We were told to observe variations in invertebrates (organisms without backbones), also known as “bugs”, today and went in the forest to find them. We found some “Rolly-Pollies” (bathynomus giganteus), and here’s a picture to show what they look like.

Some adaptations that allow them to survive in their environment, are one of their main defense mechanism against predators (to up into a hard ball). They also can emit an odor that keeps away some predators. These bugs are important for clearing the soil by taking in copper, zinc, lead, arsenic, and cadmium, which they crystallize in their midgut. So that they can survive in contaminated soil where other species cannot.

There are rolly-pollies throughout the world, and they usually live in areas where there is high moisture, because their bodies dont hold water. They normally stay hidden during the day and are active at night, so we were lucky to have found some today!

The other thing we looked at was the invasive plant species called “English Ivy” or it’s scientific name “Hedera Helix”. Here’s what it looks like!

(You can see it on top of the tree trunk growing down and around it.)

English Ivy was brought to British Comlumbia by english settlers for decoration and quickly became invasive and a problem because it thrives in moist wet soils, doesn’t need much sunlight and can quickly engulph and smother trees and shrubs. Coquitlam is a rainforest with all the right properties for this plant to thrive. Since it can engulph and smother trees and shrubs, it kills entier forests very quickly and has been a big issue because without removing at least some of it, it could make the food source of a lot of animlas go extinct and therfore the animals as well die and then we die, and so on. English ivy can be controlled by mowing it down, but the mowing must be done often (like mowing a lawn) and you must mow the entier thing to “starve-out” the plant. You can also ull it up! English ivy that’s in trees can be killed by cutting the stems on the ground and removing the vines from the tree as high as you can reach.