1. +
Nature Hike
BY: Christine Yan, Jessica Lloyd
Join us as we embark on a
fun adventure in nature!
PC: Christine Yan

2. +
The Stars of the Tour
PC: Christine Yan

Apples (Malus domestica): Red-ish coloured spherical fruits
found on trees. (top left)

Fungi: Can be spotted on other organisms like leaves and tree
trunks, and have a rotting and/or “mushroom-y” look. (top right)
Slide by Christine

3. +
PC: Christine Yan

White pine (Pinus strobus): A pine tree with 5 needles per
bundle. (top left)

Two-Spotted Bumblebee (Bombus bimaculatus): A fuzzy
bumblebee with two black dots on yellow. Especially commonly
found on flowers. (top right)
Slide by Christine

4. +
PC: Christine Yan

American bullfrog (Lithobtes catesbeianus): A pale to dark
green frog found near well vegetated shorelines of ponds and
other bodies of water.(top left)

Staghorn Sumac (Rhus typhina): Long-ish compound leaves
with flowers that form a cone that contain berries. (top right)
Slide by Christine

5. +
PC: Christine Yan

Black-eyed Susan (Redbeckia hirta): Yellow
wildflower with long-ish pedals, dark brown/black core. (left)

White birch (Betula papyrifera): A tall tree with a trunk covered
in smooth, white bark. (right)
Slide by Christine

6. + Nature of Science-Apples

How can you identify apples?

One way you can identify apples is by their
look. They are round in shape, fit into the
average person’s hand grasp, and grow on
trees. They can range from yellow to dark
red (includes green, etc.)
PC: Christine Yan

If one has made sure that it is clean, they can test it by eating it.
However you must be careful to make sure it’s not poisonous!

Once you take a bite out of this fruit, you can compare the taste of it to
those found in grocery stores. If picked off a tree recently, it should
kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk taste fresher and be more natural, as
kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk agricultural pesticides and modifications will
jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjj not have occurred.
Slide by Christine

7. + Will an apple a day really keep the
doctors away?

Dr. Bahram H. Arjmandi, PhD, RD, Margaret A.
Sitton Professor and Chair, Deparment of
Nutrition, Food and Exercise Sciences at The
Florida State University stated that there are
beneficial long term cardioprotective
(protecting the heart) affects of a daily apple in
postmenopausal women.
PC: Google

Two groups of women aged 45-65 were given dried apples or
dried prunes daily. At 3, 6, and 12 months, blood tests were
taken on these women.

There were “incredible” changes in the women given the
apples: They had a 23% decrease in LDL (Low Density
Lipoprotein) cholesterol, also known as the bad cholesterol.

They also had an increase in HDL (High Density
Lipoprotein)/good cholesterol by 4%
Slide by Christine

8. +  With apples containing more calories than prunes, weight loss
was not expected. However, the women who consumed apples
lost an average of 3.3 pounds. This was caused by the apple’s
pectin.

With this study, we can see the benefits of eating an apple
daily. Because it benefited women at generally weak times of
health, we can make the conclusion that it will benefit anyone’s
health, whether they are already healthy or not.
PC: Google
Slide by Christine

9. +
Evolution-White Birch

Adaptation:

Twigs and branches are flexible and
therefore are harder to snap under the
snow during winters. They lose their
leaves in the winter (deciduous) which reduces the loss of
water.
PC: Christine Yan

The leaves are smaller, meaning that water loss by winds is
reduced but they are large enough for photosynthesis to occur
and for the tree to grow healthily.

The bark that wraps around the trunk protects the inner wood
from damage and drying.

Wide roots allow more moisture to be taken in.
Slide by Christine

10. +

The history of birch:

Birches have been important for human survival for many
years. The natives in North America used the bark of these
trees as shelter in structures such as teepees.

The most common use back then for birches were canoes.

Creative items could also be created with the bark, such as
baskets to hold water.

White birch (Betula papyrifera) is native to North America
PC: Christine Yan
PC: Google
Slide by Christine

11. + Sexual dimorphism-Frogs

Frogs provide an example of sexual dimorphism.

The frogs we saw on our hike (American bullfrog) are an
example.

The average snout vent length for male frogs was 130 mm,
while for females it was 140 mm.

The two genders can be distinguished
by the size of the tympanums in relation
to the eyes. Tympanums are the two
circular spots found on either side of the
eyes. In females the tympanum is
approximately the same size as the eye
while in males, it can reach twice the
size of his eye. The frog in the image to the right is a male
since the tympanum is noticeably larger than the eye.
PC: J.D. Austin
Slide by Christine

12. + Population Ecology-Fungi

Fungi are found everywhere if you look carefully. It could be the
mushrooms you see in the forest, or even the mold on your
strawberries. Fungi can grow on both abiotic and biotic places.
They are decomposers

Abiotic factors: Soil, dead matter (such as dead logs) often
have fungi on them.
Fungi growing
from the soil
PC: Christine Yan
Slide by Christine

13. also be
on biotic factors: they can have
+  Fungi canrelationsfoundplants, animals, and other fungi.
symbiotic
with

For example, athletes foot is a disease caused
by fungi growing on humans.

Maple leaves in fall often have fungi on them,
another example of fungi found on biotic
factors.
PC: Google
PC: Christine Yan
Slide by Christine

14. + Community Ecology- Pollination
PC: Jess Lloyd




Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anthers of one flower to the
anthers of another or the same flower.
The Bee’s in these photos are the pollinators.
By pollination, the bees get the nectar/pollen from the flowers which allows
them to meet there energy requirements and to produce offspring.
Flowering plants benefit also because the pollination is required for
fertilization in order for the flower to develop seeds.
Slide by Jess

15. +  This is an example of a mutualistic relation, since the flower
provides the bee with food while the bee allows the flower to
reproduce

Because of the pollination the bees are responsible for, they
are very important to the survival of vast amounts of flowers.
However, as the usage of pesticides is increasing, the
population of bees is decreasing and may cause problems in
the future for pollination.
PC: Christine Yan
Slide by Christine

16. + Ecosystem Ecology
- Mixed forest
PC:
Jess Lloyd
Studies show that forests should contain a variety
of trees in order to increase and maintain factors
such as; tree growth, carbon sequestration, berry
production, food for wildlife, the presence of dead
wood and biological diversity in ground vegetation.
In the mixed forest that we explored for example,
trees such as the white birch tree provide the
ecosystem with oxygen through the process of
photosynthesis while also providing a feeding place
for numerous birds such as yellow-bellied
sapsuckers. Jon Bengtsson states that, "Our
findings show that both forestry and nature
conservation could benefit from promoting more
different varieties of trees, thereby providing a
greater diversity of ecosystem services.”
Slide by Jess

17. + Human Impacts- Bees
Honey bee’s don’t only have a impact on
human lives in the agricultural aspect.
They pollinate plants that feed animals in
order for them to provide other products,
such as cows producing dairy. They
provide the amount of pollination that
humans need for the amount of
consumption that occurs on this planet.


Sucrose is converted to glucose and fructose by
enzymes that the bee produces.

Most of the water is then evaporated so honey
only consists of about 18% water.

PC: Jess Lloyd
Bees convert the nectar they have received from
pollination, which is similar to a mixture of
sucrose and water.
Honey is a very stable food, which allows it to
naturally resist molds, fungi and other bacteria’s.
Slide by Jess

18. + Human Impacts- Sumac

Sumac is used in cooking in places such as the middle
east. It is sometimes used as a substitute of lemons.
Sumac has a very nice, fruity-tart flavor which is not quite
as overpowering as lemon. In addition to their very
pleasant flavor, flakes from the berry are a lovely, deep
red color which makes a very attractive decoration.

Sumac can be used to make drinks such as tea and pink
lemonade.
PC: Jess Lloyd
Slide by Jess

19. Human Impacts- Pollution
+

The Yangtze River is located in China, and is the longest river
in Asian and third-longest in the world.

The Three Gorges Dam is the world’s biggest dam and is
located on the Yangtze River as a power station. It started
operating in 2008.
Dam at night

PC: Christine Yan
Dam during day
The Yangtze River Cruise is a popular tourist destination in
China nowadays, and on this cruise people, like me, will see
the an amount of pollution they have never seen before in their
life.
Slide by Christine

20. +
PC: Christine Yan

As seen in the example above, pollution floats atop a huge part
of the river, and the river is brown in colour because of it.

The amount of sewage and industrial waste released into this
river reached 25 billion tons.


92% of nitrogen released into the river is from agriculture.
Before the dam was built, there was already a lot of pollution
but after, it became much worse.
Slide by Christine

21. 
As a result of this pollution, the natural water flow of the river is
slowed down. Serious infectious diseases such as Hepatitis A
can be caused and E.coli bacteria is “rampant” in the water.

Riverbank collapses and landslides caused by the dam will
cause even more pollution.

This is a truly beautiful area of the world and if it becomes too
damaged because of the pollution, the world will have lost what
in my opinion is one of the greatest wonders.
+
First gorge at
sunset
PC: Christine Yan
Slide by Christine

22. +
Invasive species- Fungi (Rhytisma
acerinum)


This fungi weakens the tree, which
makes it susceptible to other diseases
and insects.

PC: Jess Lloyd
The fungus that appears as black spots
on maple leaves is called a tar spot.
They are fungi from the genus
Rhytisma. The fungus thrives in moist,
cold weather. It infects the leaves which
results in creating tar spots.
The fungi cause the leaves to fall early
in the fall. However in the long term, the
tree’s health in general is not normally
affected.
Slide by Jess

23. Thank you for embarking on this
+
adventure with us, we hope you
learned from it and enjoyed it.

24. + Resources
American Bullfrog. (n.d.). Ontario Nature. Retrieved October 18,
2013, from http://www.ontarionature.org/protect/species/
reptiles_and_amphibians/american_bullfrog.php
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta). (n.d.). Ontario Wildflowers.
Retrieved October 18, 2013, from http://
ontariowildflowers.com/main/species.php?id=248
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (2011,
May 3). 'Apple a day' advice rooted in science. ScienceDaily.
Retrieved October 18, 2013, from http://
www.sciencedaily.com- /releases/
2011/04/110412131923.htm
Fernandez, A. (n.d.). History of Birch. Herbal Legacy. Retrieved
October 17, 2013, from http://www.herballegacy.com/
Birch_History.html

25. +
Grey, M. (n.d.). Adaptations of the Birch Tree. EHow. Retrieved
October 18, 2013, from http://www.ehow.com/
list_7552867_adaptations-birch-tree.html
Malus domestica. (n.d.). Royal Botanic Gardens. Retrieved
October 18, 2013, from http://apps.kew.org/trees/?
page_id=121
Rhytisma acerinum. (n.d.). Hedgerows of Britain and Ireland.
Retrieved October 17, 2013, from http://
hedgerowmobile.com/tarspot.html
Search for the Cause of Equine Atypical Myopathy. (n.d.). Gluck
Center. Retrieved October 17, 2013, from http://
www2.ca.uky.edu/gluck/q_apr11.asp
Species Bombus bimaculatus. (n.d.). Bug Guide . Retrieved
October 18, 2013, from http://bugguide.net/node/view/
80615

26. + The Staghorn Sumac and its Canadian Cousins. (n.d.).
Canadian Wildlife Federation. Retrieved October 18,
2013, from http://http://cwf-fcf.org/en/discoverwildlife/flora-fauna/flora/staghorn-sumac.html
Threat of Pollution in the Yangtze. (n.d.). World Wildlife Fund.
Retrieved October 18, 2013, from http://
wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_freshwater/
freshwater_problems/river_decline/10_rivers_risk/
yangtze/yangtze_threats/