1) http://esterinbiology.blogspot.ca/2013/12/interesting-simple-animal-phyla.html
http://esterinbiology.blogspot.ca/2014/01/cnidaria.html
http://esterinbiology.blogspot.ca/2013/10/part-1-1-virus-particle-is-nucleic-acid.html
http://esterinbiology.blogspot.ca/2013/10/part-2-1-smallpox-is-somewhat-unique-in.html
Friday, January 24, 2014
Final Question #2
Recap Of My "Most Interesting" Blog Posts.
Interesting Arthropod:
I love this blog post just because the what I researched about was so interesting. Here, I learned about this incredible bug that has a long neck used to fight with others of its kind for a chance to reproduce with the lady. The woman Giraffe- Weevil has incredible strength in her legs and uses that power to fold up a leaf probably 20 times her size, and lays one single egg in it. Truly amazing.
Interesting Simple Animal Phyla:
Here, I learned about the flatworms and how they have cilia that help them sweep the ocean floor for food. I also learned the disturbing fact that they are the predators because they feed off of injured animals and dead animals...eghhh!
Interesting Plant:
This plant has a variety of names, one of which is Dragon Lily. The reason why I chose this plant was because when it blooms, it smells like rotten meat for a few days to attract flies for pollination. Interesting eh?
Celebrity Bug:
I chose a bug that was named after Arnold Schwarzenegger. This bug is very rare and the only reason it's named after the actor/boxer is because of its extremely developed middle femora that resembles Arnord's built physique.
Why Do Goldfishes Turn White in the Dark?
I noticed this question on Yahoo Answers and I immediately searched if it was true or not. It turns out that goldfishes have pigmentations like humans. The best way to explain this is to use suntanning as an example. When you're out in the sun, you tan but if you're inside all day, you lose that color. This is what happens to goldfishes in the dark.
Hammerhead Sharks:
This was the first 'Interesting Blog Post" I did. I wondered why Hammerhead sharks look the way they do. I found out that they use it for vision- they can see above and under them at all times. They also have complex sensory organs in the head to make his sight great. Lastly, he uses his head for pinning pray to the ocean floor and maneuvering his way around currents.
Cnidaria:
In this post I explained feeding, respiration, circulation, exertion, response, movement and reproduction of these interesting species.
While I love all these posts and its hard to chose a favorite, I feel like the post about the Giraffe-Weevil was the most interesting. As soon as I learned about it I went home and showed my parents and little brother, which I managed to wow. It was a post that I researched with ease and excitement. I learned that there are such a big variety of species and some of them can do things that I thought were impossible. Once I finished the BBC youtube video, I was truly amazed at the strong women Giraffe-Weevils and all their hard work for a single egg. I feel like this explains Natural Selection quite well because of the fact that this bug is not only smart, but very complex and creative in the way it makes the cocoons. In addition, these bugs are full of character. The males joust each other with their necks and the woman referees until one of them win to mate. All the woman needs the man for is his sperm and then shes off on her own, using her little hulk like bug legs to make a leaf cocoon for her only offspring. If that isn't character, I don't know what is!
Thursday, January 23, 2014
Final Question #1
Digestion:
Roundworm- does not contain stomach but goes from mouth to pharynx to intestines to rectum to anus.
Earthworm- digestion occurs from mouth to pharynx to esophagus to crop to intestines and to anus.
Grasshopper- mouth to pharynx to esophagus to crop to gizzard then to anus.
Starfish- food goes in mouth to stomach to intestine to anus. The stomach comes out of its mouth and releases digestive juices on its pray so it can then eat/absorb the partially digested pray.
Frog- food goes from mouth to pharynx to esophagus to stomach to small intestine to large intestine to anus.
** digestion path is very similar to humans.
Reproduction:
Roundworm- Have a male and a female. Female goes through internal fertilization.
Earthworm- Hermaphrodites. Go through internal fertilization and form a cocoon at their rear once fertilization occurs.
Grasshopper- Have a male and a female which reproduce internally. Produces about 10-30 offspring which then later mature like their parents.
Starfish- Hermaphrodites. Can produce sexually and asexually. Firstly, they can use their gonads to release its reproductive parts (sperm + egg) into the water. It can also cut off an arm with either the eggs or the sperm, and grow another starfish!!!
Frog- Has a male and a female which reproduce externally. They lay their eggs in the water until they eventually hatch and live on land.
Respiration:
Roundworm- No respiration but releases Carbon Dioxide.
Earthworm- No respiration but breathe through their skin.
Grasshopper- Have something called Spiracles on their sides that connect to the trachea and exchange Oxygen and carbon dioxide. This is especially important because they do not have lungs.
Starfish- Ampulla helps with respiration but they don`t have lungs.
Frog- Contain lungs as well as can breathe through the skin. Respiration system is very similar to humans.
Circulation:
Roundworm- None
Earthworm- contain 3 main blood vessels. Dorsal Blood Vessel (brings blood to the front of the body), Ventral Blood Vessel (takes blood to back of body), and Aortic Arches (pumps blood to Ventral and Dorsal Blood Vessels)
Grasshopper- Contains heart. Blood doesn't flow on its own but rather stays in place.
Starfish- Uses the Water Vascular System through the Madreporite.
Frog- Similar to humans- uses heart to pump blood to other arteries/veins.
Nervous System:
Roundworm- contain Dorsal and Ventral Nerve cord that transmits impulses throughout the body.
Earthworm- Contains Segmental Ganglions, Celebral Ganglion (brain-like) and a Ventral Nerve chord which help it move.
Grasshopper- contains brain, eyes, antenna and the Ventral Nerve Chord which helps it move. The brain isn't very important to the grasshopper, but instead the antenna.
Starfish- Only contains eyespots at the end of each arm. No brain.
Frog- Very similar to humans. Contains a brain which connects to the spinal chord and the rest of the nervous system to help it move and feel things.
We can easily see how in each of these categories, the species get more and more complex. This could easily be an example of Natural selection. With the explanation I gave for each category, you can the the characteristics and the ability for one to survive in the environment. Its obvious that the frog is the strongest of all in many ways. Also, I wonder why the frog is so similar to humans. At one look, you would never guess what goes on in that little body of theirs. There are some similarities between the animals listed above. For example, the all have a mouth and an anus. Also, every single one of these creatures contain a Ventral Nerve Chord in their nervous system. Each of these species are so special in their own way and I'm glad I got to learn about them.
Roundworm- does not contain stomach but goes from mouth to pharynx to intestines to rectum to anus.
Earthworm- digestion occurs from mouth to pharynx to esophagus to crop to intestines and to anus.
Grasshopper- mouth to pharynx to esophagus to crop to gizzard then to anus.
Starfish- food goes in mouth to stomach to intestine to anus. The stomach comes out of its mouth and releases digestive juices on its pray so it can then eat/absorb the partially digested pray.
Frog- food goes from mouth to pharynx to esophagus to stomach to small intestine to large intestine to anus.
** digestion path is very similar to humans.
Reproduction:
Roundworm- Have a male and a female. Female goes through internal fertilization.
Earthworm- Hermaphrodites. Go through internal fertilization and form a cocoon at their rear once fertilization occurs.
Grasshopper- Have a male and a female which reproduce internally. Produces about 10-30 offspring which then later mature like their parents.
Starfish- Hermaphrodites. Can produce sexually and asexually. Firstly, they can use their gonads to release its reproductive parts (sperm + egg) into the water. It can also cut off an arm with either the eggs or the sperm, and grow another starfish!!!
Frog- Has a male and a female which reproduce externally. They lay their eggs in the water until they eventually hatch and live on land.
Respiration:
Roundworm- No respiration but releases Carbon Dioxide.
Earthworm- No respiration but breathe through their skin.
Grasshopper- Have something called Spiracles on their sides that connect to the trachea and exchange Oxygen and carbon dioxide. This is especially important because they do not have lungs.
Starfish- Ampulla helps with respiration but they don`t have lungs.
Frog- Contain lungs as well as can breathe through the skin. Respiration system is very similar to humans.
Circulation:
Roundworm- None
Earthworm- contain 3 main blood vessels. Dorsal Blood Vessel (brings blood to the front of the body), Ventral Blood Vessel (takes blood to back of body), and Aortic Arches (pumps blood to Ventral and Dorsal Blood Vessels)
Grasshopper- Contains heart. Blood doesn't flow on its own but rather stays in place.
Starfish- Uses the Water Vascular System through the Madreporite.
Frog- Similar to humans- uses heart to pump blood to other arteries/veins.
Nervous System:
Roundworm- contain Dorsal and Ventral Nerve cord that transmits impulses throughout the body.
Earthworm- Contains Segmental Ganglions, Celebral Ganglion (brain-like) and a Ventral Nerve chord which help it move.
Grasshopper- contains brain, eyes, antenna and the Ventral Nerve Chord which helps it move. The brain isn't very important to the grasshopper, but instead the antenna.
Starfish- Only contains eyespots at the end of each arm. No brain.
Frog- Very similar to humans. Contains a brain which connects to the spinal chord and the rest of the nervous system to help it move and feel things.
We can easily see how in each of these categories, the species get more and more complex. This could easily be an example of Natural selection. With the explanation I gave for each category, you can the the characteristics and the ability for one to survive in the environment. Its obvious that the frog is the strongest of all in many ways. Also, I wonder why the frog is so similar to humans. At one look, you would never guess what goes on in that little body of theirs. There are some similarities between the animals listed above. For example, the all have a mouth and an anus. Also, every single one of these creatures contain a Ventral Nerve Chord in their nervous system. Each of these species are so special in their own way and I'm glad I got to learn about them.
Finding Nemo Response
After watching "Finding Nemo", I was surprised about how much things I saw differently that from when I was a kid. For one, I understood the jokes 100 times better, but I also noticed and understood a lot about the way the animals behaved. For example, I noticed the flatworm right away and thought about how great they portrayed its beautiful and vibrant colors. I also thought about the motions that it made and remembered that it uses those 'wavy' muscles at it's sides to help it swim and turn. In addition, I noticed the starfish and couldn't help but think about its gonads, stomach and sieve plate. I also love that before, I used to call their skin "the bumpy thing" but not I know that it's called the papula. In addition, I now know that Jellyfish's scientific/proper name is Cnidaria. Even though I've watched the movie several times, I couldn't help but think that the cnidaria could easily prey on Marlin and Dory because they eat anything prom plankton to something twice its size. Overall, my biology class this year has made me realize small things I never would have noticed before.
Rat dissection
Watch out, there are A LOT of pictures coming your way!
Here we determined that it was a female.
This is the skull of the rat.
All our labelled organs. We added the brain to the list as well.
Echinoderm Dissection
Today, we dissected a starfish! Believe it or not, I have always wanted to see what goes on inside them and I was not disappointed in the end. Because I am terrible at using the labeling app, I will just comment on where everything is.
The dot in the middle I'm pointing at is called the Madreporite, where the waste comes out of.
Right in the middle, we have its inverted stomach. We learned that the stomach comes out of the mouth (located under the stomach at the moment) and squirts its digestive juices out on the pray. Fortunately, we got to see this up close. Also, straight through the middle of the arms are something called tube feet.
We got lucky here because it was a clean cut through the middle so we could identify things easier. The ball-like nude things stuck at the top are called the ampulla. The green substance at the bottom is called pyloric caeca. In the far, far corners, closer to its middle area, we have the gonads which are used for reproduction purposes.
Dissecting this starfish was quite interesting because they are much more complex than they seem. Its incredible what important parts they hold in their arms!
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