Sow Bugs Do Not Like To Be Basic Environmental health is essentially important in the survival of every organism on the planet. Certain factors affect the ability to survive and maintain homeostasis, specifically pH levels. Optimal pH levels are needed in order to carry out a number of internal and external functions such as growth, movement, reproduction. A Change in pH level can alter certain proteins and enzymes within an organism, thus altering the protein’s shape and function. According to The University of Vermont Extension Department of Plant and Soil Science, pH is important because it influences several soil factors affecting plant growth, such as soil bacteria, nutrient leaching, nutrient availability, toxic elements, and soil structure …show more content…
For example, Sow Bugs tend to live in warm and moist environments such as soil or other decomposing material. (Potter, M. 2013). In soil, pH ranges from 5.0 to 7.0 in most cases, this means that soil is slightly acidic (Perry, L. 2003). Sow bug has typical behavior that can be easily measured in recent studies; we can predict the environment where pill bugs tend to live. Pill pugs usually prefer an environment where decaying organisms and acidic compounds are present (Moriyama, T. 2004). I made observations that sow bugs prefer to be in moist soil where decaying organism and slightly acidic compounds reside. After learning about the environment of where sow bugs reside, I formulated a question. The question asks, Would Sow Bugs rather live in an acidic or basic environment? I then formulated a hypothesis that Sow Bugs will be more attracted to a slightly acidic environment based on the habitat and chemical properties of the soil they reside in. I made a prediction that sow bugs will prefer a slightly acidic soil …show more content…
Unnatural agriculture companies use pesticides that alter the living ability of the plant and organisms that reside in the area. It is important to know what chemicals they are using because it may be unsafe to consume if something that is living and is killed from the chemicals, it is possible that some harm can be done to you. Also, sow bugs can be detrimental to someone’s house. It is probable that certain bug repellents use basic based chemicals to push away the crustaceans. it is possible that the data used in this experiment can be helped to create better repellents for home
I hypothesized that sowbugs preferred damp soil, to dry, because moisture was the perceived causative agent. I observed that the sowbugs spent more time on the damp soil, rather than the dry soil (Table 1). The sowbugs spent 85% of their observed time on the damp soil side of the experimental chamber (Table 1). These results support my hypothesis, because they suggest that moisture of soil determines where sowbugs will prefer to spend their time (Table 1).
To conduct the experiment, the beetles were massed, then attached to a petri dish with a 30 centimeter piece of dental floss. The beetle’s mass was the independent variable. Afterwards, the floss was tied to the beetle’s midsection with a slip knot. Then, the beetle was placed on a piece of fabric with the petri dish attached to it. As soon as the beetle was able to move with one paperclip inside the petri dish, more were added, one by one, until it could not move any further. After the beetle could not pull any more, the paperclips were massed and the results were recorded. The dependent variable was the mass that the beetles could pull. No control group was included in this experiment.
The next topic for discussion in this paper is ecology. This will include, preferred habitats and interactions with abiotic and biotic elements of the environment.
The spinosad insecticide is very active and effective in controlling insects and pests. It acts on both contact and ingestion by an insect. The insecticide is subjective to the stages of life of an insect such as larvae or adult stages and the insect species. The insecticide mode of action is through the neural mechanism. It affects the neural transmissions and processes of an insect. Spinosad is applied to field crops during the entire growth process as specified. It is applied to crops such as flowers, vegetables, fruit trees and also cereals. Some flower farmers spray their crops before harvest to rid them off harmful insects (Kole, 1995). Farmers use spinosad insecticide to kill harmful insects that destroy their crops and spread diseases lowering the yield. It is also used to control storage pests that destroy cereals stored in bins. Quality food produce is another reason for the applying the insecticide.
The author describes each chapter with a surreal narration. It begins with “A Fable for Tomorrow”, which starkly declares a bleak future of every U.S village if they erred to use pesticides. “The Obligation to Endure” describes the lack of public awareness and how it would become grievous. She justly reasons that if the public might suffer from long-term misfortunes due to insecticides usage, they have a right to know the facts. Felicitous “Elixirs of Death” describes the nature of insecticides in three apt words. Chemical structures of common biocides are explained in an uncomplicated fashion. A series of three successive chapters is dedicated to Earth and its components. These chapters include the closely inter-connected ecological cycles, existing in the water, mantle and soil horizons. Pesticide dispersal in soil followed by its access into the ground water table and the waterways is an inconceivable process. The book promulgates the escape of biocides from their place of application, and their integration into natural bodies. All her chapters thereafter revolve around the various short-term and long-term effects of biocides on the biosphere. Rachel Carson had stated countless dire cases wherein complete ecosystems faced annihilation. The influx of detrimental chemicals extended their reach over animals and plants, and were causing human mortalities as well. Humans are a part of
...ortation of plants, fruits, vegetables, and animals. Indiscriminate pesticide use kills the good with the bad. Long term and wide spread pesticide use poisons underground water sources, which, in turn, poison plants, animals, and humans. And, finally, by our uninformed actions, new super races of pests continue to evolve and create even greater dangers than the original.
1. How does the kissing bug (e.g., Rhodnius sp., Triatoma dimidiate ) locate its human prey?
As time has progressed, there has always been an overarching need for high amounts of crop production throughout the world. With the rapid rate of population growth, the need for crops and other sources of nutrients is only increasing. In order to meet these high demands and increase yields, farmers and other agriculturalists have started implementing the use of pesticides. These chemical mixtures are being used in order to prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate any pests from destroying growing crops. However, using pesticides on crops can create massive amounts of pollution, negatively affect an individual’s health, and can spark biodiversity loss within an ecosystem. According to Michael C.R. Alavanja, “Over 1 billion pounds of pesticides are used within the United States (US) each year and approximately 5.6 billion pounds are used worldwide”. With all this in mind, it is clear that pesticides should not be made available to farmers and agriculturalists, and should
Instead of using pesticides in farming a better alternative would be biological control. This is when a natural predator is released into the crop growing area as a result the number of pests can be reduced.
If you had a choice between a burger and a bowl of crickets, I think I would know which you choose to eat. As disturbing as this sounds, in the near future we may not have that choice. With our annual protein consumption rising, and Europe’s protein sources decreasing, coupled with a growing population, we may have only one alternative… Insects.
The new chemicals which are produced to kill these strong pests and weeds may be more harmful to other plants and remove nutrients within the soil, in turn reducing the yield of agricultural crops. The benefits of these characteristics are seen in Argentina according to Pelletier (2010) as they use glyphosphate resistant soybean which allowed the comeback of this crop, as the soil was severely damaged from monoculture (The cultivation of a single crop in a defined area).... ... middle of paper ... ...
Farming practices that do not use pesticides/herbicides are slowly becoming introduced bit biologically created pesticides are not nearly as productive as found in preliminary testing. Biotechnology has shown to have successfully resisted pests in plants that were destroyed by pesticides but still hasn’t proven itself as a better alternative. William Liebhardt Ph.D. is an Agricultural Specialist at the University of California, Davis and he says, “When you start spraying with pesticides, you disrupt the natural balance that exists in nature. As a result, you end up killing beneficial insects, then insects that were not a problem become problems and this happens repeatedly” requiring more and more spraying.
Pesticide is a chemical used to prevent, wipe out and control the pest problem in agriculture. The use of pesticides have become a common practice around the world, and used almost everywhere, such as agricultural fields, homes, park and school, and so on. Most pesticides are insecticides, herbicides and fungicides that have distinct purposes. Insecticides are used to control insects; herbicides are used to destroy plants; fungicides are used to prevent molds and mildews. Most commonly pesticides contain highly toxic chemical such as Acid copper chromate (ACC), Acephate and Chlorpyrifos, and so on. One of example of insecticides, Chlorpyrifos, sprays widely on a variety of food and golf courses in order to control pests in a cornfield. However, “Chlorpyrifos can cause cholinesterase inhibition in humans; that is, it can over stimulate the nervous system causing nausea, dizziness, confusion, and at very high exposures (e.g., accidents or major spills), respiratory paralysis and death.” (EPA GOV) In the market has thousands of products are similar as Chlorpyrifos.
If there is not enough oxygen in the water, it may lead to the death of many organisms, reduction in their growth or even failure to survive. The pH is a measure of how acidic or alkaline the water. It is defined as the negative log of the hydrogen ion concentration. According to Fondriest Environmental Inc, a well-known Fundamental Environmental organization, the pH scale goes from 0 to 14. As the scale of pH decreases, water becomes more acidic. Many chemical reactions inside aquatic organisms are necessary for survival and growth of organisms. At the extreme ends of the pH scale, (2 or 13) physical damage to gills, exoskeleton, fins, occurs. Changes in pH may alter the concentrations of other substances in water to a more toxic form. Examples: a decrease in pH (below 6) may increase the amount of mercury soluble in water. An increase in pH (above 8.5) enhances the conversion of nontoxic ammonia (ammonium ion) to a toxic form of ammonia (un-ionized ammonia). (Fondriest,
The effect of soil salinity in plant growth is part of botany, the study of plants.