In 1917, a paper titled “On competition between Galium saxatile L. (G hercynicum Weig.) and Galium Sylvestre Poll. (G. asperum Schreb.) on different types of soil” by Arthur Tansley was published in The Journal of Plant Ecology.  This paper explored the relationship between soil types and germination rates of Galium saxatile and Galium Sylvestre.  Tansley focused on four different soil types: calcareous, garden loam, acid peat and natural sandy loam.  His method was based on planting the seeds of both species in each soil and observing germination and growth.

Results

Calcareous soil:  G. saxatile showed lower germination rates and developed chlorosis after sprouting resulting in very slow growth while G. sylvestre germinated and grew normally.  Both species died after several weeks.

Garden loam (non-calcareous):  Both species grew in this soil.  G. sylvestre began to grow faster than G. saxatile and eventually out-competed and took over the mat.

Acid peat:  Germination rates were low for both species and neither flowered the first year.  In the second year, there were few flowers of both species.  In the third year, G. saxatile grew more vigorously than G. sylvestre.

Clearly, there was an effect of competition between the two species in each type of soil.  Tansley suggested that there was direct suppression of shoots while one species grew better on a more preferable soil.  He also suggested that there was no competition within the roots.

When looking at modern papers, there are many factors which are absent in Tansley’s paper, notably statistics.  Statistics and statistical analysis are extremely important in research.  With statistics we are able to predict whether or not findings are significant and if what was observed was due to random sampling.  The absence of statistics in Tansley’s paper is mainly due to the fact that statistics were not fully understood or developed in Tansley’s time. If his research was recreated in the future, a more in-depth observation must be made including all statistical analysis in order for the findings to be considered accurate.

Tansley, A. G. (1917). On competition between Galium saxatile L.(G. hercynicum Weig.) and     Galium sylvestre Poll.(G. asperum Schreb.) on different types of soil. The Journal of            Ecology, 173-179.

When doing research on a certain topic, most of us look to the internet as it’s a fast and easy way of accessing many documents and papers.  A lot of the information we find online is Open Access.  This means that it’s free material that does not contain licensing barriers to allow one to access it.  Open Access material can be many things such as article and journals that we can easily find online. 

Although an article may be Open Access, this still means that proper citation and credit must be given to the author of the article when writing a research paper, for example.  When citing a document, it is necessary to look at the metadata: information about the specific document.  Metadata includes the author of the document, the date it was released and other important information regarding the document (another example is file size which is less relevant to creating proper citations).

Some documents we find online may not be open access, meaning we would need special permission to access them.  Some authors prefer to have a Creative Commons License.  This means that they are able to share their work but only o a select group of individuals.  The license also controls on who is able to distribute the work.  An example of this would be reports that are released in journals where only subscribers to the journal are able to view it.  As students at York University, we have been granted access to view a lot of articles in journals that would not be open access to an average person.

An interesting open access article in the journal of Nature Communications explores the effect of fragmentation on Amazonian forest canopies.  With the use of LiDAR scanning, the scientists observed the canopy cover during the seasons of old growth forests in the Amazon.  It was observed that when maximum daily temperatures reached 35C, the upper canopy lost plant material (Nunes et al. 2022).  This then resulted in an increase in plant material I the lower canopy as there was an increase in available light.  At forest edges, found in fragmented ecosystems, there was an increase in average temperatures which led to persistent upper canopy loss, uncommon in most parts of the forest.  This is an interesting article to read as we see how the natural ecosystem is altered and effected by fragmentation from human effects such as the building of roads and clearcutting.

Nunes, M.H., Camargo, J.L.C., Vincent, G. et al. Forest fragmentation impacts the            seasonality of Amazonian evergreen canopies. Nat Commun 13, 917 (2022).        https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-28490-7

In the 1950s and 60s, one of the prominent goals of the US government was for everyone to have access to food (a politic move for Americans to feel more secure as wars were being fought over seas).  This revolution changed the forms of agriculture from more traditional methods, to ones involving heavy machinery such as tractors and combines, chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and the use of a lot of water.  Great success was seen in places such as India with rice and in the states with wheat.  At first, everything seemed to be working efficiently, until the practice of monocultures (large farms growing only one type of plant) resulted in soil depletion, water loss, increased pests and toxic runoff from the farms.

Soil contains a large amount of life: animal, fungal and microbial life are al vital to the health of soil.  When the soil is not disturbed, biotic factors of the soil are able to maintain the quality of the soil such as nutrient, disease resistance and water conservation.  In modern practices derived from the green revolution, the soil gets tilled every season and planted with a monoculture.  This results in the soil getting nutrient depleted and causes a lot more water to be used as it easily evaporates from the tilled soil.

Since the soil lacks a lot of nutrients, chemical fertilizers must be used in order for the plants to produce a profitable amount.  This issue is further worsened as farms only tend to grow one crop, therefore the soil is unable to recover and nutrients are further washed away.  Monocultures also result in the need of many pesticides as pest infection can spread rapidly to each plant.  This combined with the fertilizers results in chemical ridden runoff when it rains which wreaks havoc to local ecosystems.

One of the main reasons why this method of farming is so prevalent is because it is the only way to achieve a yield large enough to profit off of, but at what cost? Speaking to your grandparents, they would tell you that the fruits and vegetables tasted better when they were younger.  Plant products today have also been found to be less nutritious than they had in the past.  This is why a new method of agriculture must be adopted.

Systems such a permaculture and no-till farming have proved to be an effective way of producing large amounts of food, with less fertilizers and less water.  By mimicking nature and creating a biodiverse farm, plants are able to grow with less risk of pests and less soil depletion.  Soil can be protected by cover crops or heavy mulching as well which increases the soils qualities and therefore makes a more fitting environment for plants.  Permaculture, heavy mulching and crop rotation are great ways of creating a farming practice that is sustainable and can produce an adequate amount of food.

The topic of viruses has become quite prevalent in today’s time and this brings the question in whether or not they are alive.  For and organism to be classified as living, a set of criteria must be fulfilled: response to their environment, growth and evolution, reproduction, metabolism, maintain homeostasis, be composed of cells and to pass genetic traits to offspring.

            Viruses satisfy some, but not all of the criteria of living things.  Viruses are not composed of cells, and cannot reproduce without the use of a host.  After a virus infects an organism, it is able to duplicate by inserting its DNA into the hosts cells which then reproduce the new virus DNA as well.  One of the criteria of livings things is the ability to use oxygen and sugar and form energy. Viruses are also not capable of this as they do not consume energy.  Since viruses do not have any regulatory organelles, they are not able to maintain homeostasis as they lack the ability to monitor or adjust their internal state.

Although viruses do not contain all criteria of life, they are still able to react to their environment as they enter organisms and find certain cells to infect.  Viruses can also evolve as the genetic copies created may contain errors which may change the viruses’ characteristics.  Errors which increase the fitness of the virus will result in the new strain to infect more cells, becoming a more dominant strain.  The criteria of life are an important way of distinguishing whether or not organisms are alive or not.  Although the argument of viruses is an interesting one, they still do not satisfy all the criteria therefore placing them in the category of “not alive”.

United Nations has an amazing website that posts educational articles relating to global issues in the environment. Specifically, they have numerous amounts of articles relating to climate change. It is a great platform to be educated and informed on serious issues that needs attention in today’s society. There was one article I came across that really captivated my attention. It was about how climate change causes water-related hazards and how it has gotten worse over the years. Some people wouldn’t think climate change can cause extremely dangerous water hazards- but it indeed does! This specific article explains the tragic event of a massive rainfall that caused large amounts of flooding and took the lives of many people in central Europe. The authors express the idea that the atmosphere is becoming warmer and warmer which holds a lot of moisture and results in more rainfalls, storms, and severe flooding. This obviously puts people at risk for their lives. They share an interesting quote in the article that states “No country- developed or developing- is immune. Climate change is here and now”. This quote is the epitome of change. This quote alone is enough to change or educate an individual’s perspective on climate change. It is an issue that people will not become “immune to” or “used to”. It is literally happening right now as you read this blog and is getting worse and worse by the second. I know some people wouldn’t see more rainfalls and storms as a big “hazard”, however with the air getting warmer by the day, who knows how bad the storms could get and how it could affect populations.

Link for the article: https://www.un.org/en/climate-action/climate-change-worsens-water-hazards

For more information on climate change, visit this website! https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-climate-change-what-you-need-know

There is a big common question that the public never really knows the answer to and that is – are viruses alive? The answer to that question is kind of. I know it’s shocking. How can a virus be kind of alive? There has been an ongoing debate between scientists for many years as to whether classify viruses as alive or dead. There is a large grey area of being alive or not. Pretty much, viruses cannot do anything unless they come in contact with a host cell. They do not have their own nucleus and they cannot make their own energy. Viruses have one goal and that is to insert their DNA or RNA into the host cell so that it can be replicated. Then, the DNA that was inserted will be post-transcriptionally modified, packed into new virus cells, and released from the host cell. Viruses are able to survive by injecting their DNA into host cells and replicating from there. So, they depend on host cells to survive. Without host cells, they are not able to replicate and will not be able to survive in their environment. Therefore, viruses have characteristics of being alive and not alive. They have the ability to reproduce inside host cells but don’t really have a proper cellular structure. This is why is it extremely hard to classify if viruses are alive or not. It wouldn’t really make sense to fully classify viruses as dead as they can move throughout the cell and have a purpose. This is an extremely complicated topic to teach to the public as there are tons of research and information to be learned and understood. But, I do believe it is important to understand the basics of the topic and its physiology and mechanism of replication.  

About 2 years ago, our lives drastically changed. We went from going out on weekends, summer vacations, concerts, and even attending school in-person to being isolated at home, wearing masks, living in a virtual world, and practically living in pyjamas. This was due to one thing- a highly transmissible virus called Covid-19. A global pandemic that started in China and spread to the entire world in so little time. It became uncontrollable as it spread at such a rapid pace and the population was ordered to stay home. It is crazy to see how much our lives have changed these past years. Before Covid, it would have been weird to wear masks when you went out, but now I feel like a part of me is missing when I don’t have a mask. I remember at the beginning of the pandemic, there were shortages of hand sanitizers and Lysol wipes and everyone was freaking out. There was one grocery store that was selling Lysol wipes for $80! Everyone started getting dogs that are known as the “covid dogs” – my family is guilty of this haha. Nonetheless, our lives changed drastically and it was extremely hard to adjust. Luckily, scientists created a vaccine that fights against Covid-19 and protects ourselves and others around us. Personally, there was one good thing that came out of this pandemic for me- my dog which helped me mentally and reduced my anxiety However, I feel like the public does not really understand Covid-19 as much as they should. So, here are 5 basic multiple-choice questions to test the public on their knowledge of Covid-19. 

1. What is the most effective mask you should wear to protect yourself from Covid-19? a.Cloth   b.Medical  c.KN95  d.No mask  

2. What are the common symptoms of Covid-19? 

a.Fever b.Lost of taste or smell  c.Cough  d.Fatigue e.All of the above 

3. How many feet is considered to be socially distant from someone? 

a. 2 feet b.3 feet  c.6 feet d.Less than 1 feet  

4. What percentage of alcohol is needed in a hand sanitizer to kill Covid-19? 

a.10% b. 40% c.60% d.100% 

5. What is the most effective way to test for Covid-19? 

a. PCR test  b.Rapid test  c.Sugar test  d.Urine sample 

Answers: 1:c 2:e 3:c 4:c 5:a  

For more information on Covid-19, you can visit this website! 

https://covid-19.ontario.ca/

Grad Life Podcast hosts its 5th episode with the one and only, Biology Professor Dawn Bazely. Throughout this podcast, Dawn Bazely touches upon her educational career, research, being a woman in science, and the importance of collaboration. Throughout the entire podcast, Dawn vocalized many topics that caught my attention that could act as learning lessons. There was one topic she stated that I found very interesting- the fungus they discovered in the ’80s that were killing sheep. I found this to be extremely educational to learn about the evolution of plants and how grass could look perfectly normal but be killing animals that graze across that land. However, at around 29 minutes into the podcast, Dawn expressed the importance of women in science that I believe everyone should know about and could be taken as advice to science students. Dawn Bazely is a woman in STEM and is passionate about women’s place in the science field. There is still an ongoing issue of women being excluded from research opportunities. It is sad that this is still an issue in today’s society and people need to be more aware of it. She stated her frustration when her University college went co-ed when it was supposed to be an all-women college. She argued that she wanted her college to remain single-sex because it protects the women’s family. In the podcast, I could definitely hear the passion Dawn has for women in science and it inspired me to not limit myself when it comes to achieving things. I believe it could be very discouraging being a woman studying science as I am aware of the unjust treatment women face. But, I believe women can make a difference if we all unite and fight for the right!  

Here is the link to listen to this podcast for anyone who is interested to listen! 

For my film festival assignment, I nominated the iconic movie “The Lorax”. However, I was debating for about a week between “The Lorax” and another movie that was recently released on Netflix. Many of you probably know what movie I’m talking about. I’ll give you a hint- it stars some of the most famous actors and actresses such as Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Timothee Chalamet and so much more. I’m going to be honest, as soon as I heard Ariana Grande was in the movie, I knew I had to watch it because I am a big fan of hers. By the way, this movie is called “Don’t Look Up”. So, this movie has to be amazing right? It has the most famous celebrities in it which was the main reason why I wanted to watch it. However, after watching the movie, I quickly realized that this movie had a much deeper message it was trying to portray. Besides the humour and metaphors all throughout the movie, it tries to raise awareness of the global issue of climate change. In the film, a comet is heading towards Earth that will destroy the planet and kill humanity. The two scientists played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence are aware of this comet and try to get the public to believe them and politicians to act. They know the science is right and that it will 100% happen but no one seems to care or see it as an issue. Hence why the movie is called “Don’t Look Up”. The politicians try to diffuse the situation and tell the public this information is false. This relates to real life. Scientists know the facts about climate change, how severe it is, and how it is increasing at a drastic rate over the years. They are aware of its negative effects and try to raise awareness to the public to act, but no one ever sees it as a serious issue. It is interesting why people don’t believe the science in today’s society- science is political. There is a song from the film called “Just Look Up” sung by Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi which is about trying to tell the public to just look up and believe the scientists. The comet is right in front of their eyes if they just look up. This movie was a great way to raise awareness of the scary urgency of climate change. It was a smart move to use a lot of famous celebrities in the film to attract audiences to watch it and become inspired. Hopefully, people understood the message it was trying to display and have a deeper understanding of climate change and act 

Watch the Don’t Look Up trailer here! 

Listen to the soundtrack “Just Look Up” by Ariana Grande and Kid Cudi for some inspiration! 

One of the papers I read elaborated on the idea of ensuring sustainable agriculture and food security.

First, the industrialization of agriculture will not lead to guaranteed safety of output food. Sustainable agriculture should be based on the rational use of urban and natural resources. Currently, we are faced with a rising world population, water scarcity, and weather changes that create barriers to adequate and safe food. On the one hand, the expanding population is making the limited amount of agricultural land available insufficient to support the food needs of the population. On the other hand, “food deserts” – areas of the city that have been abandoned and not used for cultivation – are a reminder of the importance of using resources wisely.

Scientists are currently considering the feasibility of various scientific approaches to ensure sustainable agriculture and food security, such as the rebuilding of “food desert” areas, organic and non-organic farming that requires less space. In addition, if we are familiar with the weather patterns and learn to cope with them, we can significantly reduce the impact of weather changes, such as the construction of plant protection measures. In addition, if certain crops are no longer suitable for the areas they are grown in due to weather changes, they can be considered for relocation to more suitable locations, or they can be considered for replacement by other crops with the same nutrient content and better suited to the local weather. In short, emerging agricultural technologies are being considered in conjunction with the concept of sustainable development to maximize food productivity and safety while reducing the impact of weather.

Reference:

Smith, & Archer, R. (2020). Climate, population, food security: adapting and evolving in times of global change. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, 27(5), 419–423. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504509.2020.1712558