In the article, “Hummingbird Citizen Science” by Rima Givot, Kari O’Connell, Adam S. Hadley, and Matthew H. Betts, the main topic of discussion was hummingbirds and their declining habitats. Hummingbirds play a critical role in pollination and help maintain genetic diversity by traveling farther than any of the other pollinators. Hummingbirds also spread pollen between distinct plant populations and can pollinate in almost any conditions where as other pollinators remain inactive during this time. Within the article, the authors discuss a “citizen science hummingbird project” lead by Oregon State University and how it engages citizens to collect, organize, and analyze scientific data. The citizen project took off and students have begun to …show more content…
Before beginning the actual experimentation and observation of the hummingbirds, teachers taught their students about the hummingbirds and explained the reasoning behind this Citizen Science Hummingbird Project. As stated before, hummingbirds are great pollinators due to the fact that these birds have long bills that match the shape of most flowers and can also travel farther than their relative insect pollinators. The students learn the general biology behind these pollinators and prepare by reading articles, writing reflections and summaries, holding small group and in class discussions, engaging in lab and field activities, giving presentations, reviewing worksheets, and viewing documentaries. Preparing the students like such gives them a greater understanding of the fact that hummingbirds play vital roles in pollination, the genetic variation that hummingbirds have provided, and the biodiversity of …show more content…
The participating students have to set up feeders in their school yards so the students can monitor when the hummingbirds come and feed, then the students take home study information and protocols and monitor the nectar consumption rates. They also observe how many times the hummingbirds visit the feeder as well as making observations about the habitat near and around the feeder. Students make sure to record their data so it can be returned to Oregon State University. The students also analyze the data once it is collected and write conclusions and provide feedback to the other classmates. The students are also assessed on their understanding of these methods that are used in the experimentation and observation process. These data sets are then sent to the Betts Landscape Ecology Lab at OSU to be analyzed by
In Song of the Hummingbird by Gracie Limon, It’s clear by chapter three that Father Benito and Hummingbird are starting to reach an impasse. He could no longer hold his tongue “This woman who had a way of prying out thoughts and feeling of which he was not aware”. With her story of transgression, incest and murder her sin was to be forgiven in eyes of the lord, but she wanted Father Benito words. His thoughts conflicted, so he was surprised that the words he spoke were forgiveness. At this point, Hummingbird feels ready to start the next level of her story. I liked in the dialog that it express every insecurity Father Benito went through when saying he forgives her. To me, he seems that he can no longer stand to hear more like he wants to sing
The female moves her head within the avenue walls during the male display, providing her with motion parallax depth cues that will conflict with the false depth cues of forced perspective.
Think for a moment of a world without bees; a world without our buzzing friend. They might look like they barely do much to help our ecosystem. However, bees are a vital part of our agriculture and this makes it vital that we keep them around. The bee population decline in recent years is troubling for both us and our little friends. As their friends, we must do all we can in order to ensure their survival which in turn will ensure our own.
Much of the misunderstandings are in part by imperfect information which is currently resulting in even further destruction of pollinator populations. Supply is shrinking while demand increases as the need for food increases across the globe. These inefficiencies are creating a stressful environment for various agencies starting at the farmer level, agency level, and ultimately on the consumer level.
Think about the hummingbirds, also known as Flying Jewels. The book “Joyas Voladoras”, by Brian Doyle, talks about hummingbirds, Blue whale's, heart chambers and emotions, that relate back to us. The author says that hummingbirds are beautiful and fragile, while Blue whales are the biggest animales. The author also says that some creatures have 1, 2, 3, 4, or even elivane chambered hearts, but Unicellular bacteria have no hearts. In the last paragraph he talks about emotions and are hearts. The author has a message that he is trying to give through his essay. The message is that we look at the small things in life, but we have less knowledge about the big ones.
8. Taylor, Dan. 1998. Audubon Society Inspired to Action by Bird Die -offs . 17 Jan. 1998 . E-mail . Available bkus@sunstroke.sdsu.edu
Initially, I didn’t care much about bees until after I received this assignment. Although I may be allergic to bees, they do help my everyday life. I don’t want food prices to go up because we can’t save some bees. We spend trillions on protection, when we have no war. How about take a few million to save the bees, and possibly save man.
Hummingbirds rely on plant nectar to supply the necessary energy for their highly energetically and expensive flying and feeding behaviors. Hummingbirds obtain energy from the nectar of flowers using their tongue and it is thought that up to half of the tongue is made up of cartilage making it easier to direct and control and in turn more efficiently eat. (Tamm, Gass 1986). Hummingbirds have the ability to drink their own weight in nectar only in a matter of hours (Tamm, Gass 1986) and in order to meet their daily energetic needs they must visit several thousand flowers a day (Tamm, Gass 1986).
Crane, E., 1990. Bees and beekeeping: science, practice, and world resources. Ithaca, New York, Cornell University Press, 109-111.
Pollinators are very important to the environment because many plant species rely on reproduction to be carried out by pollination1. Bees are dependent on plants for pollen and nectar and in return, are the most common pollinator of plant species and around 90 percent of plants require pollination by an animal7. Bees are used in farming, both for pollinating crops and for producing honey, and the estimated value of bees to the United Kingdom is £400 million per year9. Plants are the primary producers in many food webs and, as so many are dependent on pollination in order to reproduce, a decline in pollinators would have a detrimental effect on whole ecosystems. Therefore, the declining numbers of pollinators, particularly bees, are a cause of concern because of the environmental knock-on effects.
Hummingbirds are stunning creatures, but their future can be bright only if they have plenty of flowers for food and trees for shelter. Unfortunately, human population grows too fast for the hummingbirds' habitats. Once a person knows more about these charming animals, they will find the forests a richer place to protect. Hummingbirds are the smallest and most brilliantly colored birds. Their aerial maneuvers fascinate all.
BURKLE, L.A., MARLIN, J.C. and KNIGHT, T.M., 2013. Plant-pollinator interactions over 120 years: Loss of species, co-occurrence, and function. Science, 340(6127), pp. 1611-1615.
Quinn, M., & Klym, M. (2009). An Introduction to Butterfly Watching. Austin, Texas: Texas State Publications Clearinghouse.
Growing up as a kid the sight of a bee flying around was often terrifying, despite this there’s a complex story unfolding behind the scenes as they travel the world in countless numbers, gently landing from flower to flower. The rusty-patched bumble bee, Bombus affinis, plays a pivotal role within ecosystems, with responsibilities such as collecting nectar and pollen and helping the foods that are largely consumed today, flourish in abundance. Recently, the rusty-patched bumblebee was put on the endangered species list provided by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS). The inclusion of the bumble bee on the endangered list was enough to put many advocates in a full-blown conservation frenzy. However, without fully understanding the benefits
A recent survey has revealed that only a small percentage of the population of the world understands the process of Pollination or the diversity of beneficial animals involved in the process. For most humans, the world pollen means allergies and bees mean STING. Well for their knowledge, every one out of the three bites you eat, you should be thankful to the very pests you shoo away or kill-the bee, the bat, insects and animals otherwise known as pollinators.