Reflect and Respond
Dallas, Texas had an outbreak of West Nile virus, a virus spread by mosquitos, in 2012. In 2012, the mosquito population increased dramatically. What are the limiting factors for these mosquitos? What changed in Dallas between 2011 and 2012?

A sample answer should include the following:

Limiting factors for this population:

the nitrogen cycle provides nitrogen to the ecosystem from the atmosphere, ground and oceans. nitrogen is an important component of complex molecules such as amino acids and nucleotides, which lead to the creation of proteins and dna, the building blocks of all life. plants absorb nitrogen in the form of ammonium, nitrate ion and, on rare occasions, as amino acids. animals receive nitrogen necessary for biological processes from feeding on living or dead organic matter.

straight probes are used primarily for measuring flow as it is approaching the test area. its geometry allows the probe to be mounted so that it is in the direct line of airflow.