As a group , we have decided to choose the Mountain Gorilla and the Monkey Puzzle Tree as our two organisms for this assignment. We are going to compare these two organisms based on four aspects: adaptation , reproduction , growth and homeostasis. Below is a brief description on our two organisms as well as four individual links to our comparison points.
Mountain Gorilla
Mountain gorillas are an endangered species of great ape. They are a subspecies of eastern gorillas, and as their name implies, they live in the high mountains at elevations of 8,000 to 13,000ft. Mountain gorillas are incredibly social primates, generally living in family groups led by one dominant silverback male. They play an important role in the ecosystem because of their diet; they are predominantly plant-based and large-scale grazers of vegetation. Without mountain gorillas, their local environment could be negatively impacted from a disbalance in the food chain.
Monkey Puzzle Tree
The monkey puzzle is an evergreen, pyramid-shaped tree that can reach up to 50m tall with a trunk circumference of 2.5m. The bark is grey-brown, smooth, and sticky with resin. Monkey puzzle leaves are thick, stiff, dark-green triangles and 3 to 4cm long. The leaves are spirally arranged around the branches and can last for up to 15 years.
Monkey puzzle trees are dioecious, meaning male and female cones grow on different trees. The male cones are cylindrical, around 13cm long, and start as green before turning yellow, then brown once the pollen is released. The female cones are spherical, around 17cm across and contain around 200 seeds each, which are released when the cones fall apart in autumn.