Major Concerns about Biology and Ecology - Open Questions

Major Concerns about Biology and Ecology

- Open Questions 

Dr Abe V Rotor

Living with Nature School on Blog

Here are questions often raised in the academe about Biological and Environmental Sciences. How familiar are you to these questions? You may find them useful in your studies, lectures, discussions, exams, researches, and the like.

 

UST Graduate School students visit vermiculture project of La Mesa Eco Park, QC 

Photos by Sunshine Rolle

1. How do you relate autotoxicity of yeast in fermentation, and the tale of the Pied Piper, with humankind’s possible extinction? Are we in our sunset as a species?

2. Were our ancestors a happier lot? In what ways? What has Folk Wisdom to do with our present lives?

3. What are the three scientific breakthroughs? What are their applications? (10)

4. There is an aspect in Human Ecology about “love life.” How do you relate it with health and values? Is married life a blissful life?

5. How is bioethics applied in present day life, specifically in ecology? Explain in relation to pollution, human factors in development, and the like.

6. Global warming has many consequences: What are these? Do these have anything to do with the biblical events and prophesies?

7. What is the Disconnection Syndrome? Explain. How do you relate it to Connectivity?

8. Today’s concept of heroes has taken a universal perspective. Compare it with the traditional concept of heroes, saints and martyrs. Cite prominent names.

9. What is the paradigm of salvation on the ecological perspective? How do you relate this with our lessons? What are the other paradigms to compare with? Is it compatible to them?

10. Present ten (10) scenarios created by the increasing atmospheric heat brought about by Greenhouse Effect.

11. Differentiate the following:

a.Paedogenesis from Parthenogenesis

b..Aestivation from Hibernation

c.Most primitive vs most advance Organisms

d.Shortest vs longest life span of organisms

e.Colony of termites vs a horde of migratory locusts

12.Present a scenario if all insects in the world were eliminated.

13. Inbreeding is apparent in parthenogenetic organisms, which include many inverrtebrates and plankton organisms. This phenomenon is contrary to Darwinian principles of survival and evolution? How can these organisms cope up with this disadvantage?

14.Why is Genetic Engineering controversial? On which side of the argument do you support? Explain.

15.“Stress predisposes an organism to shortened life cycle.” What is the background of this statement? Do you agree with it? What is its implication?

16.“Being small is a biological asset.” What is the rationale in the biological world? In the insect world? (Identify the insects in the photos.)

17.Arthropods dominate the animal kingdom in diversity and number.

a. What are the common characteristics of Arthropods?

b. How are Arthropods classified? Describe each class, and cite common 

     examples.

18.Many organisms are called “living fossils?” Explain. What organisms demonstrate this phenomenon? What enabled these organisms to defy the conventional rules of evolution?

19.What are the components of Integrated Pest Management? Briefly explain each.

20.Make a list of destructive insects (be specific) and the nature of damage they inflict, in common names. You may provide other important information

21.How do insects survive extreme conditions of the environment? During summer? Winter? Cite examples.

22. What are the 12 most important orders of insects? Briefly explain each and cite examples.

23. There are poisonous plants found in nature which ethnic societies learned to deal with their poison. Explain how the poison is removed or at least reduced to safe level.

24. There are 30 pesticide-free vegetables in their common and scientific names which I listed in the Blog and in the book, Living with Nature. They are resistant to insects, mites, nematodes, snails, fungi, including weeds, rodents and birds, and are often found in the wild, or in the open spaces. Name as many as you can recall, in common names.

25. What group of vegetable is the most sprayed – in fact chemical pesticide is a must in its cultivation. What are the tips on how to minimize the effects of pesticides? What should we do with vegetables raised with chemical spraying as a prescribed horticultural practice? (Crucifers.  How many can you identify in the photo?)

26. In your readings, what make Garlic a Miracle Health Food and Medicine

27. There are wild food plants or hunger crops that provide an alternative source of food and nutrition on the grassroots in times of poor harvest and calamities like drought. Being native or indigenous they survive extreme conditions of the environment, they need very little care, if at all. Name ten of them which are found locally and how they are prepared.

28. To make natural farming and gardening work, one must turn to the so-called “eight senses” - the intelligence of naturalism- which, in turn, makes a green thumb. Natural farming and/or gardening is described by five principles, to wit: (Give examples under each.)

a. Take advantage of the functions of living things as producers;

b. From a single process, harness two or more products;

c. Use leftovers and wastes as resource for the next process;

d. Remember that the value of a given process can be greater than the sum 

    of its parts; and

e. Capitalize on natural assets of certain organisms and certain environmental factors.

29. What are sea vegetables, what are the 5 most common in the market

30. Trace the flow of solar energy from the physical to the biological world. Emphasize the role of the cell and its parts. Show the transformation of energy along the pathway. How is energy conserved and released? Illustrate and explain. ~

*Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (People's School-on-Air) with Ms Melly C Tenorio

738 DZRB AM Band, 8 to 9 evening class Monday to Friday (www.pbs.gov.ph)