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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Root Tensile Strength In A Native And Non-Native Species Of The Coastal Chaparral Community, Jamie Elmquist, Andrea Lim, Amanda Scholl, Amanda Vest
Root Tensile Strength In A Native And Non-Native Species Of The Coastal Chaparral Community, Jamie Elmquist, Andrea Lim, Amanda Scholl, Amanda Vest
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Non-native species are regularly introduced into environments in which they replace existing native species and drastically influence the ecological characteristics of the area and the habitat of the living organisms surrounding them. In the botanical field of study, invasive plant species can choke out native species thus making them endangered or extinct. Specifically in the Santa Monica Mountains of Southern California, there are over 300 non-native species of plants, each the source of its own repercussions and having both positive and negative effects on the environment. One specific non-native species, Carpobrotus edulis (ice plant) replaces the native Coreopsis gigante (giant …
The Affect Of Temperature On The Fluorescence Of Heteromeles Arbutifolia (Hollywood) In The Santa Monica Mountains, Patrick Y. Chisum, Adam S. Graham, Arthur C. Sanders
The Affect Of Temperature On The Fluorescence Of Heteromeles Arbutifolia (Hollywood) In The Santa Monica Mountains, Patrick Y. Chisum, Adam S. Graham, Arthur C. Sanders
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Presented here is a comparison of the predawn fluorescence of adult Heteromeles arbutifolia growing on the Pepperdine Seaver campus next to the lacrosse field, and adult Heteromeles growing in Tapia canyon. The analysis of the leaf temperature measured by an IR thermometer showed an average of 9.32°C drop when measuring plants in Tapia canyon compared to those growing on the warmer Pepperdine campus. The air temperature measured by the Kestrel and IR thermometer showed Tapia canyon being an average of 7.27°C colder than predawn measurements on Pepperdine campus. Finally, the fluorescence of the plants in both locations was measured using …
Tensile Strength Of Malosma Laurina Leaves In Wet And Dry Conditions, T. Candelore, N. Despenza, L. Garrison, L. Hinther
Tensile Strength Of Malosma Laurina Leaves In Wet And Dry Conditions, T. Candelore, N. Despenza, L. Garrison, L. Hinther
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Pepperdine University is one located in one of the most diverse places of the world. It is located in the Mediterranean which occupies less than 5% of the earth's landmass and is only found in five areas which includes California. On the campus there are several canyons. One of the canyons is called Winter Canyon. The canyon contained a plant called Malosma laurina which is located in a riparian environment and a chaparral environment. The plant grows in both areas however, our hypothesis was that the dry plants' leaves would demonstrate more plasticity. The soil humidity was also measured to …
Effect Of Petiole-To-Branchlet Angle On Tensile Stress And Tensile Strength In Heteromeles Arbutifolia, Matt W. Andrus, Anthony P. Lisankis, Valen C. Anderson
Effect Of Petiole-To-Branchlet Angle On Tensile Stress And Tensile Strength In Heteromeles Arbutifolia, Matt W. Andrus, Anthony P. Lisankis, Valen C. Anderson
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Heteromeles arbutifolia an important chaparral species of southern California, Is a food source for mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). This predation has become more pronounced as the climate shifts to hotter, drier, and longer summers. Other species that the deer normally feed on cannot survive these harsh conditions, while Heteromeles arbutifolia is able to persevere (Letourneau, 2004). We decided that there must be mechanisms involved in the petiole of leafs to keep them from being pulled off by deer and strong winds. Our group hypothesized that as the angle between the petiole and branchlet increased, the tensile strength of the petiole …
Effect Of Fertilizer On Leaf Tensile Strength In Salvia Leucophylla, Tawny Lindahl, John Buie, Eiichiro Uemura
Effect Of Fertilizer On Leaf Tensile Strength In Salvia Leucophylla, Tawny Lindahl, John Buie, Eiichiro Uemura
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This experiment sought to establish a connection between short term growth in Salvia leucophylla found in Southern California and nutrient availability in the soil. It was hypothesized that adding artificially produced nutrient mix Miracle Grow would increase the strength of the leaves in the herb after one week of addition. Newer leaves were tested in the Instron device for tensile strength after one week, and after data analysis, it was concluded that there was no difference in tensile strength of leaves treated with fertilizer compared with leaves without fertilizer.
Differences In Hydraulic Conductance (Kh) As A Function Of Leaf Area (Ks Leaf) And Xylem Size (Ks Xylem) In Encelia Californica And Venegasia Carpesioides, Tony Audin, Andrew Dudley, Janel Gonzalez
Differences In Hydraulic Conductance (Kh) As A Function Of Leaf Area (Ks Leaf) And Xylem Size (Ks Xylem) In Encelia Californica And Venegasia Carpesioides, Tony Audin, Andrew Dudley, Janel Gonzalez
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Southern California and the Santa Monica Mountains experience a climate similar to that of the Mediterranean basin. This means hot, dry summers, mild, wet winters, and large amounts of plant diversity. A major issue that can affect these regions is water availability and processing. To demonstrate this, hydraulic conductance (Kh) was measured as a function of leaf area (KS Leaf) and xylem size (KS Xylem). Two vascular plants were used for this study, Encelia californica and Venegasia carpesioides. This is because they are similar morphologically but are different genus and species. It was hypothesized that the larger plant (V. carpesioides) …
Post-Fire Alterations In Mechanical Strength Of Leaves In Heteromeles Arbutifolia, Andrew Hair, Madeline Dilascia, Nick Novella, Taylor Wurdeman
Post-Fire Alterations In Mechanical Strength Of Leaves In Heteromeles Arbutifolia, Andrew Hair, Madeline Dilascia, Nick Novella, Taylor Wurdeman
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Wildfires in the Santa Monica mountains in Southern California burn down a decent percentage of the local vegetation. However, some plants like Heteromeles Arbutifolia, are considered to be resprouters because they return a mere two years after being burnt down. It is hypothesized that the artificially browsed resprout leaves will have a lower tensile strength than both the young and adult leaves because they use a lower amount of carbohydrates per unit-leaf-area. Data showed that although there was a slight different between the young leaves and the adult leaves of the Heteromeles, there was no statistically significant difference between the …
Comparing Leaf Properties Of Inland And Coastal Malosma Laurina In The Santa Monica Mountains, Rosemary Busch Conn, Lauren Parker, Brittany Sawrey
Comparing Leaf Properties Of Inland And Coastal Malosma Laurina In The Santa Monica Mountains, Rosemary Busch Conn, Lauren Parker, Brittany Sawrey
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Our group chose Malosma laurina, commonly known as Laurel Sumac, to observe and test. We hypothesized that there would be difference in photosynthetic trade-offs and capabilities between coastal and inland populations, specifically with respect to leaves. This was based on the low freezing tolerance in Malosma laurina (Pratt et al. 2005), and hypothesized that based on this stress, resources would be allocated differently in inland leaves than in coastal leaves. This hypothesis was tested using the indices of Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Photochemical Reflectance Index (PRI), the ratio of green to red reflectance, and Leaf Specific Area …
A Comparison Of The Tensile Strength Of Leaves In Encelia Californica In Canyon And Beach Species, Anna Chowaniec, Annie Lee, Hayley Springs
A Comparison Of The Tensile Strength Of Leaves In Encelia Californica In Canyon And Beach Species, Anna Chowaniec, Annie Lee, Hayley Springs
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Our research is concerned with the further exploration of leaf biomechanics, a relatively unexamined field. The purpose of this experiment was to find a correlation between environmental stress factors and tensile strength of leaves of Encelia californica. We hypothesized the beach species would have a higher tensile strength than canyon species. After evaluating data collected from both Pepperdine’s Presidents Canyon and Malibu beach we found that while the canyon species could withstand a higher maximum load of force, there was no difference between the canyon and the beach species with leaf area taken into account. Using Young’s Modulus, we …