven, for 24 hrs at 120˚F.

Once the soil is dried to constant weight, the sieving can begin. The sieves come with different size screens, they should be chosen according to the particles that are to be isolated.

There should be one sieve on top with larger holes to accommodate for gravel that is in the soil. Gravel includes any particle larger than 2mm and will be considered as "sand". [1]

Course sand particles range from 1.0 - 2.0 mm while very fine sand particles range from 0.05 - 0.10mm.[1] Choosing two or more sieves within that range might be helpful to account for larger or smaller sand particles, for instance include a sieve at 2.0mm and one at 0.05mm.
Silt particles ranges from 0.05mm - 0.002 mm [1], therefore a sieve with a corresponding screen hole size of 0.002 mm should suffice.

Lastly clay particles are anything smaller than 0.002mm. [1] At the bottom of the stack of sieves should be placed a bottom container with a solid bottom to collect the clay particle that will sift past the 0.002mm sieve.

Once the sieves are set up, the soil sample, dried to a constant weight, will be sifted through the sieves using a sieve shaker. After about 15-20 min of shaking the soil should be separated into gravel, sand, silt and clay. Then proportions can be calculated to determine how much of each particle is one soil sample. For instance 26g sand/50g total soil = 52% sand.

Soil sieving is a purely mechanical process of determining soil particle size in a sample of soil. [2] A better method to accuratley separating clay particles from the soil would be to a hydrometer.

===Hydrometer===

Because [[clay]] particles are made up of either three or four charged ions they tend to cling to one another [3], this is called flocculation[4], this sometimes poses a problem when trying to accurately determine the proportion of clay particles in a sample of soil. Measuring soil samples using a hydrometer will give an accurate reading of sand silt and clay particles. To mesure using a hydrometer, a solution of water mixed with sodium hexametaphosphate is prepared and poured into a 1000ml graudated cylinder. The soil sample (for example 50g soil) is then poured into the solution and shaken or stirred until evenly distributed. The hydrometer is then placed in the graduated cylinder, and a measurement read off of it after 40 seconds. The hydrometer is then taken out and the solution of soil, water and sodium hexmetaphosphate it stirred or shaken again, another 40 second reading will be taken and then an average of the two readings will be calculated to determine the amount of sand (and gravel) in the sample. The solution with the hydrometer in it still will then sit for at least an hour, the reading on the hydrometer will show the amount of clay in the sample, and the remainder of the sample will be silt.

The proportion of clay is able to be determined because of the sodium hexametaphospahte, which acts as a defloccuant allowing the clay particle ions that would normally cling to one another, to instead, repulse each other. [4,5]

===References===
1. Whiting, David, et al. Estimating Soil Texture. 2003, Estimating Soil Texture, culter.colorado.edu/~kittel/SoilChar(&RibbonTest)_handout.pdf.

2. “Particle Size Analysis (for Soils/Sediments).” UCL Department of Geography, www.geog.ucl.ac.uk/resources/laboratory/laboratory-
methods/particle-size-analysis/particle-size-analysis-for-soils-sediments.

3. “1.8 Clay Mineral Structure.” Fundamentals of Soil Ecology, by David C. Coleman et al., Academic Press, 2018.

4. Tozzi, Nilo. “Deflocculants: A Detailed Overview.” Deflocculants: A Detailed Overview, digitalfire.com/4sight/education/deflocculants_a_detailed_overview_324.html.

5. Andreola, Fernanda, et al. “The Role of Sodium Hexametaphosphate in the Dissolution Process of Kaolinite and Kaolin.” Journal of the European Ceramic Society, Elsevier, 24 Sept. 2003, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955221903003662.

User:Taylorga

2019-04-16T17:42:35Z

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File:Tulip Poplar.jpg

2019-04-15T12:48:50Z

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File:Magnoliid Phylogeny.jpg

2019-04-15T00:52:35Z

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File:Magnolia Seed.png

2019-04-15T00:36:04Z

Ktcrease: SEM image of a magnolia seed Hu, Xiao-Min & Zeng, Qing-Wen & Fu, Lin. (2012). Magnolia hookeri var. Longirostrata (Magnoliaceae), a New Taxon from Yunnan, China. Annales Botanici Fennici. 49. 417-421. 10.5735/085.049.0618.

SEM image of a magnolia seed

Hu, Xiao-Min & Zeng, Qing-Wen & Fu, Lin. (2012). Magnolia hookeri var. Longirostrata (Magnoliaceae), a New Taxon from Yunnan, China. Annales Botanici Fennici. 49. 417-421. 10.5735/085.049.0618.