Bottle Habitat

For our Ecology segment we had to make a bottle habitat that included plastic bottles to hold pond water, dirt and rocks, and insects (optional). We had to use rope to allow water to get from one bottle to another (if we had multiple bottles), and sponge in any of the bottle openings. My groups bottle habitat was made out of a large cheese ball container, and two 2liter bottles. The cheese ball container is on one end with one 2liter cut into its side. The 2liter that comes our from the container is like a bridge that connects the container to the second 2liter. In the cheese ball barrel we put pond water and let one end of the rope rest just below the water line. If we follow the rope, we will enter into the "bridge" of our habitat which holds some dirt and plants that we took from bottle habitats of previous classes. From there the rope continues into the second 2liter which holds the same content as the "bridge". After weeks of letting the habitat grow and change we noticed a growth in the plants, and we also acquired a snail! I'm not sure how it got there but now it is there and living in the habitat. Our bottle habitat shows the natural process of plant growth and how an ecosystem can survive with the bare minimum. With water, a medium for organisms to grow in, and light, you get a sustainable environment.
(Example image not our habitat)

Co-Evolution

Today during class we did a very interesting and unorthodox assignment. We filled a beaker with a mix of beans, noodles, and split peas. Then we were separated into three large groups and labeled as birds. Our beaks were plastic silverware, one group got a fork, one got a knife, and the last group got a spoon. After throwing the bean mixture onto an area of the floor, the whole class had to use their "beaks" to scoop up any food they could get and put it into their stomachs (their cupped non-dominant hands). We only had 30 seconds to eat and once time was up we returned to our assigned groups and counted how many beans, noodles, and split peas each group got. At first it was obvious that the spoons had the advantage over the other types of beaks. Once numbers were plugged into excel we had to replace a couple people into different groups, these "birds" developed a fork or spoon beak through evolution. After a couple feedings, knives were left with one "bird", forks had about 8, if i remember correctly, and spoons led with 10 "birds". In the end spoons trumped all beak types. This activity demonstrated natural selection because it showed that birds with the most helpful and efficient beaks (spoons) would be most successful getting the beans. It also shows that if a certain specie isn't getting the life necessities it will try to evolve and adapt to a different life style with different necessities so it can survive. Survival can also depend on the cooperation of other members of the specie. If one bird was full they could help the other birds get more food. Or, if one bird is by all the food they could help the others by throwing it where they could get to it. I was apart of the spoons and that is the strategy we developed toward the end. One or two birds were in the middle of the mix scooping it toward the rest of the spoons behind him so we could "eat" and help our numbers. It was a neat way to get the idea of co-evolution and natural selection. I really enjoyed it and hope to remember it when the time comes for me to teach it to my class!

The Odyssey

Biogeochemical can be broken up into three parts. First, there is the prefix bio- which means life. Second, there is geo which means earth. Finally, chemical which covers matter like atoms and molecules. The cycle we refer to in this section is the continuous, working path of all three of those things. In the odyssey they start with an X element that I believe to be Sulfur, Phosphorous, Copper, or Iron . "X was pulled up into the world of living things. He helped build a flower, which became an acorn, which fattened a deer, which fed an Indian, all in a single year." This shows how a single element or molecule can effect all species and all aspects of life. It also shows how things are passed through and can be recycled with different uses. Y on the other hand could be a new specie of plant that attracted a new animal. "When Y was thus released from the parent ledge, a new animal had arrived and began redding up the Prairie to fit his own notions of law and order." It makes me think about what we touch, eat, drink, etc. I have always heard about the path of money and thinking this $1 could have been through millions of banks, pockets, dirty bags and greasy fingers. The water we drink has probably passed through many rivers, lakes, and people by the time we get it. It kind of grosses me out in a way and then makes me think how limited resources are.

Thinking Like A Mountain

My favorite season may be summer, but a couple of days ago I found myself enjoying the rain. For about three days we experienced rain and thunder storms. I was in my home listening to the rain pounding on the roof and lightning was shining through our windows as if cars were going by The thunder was shaking the ground it was so loud. Don't get me wrong I am an active person, I love the outdoors and going hiking and such. However, that day looking out and seeing everything blurred together through the rain I figured out my new celebration. The sun and heat is what I prefer, but sometimes you just need some storms, a cup of hot tea and a good movie!

Chernoff Faces

Chernoff Faces was an exercise we did that would help us further understand classification. We started with pairing face shapes with where we all were from. The options were the UP, lower Michigan, or other. I chose the lower Michigan face shape which was a "Stewie" or "Hey Arnold" shaped head. Next, the shape of the eyes were determined by our major and minors. All of the students in our MSED 251 are education majors and I am an elementary education mathematics major. My eyes were oblong shaped along with my pupils which were based off of the kind of sports we enjoyed. Noses were determined by which kind of pet we would prefer, rodent/rabbit, bird, or reptile. I chose a rodent/rabbit which gave me an oblong shaped nose. Finally, the mouth of the first face was chosen by which food the student enjoyed. I chose Italian because I can never get enough pasta! After we all put together our faces we were separated into groups by the shape of the heads. Our groups were divided again, this time by a different attribute of the faces. When all is done we know that many species have similar qualities but are still totally different.





We made a new face by changing around the attributed and face shapes. Turns out the groups that were made the first time stayed that same only changing by one or two students. There were many with exact face matches. This is an example of classification, just less scientific.

Predator Invasion

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/wild-predator-invasion.html


Above is a link to a PBS film we were shown about reintroducing predators into different areas of the country. The first and most prevalent topic are the wolves put back into Yellowstone National Park. Biologist D Smith put wolves into Yellowstone to help decrease the elk population enabling the vegetation to grow again. For 70 years Yellowstone had no wolves in the park. In 1995 they brought in 14 wolves into a fenced area of the north part of the park (the part with the least vegetation) to keep them from going back to where they were from. After a while they released the wolves from the fenced areas and observed what was changing. There were some negative effects of the wolves being reintroduced. One being the 90% decline in the coyote population. Since Coyotes are scavengers they would feed off of the wolves kill because they thought the wolves were done with it. The wolves never strayed far from their kills though and would kill the coyotes to show dominance and to keep their food. That is an example of intraspecific competition. There were also many positives that came from bringing the wolves back. One was the increased growth of vegetation around the creek and in the northern area of the park. Also, because of the vegetation, the beavers were back! These effects give us an example of the trophic pyramid levels. The Trophic Pyramid is a diagram showing the different levels of consumers, or what eats what. On the very bottom level there is the producers (plants). Above the producers there is the Primary Consumers ( things that eat plants, i.e. humans, elk, herbivores). Things that eat Primary Consumers are the Secondary Consumers (carnivores). Finally, at the top of the Trophic Pyramid is the Tertiary Consumers (eats the Secondary Consumers).

We were also taught about the different classifications of animals. For example a predator is an animal that kills to eat, a Prey is the animal that is killed and eaten, and a scavenger is an animal that eats anything it can find to survive. Technically humans are scavengers because we eat what others kill (beef from a cow, deer, turkey, ham, etc.)

My feelings on the wolves in the UP is to let them be. Obviously eliminating a species from an area is unhealthy for the environment and causes imbalance in the food chain. Now if there are too many and they are starting to kill people or diminish another species their numbers should be controlled. Humans are right in reintroducing animals or controlling their population if they are doing it to revitalize the land and bring things back to a balanced state. However, I am not pleased with people who enter a wild animal's home just to trap, tame, or kill it for pleasure.  

 

I Dont See Skies of Blue (New Celebration)

My favorite season may be summer, but a couple of days ago I found myself enjoying the rain. For about three days we experienced rain and thunder storms. I was in my home listening to the rain pounding on the roof and lightning was shining through our windows as if cars were going by The thunder was shaking the ground it was so loud. Don't get me wrong I am an active person, I love the outdoors and going hiking and such. However, that day looking out and seeing everything blurred together through the rain I figured out my new celebration. The sun and heat is what I prefer, but sometimes you just need some storms, a cup of hot tea and a good movie!