Class Response-Energy Roles

During Purple science class we took some time to learn about energy roles. There's three types of energy roles producers, consumers and decomposers, each of them obtain their energy from interacting with other organisms. An organism that is able to make its own food is a producer, producers are the source of all the food in an ecosystem. An organism that feeds directly or indirectly on producers is called a consumer,consumers depend on producers for food and energy. Organisms that break down dead organisms into simpler substances are decomposers,they use dead matter as food. I think that energy roles are very interesting because it explains how all the living organisms on earth affect the environment.

Class Response- Symbiotic Relationships

In purple science class we learned about three symbiotic relationships. Mutualism is a symbiotic relationship between two organisms in which both benefit. Bees and flowers are an example of mutualism, the bees benefit from the flowers that give them pollen and the flowers benefit from the bees that pollenate them. Parasitism is a symbiotic relationship between two organisms in which one benefits and the other is harmed. Dogs and fleas is an example of parasitism, while the fleas are benefiting from getting the best amount of blood, the dog on the other hand is harmed and can get a disease or be injured. Commensalism is the symbiotic relationship between two organisms in which one benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped. A bird living in a tree is an example of commensalism, the bird benefits from the tree by having safety and shelter, and the tree is not bothered with. I believe that there are Symbiotic relationships all over the world. They occur within our ecosystems, our homes, and our bodies. Without them our world would be history.

Music Players Hard On Hearing

The scientist say those who listen to their music at high volumes for as little as an hour a day across five years risk doing severe harm to their hearing. People who listen to portable music players on a daily basis are more likely to loose thier hearing. Studies have shown that 2.5 to 10 million people in Europe are listening for only five hours a week at more than 89 decibels, that's already exceeding the EU limits for noise allowed in the workplace. The largest group at risk from leisure noise is young people, since the early 1980s the number of people young people who have been exposed to music players has tripled to around 19%. Children and teenagers should be protected by increasingly high sound levels. Loud mobile phones and MP3 players can be at very high volumes without loss of quality. I'm concerned that so many people that are frequently using music players and mobile phones at high volume levels, might be unknowingly damaging their hearing. I just hope people consider lowering their MP3 players every now and then, so children and adults can be saved from hearing loss.

Leopard Species Discovered

Imagine spending your entire life being confused with an entirely different species. That's what happened to the Clouded leopard of Borneo and Sumatra. The animal, the biggest predator on Borneo was long assumed to be the same species as the Clouded leopard native to Mainland Southeast Asia. Talk about an identity crisis! In March 2007, scientists at the U.S. National Cancer Institute announced that the genetic testing had determined that there are 40 differences between the two species. For example, the Clouded leopard of Borneo and Sumatra has darker fur and smaller cloud markings than the Mainland leopard. The differences between the cousins are as marked as those between lions, tigers, and jaguars. Most scientist agree that there are about 1 million species of animals on Earth. and yet, more to come.