Leaves and Photosynthesis

Pyrola leaf

    

Naupaka Leaf

The leaves I picked for this blog are Pink Pyrola leaves and Naupaka Plant leaves. 

Pink Pyrola Leaves Description: This plant does not grow tall rather it spreads throughout the shore. It is directly in the sun because it is beside the shore and there are barely trees around that would block it from making contact with the sun. As shown in the picture, the leaves for this plant are shaped as a circular leaf.  It can be as big as one human’s whole hand. 

The fact that it is a round shaped leaf and that it is pretty big helps it get to the sun and does photosynthesis. Because it is a big leaf, and that there are no trees or shade to block its contact with the sun, it is able to absorb more light and carbon dioxide, which is needed for the process of photosynthesis. The bigger a leaf is, the more it is easier for photosynthesis to occur. 

Since this plant spreads throughout the shore area in my site, I would estimate at least a thousand or two of these leaves.

Naupaka Plant Leaves Description: This plant can be as tall as 10 feet. Most of this plant is in direct sun-light, but since there are a lot of these plants in my site, there are some that are being blocked by coconut trees that prevents it from getting direct sun-light. The leaves of this plant could be as wide as four of a humans's fingers, but could be as long as 5 inches.

Just like the pyrola leaves, the leaves of this plant are long and is pretty big and they are able to absorb light from the sun since most of it is not blocked by any shade also it is receiving a great amount of carbon dioxide.

It would estimate at least 2-3 thousand of these leaves in my site.

Mutations

          The organism I chose for this blog entry is Ghost Crabs. The mutation I would like to change is its clippers or its claws. If this mutation was applied to ghost crabs, they won't be able to bite or harm other organisms as well as human beings. This change will have a good affect on the organisms at my site and even on sites where ghost crabs exist. At my site, there are small fishes and clams that would benefit from this change. Since they are the type of organisms that the ghost crabs eat, they are being captured with its claws and being eaten by it. If this mutation were to be applied, there would still be an abundance of clams and small fishes and even turtle hatch lings on places where ghost crab and turtle hatch lings exist. If they didn't have their harmful claws/clippers then maybe they would have to find an alternative food for themselves, food that does not include eating other organisms. Also aside from harming the other organisms in my site; ghost crabs are also harmful to our coral and of course to us, human beings. Its claws can result to giving us terrible irritation or pain. I feel like its change would be selected for, only because the effect of it would do more good than harm. This mutation would help our corals last longer and that is important because it protects and provides habitats for other organisms. If the ghost crab continues to harm our coral, it would affect a whole lot of organisms.