Blog 13 What was most interesting about this week's dissections?

What I found most interesting was how the anatomy of the crawfish has so many parts.  I found the circualtory system very interesting also.













http://www.schooltube.com/video/ee0277ab7e5dde4a9221/Crayfish-Dissection

Blog #11

Alternation of generations  is a term primarily used in describing the life cycle of plants A mature sporophyte produces spores by meiosis, a process which results in a reduction of the number of chromosomes by a half. Spores germinate and grow into a gametophyte. At maturity, the gametophyte produces gametes by mitosis. Two gametes (originating from different organisms of the same species or from the same organism) fuse to produce a zygote, which develops into a diploid sporophyte. This cycle, from sporophyte to sporophyte (or equally from gametophyte to gametophyte), is the way in which all land plants and many algae undergo sexual reproduction.

Blog #10 Why is dissection an important part of a biology curriculum? Which animals and/or plants should be included in biological studies?

Dissection is important because it help get a greater understanding of nature around us. Dissecting is a fundamental source of learning in biology. By dissecting, we are able to find out how thing work.  Since biology is the study of life, all animals should be included (except for endangered species).

Blog#9 Define the different forms of community interaction: competition, commensalism, mutualism, predation, parasitism Give an example and a picture for each

Competition is the fight for survival by fighting for necesites such as food, water, and shelter.








Commensalism is when one organism benefits while the other is unaffected.


Mutualism is when both organisms benefit from interaction.


Predation is where one organism preys on another.


Parasitism is where one organism benefits while slowly killing the organism it feeds on.

Blog 7 Compare and contrast two biomes describe them in detail include pictures of plants and animals you are likely to see

Grassland biomes are large, rolling terrains of grasses, flowers and herbs. Latitude, soil and local climates for the most part determine what kinds of plants grow in a particular grassland. A grassland is a region where the average annual precipitation is great enough to support grasses, and in some areas a few trees. The precipitation is so eratic that drought and fire prevent large forests from growing. Grasses can survive fires because they grow from the bottom instead of the top. Their stems can grow again after being burned off. The soil of most grasslands is also too thin and dry for trees to survive.  In America, the animals found are: American Bald Eagle, badger, bobcat, bumble bee, coyote, and prairie dog.

A tropical rain forest is a forest of tall trees in a region of year-round warmth. An average of 50 to 260 inches of rain falls yearly. Animals located in these regions are: Africa forest elephant, Bengal tiger, chimpanzee, common calm civet or musang, dawn bat, golden lion, tamarin, harpy eagle, Jambu fruit dove, king cobra, kinkajou, Linn's sloth, orangutan, proboscis monkey, red-shanked douc, langur, silvery gibbon, Slender Loris, sumatran rhinoceros, toco toucan, vampire bat, and Wagler's Pit Viper.

Rainforest

Grass Land

Blog #6 Which level of the food pyramid is the most important? Why?

I believe that the bottom level of the food pyramid is the most important. Without a good base, the rest would fall apart. If the bottom level didn't exist, there would, by the law transitivity,  no food for any other animals. 

Blog #2 Why is the fossil record hard to interpret?

It is hard to interpret the fossil record because they are very old so it is hard to find the particular shape of an animal

Blog #5 Blog #5 There have been 5 major extinction events throughout history, are humans impacting the 6th? Why or why not?

Yes; The pollution we are pouring into our environment thus resulting in climate change. The environment is changing and will only continue to get worse. Global Warming is only going to increase, drastically changing our temperatures and the amount of UV rays we intake. The ozone layer will soon be depleted which will impact all life on Earth.

Blog #4 Describe the three types of selection: directional, stabilizing and disruptive and give an example of each in your own words

Directional: A process in Natural Selection where a a single phenotype is favored resulting in the allele frequency to shift in a driection continuously.
e.g. The grey hound was breeded for speed and is now one of the fastest types of dog.

Stabilizing:  The type of selection where genetic diversity is slowly decreased on a particular trait value.
e.g. Human birth weight: babies of low weight lose heat more quickly and get ill from infectious disease more easily, whereas babies of large body weight are more difficult to deliver through the pelvis.

Disruption:  changes in population genetics in which extreme values for a trait are favored over intermediate values.
e.g. The color of a rabbits fur helps it blend in to it's environment. BUT if a different color that doesn't camouflage  the rabbit is introduced into the environment, it will be killed because of it's lack of camouflage.  This is where disruption comes into play. The rabbits that are camouflaged will breed with the rabbits without any camouflage thus creating babies that are camouflaged.

Blog#3 What is microevolution and list the ways it occurs.

Microevolution is a change in gene frequency within a population. It can occur through mutation, selection (artificial and natural) and genetic drift.

Blog#2 Why is a fossil record hard to interpret?

Fossil records are hard to interpret because many of them are jumbled together and not intact. If they were intact, it would be easier to figure out which animal the fossil is.

Blog#1 Why is evolution a theory and not a law?

Evolution is a theory and not a law because the theory lacks in evidence and hard, solid proof to prove it is real.

LAST BLOG OF THE SEMESTER!

My favorite activity this year was definently the karoke project. It was fun being able to express our creativity as well as the review. It forced us to use our brains and really review what was learned.

My least favorite was probably not being given notice of the benchmark. Unfortunently, I was unprepared and was one point away from bombing it.

If I could change one thing, it would be to have more karoke projects. :D

Blog 13 How has DNA profiling changed the way we investigate crimes? What are the two main tests?

DNA profiling has helped change the way we investigate crimes by helping to narrow down the options exponentially.  DNA profiling has created a new form of looking at crimes. All the evidence can be DNA tested and therefore breakdown the possible victims. The two main types of DNA profiling are:

PCR Analysis

Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used to make millions of exact copies of DNA from a biological sample. DNA amplification with PCR allows DNA analysis on biological samples as small as a few skin cells. With RFLP, DNA samples would have to be about the size of a quarter. The ability of PCR to amplify such tiny quantities of DNA enables even highly degraded samples to be analyzed. Great care, however, must be taken to prevent contamination with other biological materials during the identifying, collecting, and preserving of a sample.

STR Analysis

Short tandem repeat (STR) technology is used to evaluate specific regions (loci) within nuclear DNA. Variability in STR regions can be used to distinguish one DNA profile from another. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) uses a standard set of 13 specific STR regions for CODIS. CODIS is a software program that operates local, state, and national databases of DNA profiles from convicted offenders, unsolved crime scene evidence, and missing persons. The odds that two individuals will have the same 13-loci DNA profile is about one in a billion..