Plants Rule the World at Biosphere 2!

The cool mist of an Amazon rainforest is the impossible dream of one wandering on the scorched earth of a Sonoran desert summer. Impossible you say? Not so. There is a rainforest right here in Arizona. It is one of the five biomes within Biosphere 2 and houses over 100 species of rainforest plants. Some of these plants have prehistoric beginnings. Some have odd and interesting interactions with other species, including humans. All are part of the very complex ecosystem we call a rainforest.

Specimens of all these plants live in the rainforest at Biosphere 2

The Zamia fischeri is a prehistoric plant belonging to the first group of plants to produce seeds – the gymnosperms. The more familiar gymnosperms include pine trees. zamia fischeri is endangered. One of the few remaining specimens grows in the Biosphere 2 rainforest.

Project Pollination. Since no bats or bees live in Biosphere 2, biologists must be lifted to the top of the canopy to pollinate the flowers.

Aechmea calycalata is an herb that commonly grows on the branches of trees. Its leaves overlap to form a cup shape that collects rain water. Some frogs lay their eggs in these tiny ponds in the tree tops.

Derris elliptica, a plant in the legume family, presents itself as a large, woody vine. Vines an important structural component of a tropical rainforest, are used by mammals to travel from one treetop to another. Imagine George of the Jungle. Watch out!.

Hura crepitans has tiny glands that produce nectar to attract bats and lemurs. As these animals collect the nectar, they also collect pollen in their fur and deposit it in the tree’s flowers. The ripe fruit explodes with a loud bang—scattering its seeds.

What is this?

Phylogeny refers to the evolutionary history of a plant. A phylogenetic tree is much like your family tree. You may download the entire puzzle to use in your classroom or simply to see if you can solve it. Go to www.b2science.org Click on Programs, then Citizen Science

Earthday Sculpture Contest Update!

B2 wants you to know that we have heard from a number of teachers and students who are preparing their entries for our Earth Day contest. This contest is open to individual students and to classrooms.

Create a sculpture from trash. Use only things you might send to the recycling center or throw away. You may not purchase anything for this project except paint and connecting materials such as glue, wire, string, solder or any other item used for fastening pieces together.

The deadline for submission is Feb. 28, by 5 p.m.

Submit photos of your entries as well as a detailed written description and the title of your sculpture to:
Matt Adamson • Biosphere 2 • P.O. Box 8746 • Tucson, AZ 85738
Or send electronically to: madamson@email.arizona.edu
For questions call: Matt Adamson 520-838-6137
Or click www.bearessentialnews.com/archives/2010/biosphere-January2010.php for complete information and contest rules.

For more info, or to schedule a field trip, call 520-838-6200
or visit www.b2science.org

Is Shaq Sinking Suns?

There's a new big man in town; the Phoenix Suns are betting he's the spark they need to win the playoffs.

One of the biggest stars in the NBA universe, Shaquille O'Neal, is now wearing purple and orange. And both Shaq and the Suns have a lot to prove. Shaq, who just turned 36 and has endured knee and hip injuries, wants to show he's still a big force in the NBA. His critics say that the Diesel is too old and too slow for a high-octane, blazingly fast team like the Suns.

During the regular season, the Suns are one of the toughest teams in the West. And while fans love the Suns' exciting and high-scoring brand of basketball, led by two-time League MVP point guard Steve Nash, the team has never won the NBA Finals.

The Suns believe that Shaq is the piece that's been missing. At 7 feet 1 inch tall and 325 pounds, Shaq gives the Suns a true center who grabs rebounds, plays tough defense and passes the ball well. Up till now, Amare Stoudamire has been stuck playing center for the Suns, even though he's really one of the best power forwards in the game. With Shaq in at center, Stoudamire is freed up to do what he does best!

"Psychologically it really helps us out. Guys are much more willing to go to the boards and fight around the basket with Shaq in there," explains Head Coach Mike D'Antoni.

Fans love Shaq's superstar qualities. The big guy has won four NBA Finals and was MVP for three of them! But the Suns have lost their winning ways since Shaq started playing on Feb. 20. In the trade for Shaq, the Suns gave up All-Star forward Shawn Marion, who said he wanted to be traded at the beginning of the season. For years, Marion had been a clutch scorer. As of press time, the Suns have won just two of their last six games and have fallen to fifth place in the Western Conference. Fans wonder whether it's growing pains with the big guy or could it be a bad fit?

'Doomsday Vault' Opens for Business!

SVALBARD ARCHIPELAGO, Norway-Imagine a bank that's so far north that polar bears outnumber the people living there! The bank is located on Norway's Svalbard archipelago just 620 miles from the North Pole. As you may have guessed, it's cold there. During winter's around-the-clock darkness, temperatures can fall to -22° Fahrenheit.

The bank was blasted into the side of an arctic mountain and has reinforced concrete walls to help protect its valuable deposits from natural disasters, global warming and even a nuclear explosion. Welcome to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault-also called the "Doomsday Vault" by the press!

You can find seedbanks all over the world. Native Seeds/SEARCH is a seedbank here in Arizona. Its mission is to protect the diversity of local seed used in farming and their wild relatives. "We have nearly 2,000 varieties in our seedbank, mainly corn, beans and squash," explains Carolyn Owens, who works on grants for the seedbank. "Just like the seedbank in Norway, the seeds need to be kept cold, so they're stored in a freezer," she says. Seeds for the bank come from southwestern states and northern Mexico.

Seedbanks help protect our food supply from the "what ifs" in life-like what if there's drought; what if a disease attacks a certain kind of wheat, or what if global warming changes what can grow around here?

Modern farming has led to fewer and fewer varieties of crops. This has brought about many varieties of food crops being lost forever, and Owens says it's alarming. "It's just more cost effective to grow a single variety...but you don't know what disease is going to come along down the road," she says. A disease could wipe out an entire variety of a crop, leading to food shortages. But if there are enough other seed varieties, like wheat for instance, one of those types of wheat may turn out to be resistant to the disease.

Owens points out that a lot of seedbanks are in politically unstable areas like Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq, and have been looted or destroyed. In the Phillipines, a flood wiped out the country's seedbank.

That's why the Svalbard Global Seedbank was created-to protect the diversity of seeds no matter what happens in the world. Countries can "deposit" different varieties of seeds. If a disaster jeopardizes crops, the country can make a "withdrawal" of seeds.

The vault was built by Norway at a cost of about $3 million. Because seeds are so small, the "Doomsday Vault" can hold up to 2 billion seeds!