Fanged Pitcher Plant. Nepenthes Bicalcarata

Transcription

1 Fanged Pitcher Plant Nepenthes Bicalcarata

2 Introduction...3 Classification...4 Habitat...5 MRS GREN...6 Dichotomous Key...7 Food Chains...8 Food Webs...9 Taxonomy...10 Ecosystem...11 Conclusion...12 Bibliography...13

3 Introduction Nepenthes Bicalcarata, otherwise known as the Fanged Pitcher Plant, is unique even in it s own kind. Being one of the few carnivorous plants on the planet, the class is a world of it s own. Yet, even inside this small area of classification, a species can be made to be one-of-a-kind. The Fanged Pitcher is no exception. Besides it s iconic fangs, the plant also harbors a unique relationship with a particular type of carpenter ant, one which differs it s behavior greatly from it s brethren. Classed in the Vulnerable section of the endangered chart, this plant is one to be reckoned with.

4 Classification Kingdom - Plantae Phylum - Tracheophyta Class - Magnoliopsida Order - Nepenthales Family - Nepenthaceae Genus - Nepenthes Species - Nepenthes Bicalcarata

5 Taxonomy Taxonomy is the science of classification. Being able to classify an organism into already found groups can tell us a lot about the organism already, even without proper research. Sometimes it can be hard to remember the order of which Taxonomy goes. So, in order to help themselves, many people have come up with their own acronyms. An example is as follows: Krakens: Pierce: Classy: Obtuse: Formal: Gregory: Ships:

6 Habitat The natural habitat of the iconic Fanged Pitcher Plant are PeatSwamp forests and the occasional Sandy-Swamp forest on the island of Borneo, in Brunei Darussalam, Kalimantan (Indonesia), and Sabah and Sarawak (Malaysia). Peat lands are formed when an amount of partially decayed organic matter becomes waterlogged and begins to accumulate. The accumulated matter known as peat, is most known for the fact that it is a huge carbon store. As trees and other plants convert carbon dioxide into oxygen, when they die, all of the absorbed carbon stays within them, until it is again released. However, despite this fact, the biodiversity of the forests remain widely unknown, rendering most efforts to stop the logging of these areas useless. This endangers not only the Fanged Pitcher, but the rest of the world as well.

7 Ecosystem An ecosystem is a part of a biome (a large area with consistent climate) where living and non-living things interact. In the Fanged Pitcher plant s case, the biome would be a Peat-Swamp forests (and the occasional Sandy-Swamp forest), that of which contains many different ecosystems. The particular ecosystem of a Fanged Pitcher plant, would be the plant itself and the small area of land around it. The reason for this being that most of the plant s interactions happen inside the plant, like the digesting and drowning. The only interactions that happen outside of the plant would be where the plant is planted in the soil as well as the wind giving it oxygen.

8 Interactions Biotic to Biotic Interaction: The main biotic to biotic interaction of the Fanged Pitcher plant would be it s mutual relationship with a particular type of carpenter plan. It has been known that plants with the ants living inside of them grew a lot faster than ones without, but until recently it was not known why. However, new research has shown that the ants give the Fanged Pitcher plant a nutrient it does not normally have access to; nitrogen. The plant uses this to create protein, which helps it grow faster, which is the very reason why it is carnivorous in the first place. The ants provide the nitrogen through the faeces, which contain a lot of what they eat, as well as when they due, as then the plant just devours them. But what does the ant get out of the relationship? Well, unlike most of it s brethren, the Fanged Pitcher plant does not have very slippery sides, instead relying on the slippery, nectarous fangs to attract prey. This allows the ants the ability come and go, as well as the comfort of not being digested. As the plants juices aren t nearly as digestive as others of it s class, the ants can swoop in without fear of being digested and take a meal. Sweet relationships. Abiotic to Biotic Interaction: The main abiotic to biotic interaction of the Fanged Pitcher plant would be the fact of the plant being planted in the soil, gaining nutrients and the ability to grow in the first place. This, coupled with the interaction of the wind carrying moisture and oxygen to the plant, allows for the greatest opportunity of growth for the plant itself.

9 MRS GREN Movement Respiration Sensitive Grow Reproduce Excretion Nutrition The Fanged-Pitcher plant is a type of carnivorous plant. It is a sub-species of the group known as the Pitcher Plants, due to the pitcher shaped leaves that grow off of them. These pitchers contain acids which dissolve any unknowing insects that happen to fall for the succulent nectar at it s rim. These plants react to a number of things, including when their lunch walks right into their traps, as they close their leaves, so that they may digest them in peace. They drop their seeds around them, creating miniature colonies of death drinks. Like all plants, they grow towards the sun, allowing them to grow as many death traps as they want. Another thing that these trap masters must do to create their traps is breath, so that they may keep their leaves intact. The pitcher sometimes have to empty out their traps, so that they may have a more effective acid. And of course, they use their traps to digest insects, gaining nutrition.

10 Dichotomous Key A Dichotomous Key is a way to organize different species of animals according to there physical appearance. They can be organized wit pictures or words. Below is a dichotomous key based on the Fanged Pitcher Plant. Carpenter Ant, Fanged Pitcher Plant, Mouse, Bearded Dragon, Common Fly, Mosquito Has the appearance of an insect. Mouse, Bearded Dragon, Fanged Pitcher Plant Carpenter Ant, Common Fly, Mosquito Has Scales. Has wings. Carpenter Ant Mouse, Fanged Pitcher Plant Common Fly, Mosquito Bearded Dragon Is a Plant Has large eyes. Common Fly Mosquito Fanged Pitcher Plant Mouse

11 Food Chains A Food Chain is used to show the energy flow between a select few organisms. This particular food chain shows the energy being transferred from the suns rays into the grass, before the cow eats the grass and devours the energy. Then the fly sucks the blood from the cow and is lured by the Fanged Pitcher Plant s trap into it s slightly digestive juices so that the energy is then transferred into the plant itself. Unlike most plants, the Fanged Pitcher goes at the end of the food chain as it is the carnivore in this scenario, so it is the last one to receive the energy.

12 Food Webs A Food Web is to show the flow of energy between and from a select few organisms. Unlike a Food Chain, which only shows the energy flow through one direct way, a Food Web shows the energy flow going between the organisms multiple ways, so almost everyway it would and could go. This particular Food Web shows the energy coming from the sun into both the grass and the Fanged Pitcher Plant, as they both photosynthesis. Then, from the grass, the energy transfers into the cow when it eats it, but then the cow loses some energy to the fly when it sucks the cow s blood. Then the fly is drowned and is slightly digested by the Fanged Pitcher Plant, which allows the carpenter ant to eat some of it s meal so that it may get nitrogen from the ant and the ant s faeces.

13 Conclusion To conclude this investigation of the Fanged Pitcher plant, it is without saying, one of the most unique organisms to be associated with the kingdom of plantae. Being carnivorous should, in it s own right, provide the plant with enough classification to be though of as abnormal, however, when that fact is coupled with the one about it being unique even in it s own unique society, the abnormality just escalates beyond comprehension. It s got fangs, it s got friends, and it s got a hell of a lot of nitrogen at it s disposal. It is, one amazingly unique plant.

14 Bibliography Cite This For Me. (2016). Save Time and Improve your Marks with CiteThisForMe, The No. 1 Citation Tool. [online] Available at: [Accessed 3 Aug. 2016]. ARKive. (2016). Fanged pitcher plant videos, photos and facts - Nepenthes bicalcarata ARKive. [online] Available at: [Accessed 3 Aug. 2016]. Not Exactly Rocket Science. (2012). Meat-eating plant digests insects using ants - Not Exactly Rocket Science. [online] Available at: [Accessed 3 Aug. 2016]. Iucnredlist.org. (2016). Nepenthes bicalcarata. [online] Available at: [Accessed 3 Aug. 2016]. Scharmann, M., Thornham, D., Grafe, T. and Federle, W. (2013). A Novel Type of Nutritional Ant Plant Interaction: Ant Partners of Carnivorous Pitcher Plants Prevent Nutrient Export by Dipteran Pitcher Infauna. PLoS ONE, 8(5), p.e "Nepenthes Bicalcarata (Fanged Pitcher Plant) Plants & Fungi At Kew". Kew.org. N.p., Web. 4 Aug "The Fanged Pitcher Plant Of Borneo". In Defense of Plants. N.p., Web. 5 Aug

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