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

  

                               I found the dissection of the crayfish very interesting, I never really found the differences between a crayfish and a lobster until the dissection.  I got to study the external and internal parts of the crayfish.  While looking and observing the external parts of a crayfish I finally realized the difference between a crayfish and a lobster.  The crayfish is more smaller in size, its color is more duller, and the size of claw differs.  As for a lobster its bigger, has a more brighter color, and has a bigger claw.  I really learned something from this weeks dissection and it was very interesting.                     

Blog #12: What surprised you from the worm's dissection?

                                 What really surprised me about the worm dissection was that I learned the both ends on the worm, like how to tell which end is the head and which end is the anus.  I learned all of the external parts of a worm and the middle of the worm is called the clitellum.  When we got to dissect the worm I saw all of the internal parts.  I saw that inside the worm there was alot of dirt.  I saws that the brain was small and connected to the nerve cord and I also saw the digestive gland.           

Blog #11: Get a picture of alternation of generations put it in your blog and explain how it relates to plants.

                                Alternation of generations is a term describing the life cycle of plants.  All plants meet a life cycle that takes them through both haploid and diploid generations.  The multicellular diploid plant structure is called the sporophyte, which produces spores through meiotic division.  The multicellular haploid plant structure is called the gametophyte, which is formed from the spore and give rise to the haploid gametes.  The fluctuation between these diploid and haploid stages that occurs in plants is called the alternation of generations.  The way in which the alternation of generations occurs in plants depends on the type of plant. In bryophytes, the dominant generation is haploid, so that the gametophyte comprises what we think of as the main plant. The opposite is true for tracheophytes, in which the diploid generation is dominant and the sporophyte comprises the main plant.
                  

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 gives the interest of studying biology.  The practice of dissecting animals is an arguable topic with people thinking negative opinions towards it.  These animals are killed for the purpose of teaching students more about how living things work, but with new computer technology there are more opportunities to learn without the killing of animals.  Animal dissection is an important element in learning how living things tick, but it doesn’t have to involve the slaughter of animals.  With computer programs students can now receive the education without interacting with a dead animal.  This eliminates the need to kill millions of animals every year.  More school systems are adopting the virtual dissection programs as an alternative to real dissection.  I would say that people should study or dissect the marine plankton animals.  It would be interesting to see the internal part of a plankton.

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

                                                               Competition

                  Competition is an interaction between species, in which the fitness of one is lowered by the presence of another.  This means that there is competition within the two species in survival for food, water, territory, or sunlight.  For example, a smaller tree will receive less sunlight than an adjacent tree which is larger than it in a rainforest.  The larger tree is competing with the smaller one for the same sunlight, thus competition.

                                                        Commensalism

                    

              Commensalism  is a class of relationship between two organisms where one organism benefits but the other is neutral, there is no harm or benefit.  An example of commensalism is a flatworm attaching to the horsecrab and eating the crab's food while the crab is not affected.  

                                                               Mutualism

       

                    Mutualism  is the way two organisms biologically interact  where each individual derives a fitness benefit. In other words, it is where two species are both benefited.  An example of mutualism is the nectar-producing plants and its pollinators.  While the pollinators (such as bees, butterflies, etc) help to pollinate the plant for reproduction, the plants also provide its pollinators with nectar as food, thus both sides benefit. 

                                      Predation

              Predation is described as a biological interaction where a predator (an organism that is hunting) feeds on its prey (the organism that is attacked).  Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption.  An example of predation is a lion and a zebra.  The lion hunts the zebra in order for it to feed on.    
     
                                                                 Parasitism

                      Parasitism  is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host.  An example of parasitism is when a flea harms their host, such as a dog, by biting their skin, sucking their blood, and causing them to itch. The flea, in turn, get food and a warm home.
                                                       
                         

Blog #8: Your choice talk about something you learned or ask a question about something that is confusing you

                              Well so far throughout 2nd semester, I've learned alot of things but above them all, the two main topics I enjoyed learning about were about evolution and dissections. 

                             I've learned that evolution is the change over time and that the inherited traits from an ancestor is passed down from the generation to the next.  Evolution may occur when there is variation  of inherited traits within a population.  Evolution has led to the diversification of all living organisms.  I found the evolution topic interesting because I learned about the ancestors of every living organism and how their traits are passed down into the organisms that live today.
                          

                                  

                   

                                 The second thing I learned was dissection within living things.  Dissection is the process of disassembling and observing something to determine its internal structure and as an aid to discerning the functions and relationships of its components.  In biology we mostly dissected plants or animals such as, a worm.  We observed the worm's insides and learned where they are found and how they work.  I find dissection an interesting thing to learn.  

                                                                                  

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

                           One biome is the tropical rain forest biome.  The tropical rain forest is a forest of tall trees in a region of year-round warmth.  There are so many different kinds of plants in a rainforest , scientists don't even know them all yet.  Theses are some plants you may see in a tropical rainforest: trees, air plants, and bromeliads.  Billions of animals, birds, and insects live in the tropical rainforest.  Some are: bats, turtles, salamanders, macaws, and snails.

                   

                           

              Another biome is the desert.  The desert is a place on earth that is characterized by little vegetation and rain.  They are made up of sand or rocks and gravel.  There are some plants that are able to survive in the desert, these plants have to adjust to the hot days and to the cold nights.  These are some plants you may see in the desert: cacti, and the joshua tree, which is similar to the cacti.  There are many animals found in the desert but most of them come out at night, and during the day they hide under sand or rocks to keep cool. Here are some animals that live in the desert: the jack rabbit, and camels.