In terms of evolution should we be concerned about invasive species?

In terms of evolution we should be concerned about invasive species. Invasive species are brought into an environment they are not familiar with, and in which they have never lived in before. As an result these animals do not have a natural predator and their reproduction rate is going to increase rapidly. In addition to that, invasive species impact the food chain found in their new environment as they can eat anything they want without being stopped as they don't have a natural predator.
Therefore, in terms of evolution we should be concerned about invasive species as they can survive, not necessarily due to their fitness, but due to the lack of a natural predator, which would normally keep their population on a decent level. 

Invasive Species in South America: Questions

1.   1.    I chose this criteria (fast growth, rapid reproduction, tolerance of a wide range of environmental conditions, ability to live off of a wild range of food types and association with humans) as I believed that it would successfully limit the number of invasive species.

2.    2.   I wanted to include different species and not concentrate on only one; therefore the process I used was to search for the worst invasive insect, mammal, fish and grass.

3.    3.   I eliminated the first three species by simply looking at how much impact they have on our environment, using my criteria. For example: The cherry barb has the least impact on the environment it introduced to, and therefore it is on fifth place.

4.   4.    (I was absent the day the discussion took place)

Invasive Species in South America

Should or should we not reduce meat consumption?

Yes, I believe we should reduce the global meat consumption. The huge amounts of CO² produced by the production of meat (farming, packing, transporting) could be significantly reduced if every person would consider one day per week as meat-free. However, not only this fact lead me to my belief. Early humans were not used to eating a great amount of meat, as it was fairly hard to get, compared to today. As an result the human body is still not comfortable with a large amount of meat per week, however on average, every human eats 50 grams per day. This is a lot and at times even too much for the body to handle which can cause severe health problems.

Q.: Is the area of the Indian Embassy biologically diverse?
A.: Last week we formed small groups and went to an area, which belongs to the Indian Embassy, close to our school, in order to take specimens and notes with which we wanted to calculate and observe the area and its diversity. Firstly, we shared our specimens and then added up the plants we had in common. However, we weren't able to only use our collections, therefore we had to ask the Indian Embassy for an estimate of the number of species found in the area, which was 193. Using this number and Simpson's Index we were able to quantify biodiversity of the area, which is 0,095.

Brazil's Population Growth

1. Based on Brazil's current population age structure, fast growth, I expect that in short term, between 15 and 20 years from now, Brazil's population will not see a tremendous difference. However my predictions are that with 50 years from now, Brazil's population will be significantly higher and continuing to grow.

2. These changes in Brazil's population will not have such a great impact on the environment nor economy of Brazil during a short period of time. However in 50+ years, in order to be able to hold and feed such a great population Brazil's economy has to be stabilized and the environment, as in infrastructure has to improve.

3 Questions

On Friday we had our first IB Bio class with Mr. Collins.
Not only did we observe eggs in salt water, we were also challenged with two different paper puzzles. The first one was fairly easy to solve, but the second one was rather tricky as we were given an extra square which we had to place within the first puzzle, still creating a perfect square. Afterwards we were asked to answer this question:

1. How are the puzzles like your brain?
Answer: The first puzzle was like simple information. We had to create a square with the puzzle pieces, which means, that all the information we gather in class has to be placed into our brains in an order for us to understand. No one can possibly learn from a pile of information, one has to organize the pile in order to learn from it successfully. Now the second puzzle with the extra square. The new little square indicated new information. We have to place new information into our brain in the order it belongs to. Each day we will gain new knowledge, a new puzzle piece, to which we have to find the right place inside our brains.

After everyone finally solved the second puzzle, Mr. Collins gave us 10 plastic cups. Immediately we reached out and created a pyramid out of them. Unfortunately it wasn't going to be that easy. Along with the cups, Mr. Collins gave us a rubber-band on which four woolen threads were tied up on. Now the instructions were that four students, each one with one thread in their hand, were to build a pyramid out of the cups with only the rubber-band for help. With workmanship and communication it took us about 5 minutes to finish the pyramid. Now, we were to answer our second question:

2. How is the pyramid like science process?
Answer: The four cups at the very bottom of the pyramid signify basic science knowledge. With each cup build on top of that level, we gain more knowledge and with each level of the pyramid complete, we go deeper into the knowledge we already have, until we finally, slowly reach the top and with the top the answer we were looking for during our process.

As we are an IB class, Mr. Collins finally asked his third question:

3. Why did you choose IB Bio?
Answer: I choose the IB program as it gives me the opportunity to study all over the world. It prepares me to become an intercultural thinking person with a lot of knowledge about the world we are living in.