The Venus Flytrap

Dionaea muscipula

Kingdom: Plantae                                   

Phylum: Anthophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Caryophyllales

Family: Droseraceae

Genus: Dionaea

Species: muscipula

Common Name: Venus Flytrap

Dionaea muscipula is commonly known as the Venus flytrap. D. muscipula was the first plant to be thought of as carnivorous. It has an active trapping mechanism to capture insects with one of the most rapid movements in the plant kingdom. The trap closure consists of three phases: a silent phase with no movement that can be seen by the eye, an accelerated movement of the lobes, and then relaxation of the lobes in their closed state. There are trigger hairs inside of the plant on the lobes. When an insect lands on the trigger hairs the trap closes and suffocates the insect to death. It takes about 24 hours for the trap to re-open. It can go without food for almost two months. During the springtime, the D. muscipula can be killed by the very insects it eats- the bugs can bite back! It has recently been noticed that the species, muscipula is becoming extinct.   

Literature Cited:

Hodick, D., & Sievers, A. (1989). On the mechanism of trap closure of Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula Ellis). Planta, 179, 32-42.

Gomphus clavatus, The Pig's Ear

Gomphus clavatus

Kingdom: Fungi

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Phallales

Family: Gomphaceae

Genus: Gomphus

Species: clavatus

            Gomphus clavatus also known as The Pig’s Ear is an edible mushroom in the Kingdom of Fungi. It averages about 5 to 15 cm in height and about 2.5 to 10 cm wide. The pigment of G. clavatus can range from violet or purple, brown and grey to beige with light to dark brown spores. Generally, G. clavatus has a sturdy, fleshy, vase-shaped appearance with a wrinkled outer surface. It usually grows in woods and on the ground, it can commonly be found under Douglas fir trees. However, G. clavatus is not limited to the fir tree as it forms a mycorrhizal relationship with coniferous trees such as fir, spruce and beech trees. The hyphae of the fungus are closely connected with the roots of the tree and both the fungus and the tree gain from the relationship. It has been found that G. clavatus can be used for medicinal food.

Garibay-Orijel, R., Caballero, J., Estrada-Torres, A., & Cifuentes, J. (2007). Understanding cultural significance, the edible mushrooms case. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, I, 2-5.

Word Count: 194

Staphylococcus aureus

 

Staphylococcus aureus

Staphylococci (staph) are a gram-positive, spherical bacterium that is versatile and dangerous to humans. Staphylococcus comes from the Greek word staphyle meaning “a bunch of grapes” which is what it appears to look like under a microscope. Staphylococcus aureus (yellow) is in the family of Staphylococcaceae, which includes three genera, Gamella, Macrococcus and Salinicoccus. The most known of its nearby phylogenetic relatives are the members of the genus Bacillus in the family Bacillaceae, which is on the same level as the family Staphylococcaceae. The bacteria can cause damage to the skin or other injury may occur leading to overcoming of the natural skin barrier turning into infection. Skin infections are the most common disease by S. aureus. It is contagious and can be transmitted from person to person through direct contact. It is unnecessary to have lab tests to diagnose the infection as it can be determined by its appearance. I chose this specific bacterium because I have known people who have had a staph infection before and I was curious to do more research on it. 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2631711/pdf/11294701.pdf

The Coqui in Puerto Rico

Common Name: Coqui

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Eletherodactylidae
Genus: Eletherodactylus
Species: Eletherodactylus Coqui

      When I went to Puerto Rico a few years ago, each night I could hear the coqui tree frog, Eleutherodactylus coqui, singing outside of our hotel. I had never heard any sound like it, the word ko-kee would repeatedly come from the trees as the sun went down until dawn. We went to visit the El Yunque rainforest and the sounds were heard again, the island was covered with them. I had thought at first that both the male and female made these sounds since there was so much noise. I had come to find out that it is the male that “sings” as a mating call to the female. I was finally able to find one and was surprised by how small the coqui was.

      The coqui, Eleutherodactylus coqui, range from 33mm to 57mm in length. The coqui is usually green, yellow or brown in color. Commonly, the coqui tree frog can be found in the Caribbean and in North America, specifically Hawaii. They are not adapted to swim and have sticky developed pads at the end of their toes to stick to surfaces as most true tree frogs. After doing some research on these creatures, what I found the most interesting about them is their development. The development of the coqui differs from other frogs. This specific species utilizes internal fertilization whereas they do not have the “tadpole” stage and just go into direct development. They lay their eggs on land where the “tadpole” stage would occur inside of the egg and their adult features form directly. The males guard the eggs to keep them from drying out. Development can occur within 17 to 26 days as they lay several eggs at a time the population of coqui grows rapidly. Although, some people think of these creatures as a disturbance, I wouldn’t mind hearing the sounds of the coqui each night.