Second Final Question: Curiosity and Inquiry

AAHHHH! I've always had trouble choosing just on interesting animal to put only blog but there never is just one and so I'm happy to share with you the some of these few  amazing animals that just made my day just learning about and teaching others about. 

Interesting Organisms: A Collection 

Here are some of my favourite animals posts from this semester!

The Goblin Shark

This shark has had me fascinated ever since I set eyes on it when browsing the internet and its just so cool and just terrifying at the same time!  From observing videos and the GIF above, I thought that it was cool how the shark was able to capture its victim so quickly without it even noticing but what i also learned about this animal is that the extended mouth does not only make it easier for the shark to reach its prey, but when the mouth retracts it creates a vacuum effect therefore pulling the prey into its mouth.
BLOG POST HERE

The Harp Sponge

The Harp sponge was an interesting creature as it does not eat like regular sponges and or look like other sponges. I learned that in its carnivorous nature it would capture its prey using its barbed limbs unlike the gentle sponges which filter feed.
BLOG POST HERE!

The Moon Flower

This flower was interesting to learn about because I've had a personal experience being able to if not see, smell the flower while out there in the world. I learned that the moon flower only blooms at night and while doing so releases a pleasant fragrance that attracts night flying insects which would come and pollinate the flower. An interesting and uselful adaption.
BLOG POST HERE!


Killer Fungi

Known as Codryceps  this fungi has the ability to infiltrate the brain of its victim, mostly insects and zombify them. The ant in this case, would slowly find itself heading towards higher elevation. This is all the fungis doings. Once the insect reaches a high point it dies and the fungi begins to grow completely then releasing their spores into the air to find more unfortunate victims. This fungi was really interesting to me because it really opened my eyes to how some organisms are not able to exist without the existence of other organisms.
BLOG POST HERE

The Assassin Bug

This weirdo bug does whatever it takes to capture its prey whether it be walking into a spiderweb, or coating itself in honey. In addition to that it wear the dead bodies of its prey as armor and or camoflage. Like okay there Mr. Reduvidae whatever floats your boat.
BLOG POST HERE

Interesting Mollusk

These molluska are my favourite animals so far because they defy all odds! Evolution had lead them off of the sea floor and out to explore the ocean!

First Final Question: The Animal Kingdom

Feeding and Digestion

Phylum Nematoda: Roundworm

• some eat bacteria and fungi, others eat whatever is in the hosts digestive tract eg; mucus, blood, intestinal lining, etc.
• have complete digestive system
• digestive tract consists of mouth, pharynx, intestine, and anus

Phylum Annelida: Earthworm

• eat soil which contains micro-organisms
• have complete digestive system
• digestive tract consists of mouth, pharynx, esophagus, crop, gizzard, long intestine, and anus 

Phylum Arthropoda: Grasshopper

• eat plant matter eg; grass
• have complete digestive system
• mouth is located at the center of the oral surface and the anus is located on the aboral surface
• digestive tract consists of mandibles and maxillae, esophagus, crop, gizzard, mid gut, gastric cecae, hind gut, and anus

Phylum Echinodermata: Starfish

• eat mussels and clams, barnacles, snails, and fish
• have complete digestive tract
• digestive tract consists of pyloric stomach, cardiac stomach, pyloric cecae, intestine, and anus

Phylum Verbrata: Grass Frog

• eat invertebrates such as insects, snails, slugs and worms
• have complete digestive tract
• digestive tract consists of mouth, pharynx, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and anus

Reproduction

Phylum Nematoda: Roundworm

• reproduces sexually
• fixed genders; female has ovary and male has testis
• females either carry the fertilized eggs or pass them into the ground or the intestines of its host 
• over 200 000 eggs can be deposited at once

Phylum Annelida: Earthworm

• reproduce sexually
• have clitellum containing male and female reproductive organs
• when the worm finds a mate, the they exchange sperm which are stored in sacs as a cocoon forms around each clitellum
• as the worm backs out of the cocoon the eggs and sperm are deposited resulting in fertilization
• each cocoon can have up to five worms

Phylum Arthropoda: Grasshopper

• reproduce sexually
• separate sexes; male and female
• fertilization occurs when the male aedeagus inserted into the female ovipostor
• the eggs are laid into the ground where they hats in three to four weeks
• produce up to twenty-five larvae

Phylum Echinodermata: Starfish

• hermaphrodites; have both male and female reproductive organs
• reproduce through external fertilization, eggs are fertilized as both eggs and sperm are released into the water 
• can also reproduce through binary fission in which it has the ability to regenerate a new limb if it ever loses one, the missing limb then regenerates into a whole new starfish 

Phylum Verbrata: Grass Frog

• have fixed genders; either male or female
• reproduce through external fertilization
• the male latches onto the female and releases its sperm into the water while she releases her eggs
• results in thousands of eggs hatching but only a couple survive well into adulthood

Respiration

Phylum Nematoda: Roundworm

• lacks a formal respiration system for uptake or distribution of oxygen

Phylum Annelida: Earthworm

• do not have lungs but breath through their skin by diffusion
• diffusion can only occur is skin is moist

Phylum Arthropoda: Grasshopper

• breath through spiracles on abdomen
• spiracles lead to trachae which spread through the body to all the cells

Phylum Echinodermata: Starfish

• has water vascular system
• the oxygen and the carbon dioxide enter and exit through the tube feet

Phylum Vebrata: Grass Frog

• while completely submerged, all respiration takes place through the frogs skin
• out of water mucus glands keep the skin moist which helps absorb dissolved oxygen in the air
• also have lungs and breath much like humans do 

Circulation

Phylum Nematoda: Roundworm

• has no heart or formal blood vessels
• use diffusion to circulate substances around their body

Phylum Annelida: Earthworm

• had closed circulatory system; its blood is confined to blood vessels
• oxygen is drawn into the blood through the dorsal blood vessel which then travels through five different hearts called aortic arches which lead to the ventral blood vessel which pumps the blood all over the worms body

Phylum Arthropoda: Grasshopper

• open circulatory sytem
• starts at hemolymph though large blood vessels, to the coelem, to the abdomen, and then to the heart
• when the heart pumps blood the aorta takes it to the head  and the blood flows openly

Phylum Echinodermata: Starfish

• have water vascular system
• water enters through the madreporite on the aboral surface of the starfish and thus circulates from there 

Phylum Verbrata: Grass Frog

• have closed circulatory system 
• have heart, blood vessels to transport circulate blood also like humans

Nervous System

Phylum Nematoda: Roundworm

• has two nerve cords that transmit impulses in the roundworm

Phylum Annelid: Earthworm

• have cerebral ganglion (its brain) and a ventral nerve cord ( similar to spinal cord) which branches off connecting each segment of the worm to the brain
• each segment is connected to the ventral nerve is call the segmental ganglion
• this allows the worm to be sensitive to touch, light, moisture, chemicals, temperature and vibrations

Phylum Arthropod: Grasshopper

• have a ventral nerve cord 
• since they have segmented bodies, each segment is controlled by a ganglion

Phylum Echinodermata: Starfish

• have no brain
• consists of a radial nerve running along each arm in which all sensory information goes to the radial nerves

Pylum Verbrata: Grass Frog

• have brain connected to spinal cord very similar to humans

Evolution and Natural Selection

The above animals that we have dissected have systems that progressed in complexity. As we learned about the roundworms there wasn't much to learn from, transitioning from roundworm to earthworm there are some similarities such as the complete digestive tract and the overall worminess of them but then as noted, the earthworm is separated into segments and has more organs (crop, gizzard, etc..). Then as we moved onto the grasshopper dissection the digestive system remained the same as the earthworm with the crop and gizzard and the segments but then there were other parts such as the mid-gut and the hind-gut. We can also tell that the grasshopper is more complex by the fact that it has more specialized external parts such as the legs and the wings. The creature would be the starfish which between the previous animals is very different. The starfish lives in water so evolution and natural selection lead to the starfishes water vascular system. Then from the starfish to the frog is a slighter transition. The frog is an amphibian and so it is still very involved in the water, like the starfish it can use the oxygen present in the water but the frog has the superior ability to dwell on land as well due to its lungs.

Being Curious and Asking Questions

There is a lot more things that I'm still curious about and so here are a few listed below:

• how do roundworms even enter into their hosts, how did they even evolve into needing a host in the first place?
• so do worms eat their own poop if they eat soil? and if their poop is good for the plants, then wouldn't it be beneficial for them to eat their own poop as well? (sorry, just a little poop thought)
• why do grasshoppers jump?(probably some sort of natural selection thing right?) 
• how does the starfish stomach even work to digest their prey exactly?
• why is the frog so similar to humans in so many ways? If thier skin is able to take in oxygen would our skin be able to do so to some extent considering the fact that our skin is permeable-ish to water?

Frog Dissection

YES! FROGS FINALLY! I've waited for so long for this, and now here it is, a dead frog in a pan. YES.

External Anatomy

These are the top and bottom views of our frog.

The above photos show the frogs two types of limbs. The first photo is of the frog's hand which has little fingers (sorta like our fingers!) and the second shows the frogs hind leg/foot which are thicker and stronger for better aid in swimming and have webbed feet which also make swimming an easier task. Isn't evolution great?

Since we were curious, we tried to look into the mouth of the frog to see it's famous long, sticky, forked tongue but unfortunately that isn't what we found as we saw a little something like this instead. (It's a pretty morbid picture now that I think about it, but still fascinating!)

Internal Anatomy

Okay so looking at the exterior of this frog was interesting as it was cute because of its tiny features but then we opened it up and !!!

Everything was so tiny! I mean of course right, because the frog is pretty small itself but it still did come to me as a little shock as to how these tiny organs actually worked the way they did when the frog was alive. It was crazy because this is what our organs might look like if a giant came and dissected one of us right? One thing that I found strange about this dissection was the shape, consistency, and the location of these weird lumps of fat because other animals, humans included have fat everywhere but mostly underneath the skin so...  ?

Starfish Dissection

Phylum Echinodermata

External Anatomy

Aboral Surface

Oral Surface

The starfish that we had, was red-ish pink and like most starfish, it had a total of 5 radial arms. The name of the phylum is Echinodermata meaning "spiny skin" and the texture of the starfish was exactly that. 

The madreporite is the part of the starfish that is responsible for the intake of water into its water vascular system.

The mouth is located at the very center of the starfish's oral surface. The squishy-looking part sticking out of the mouth is the starfish's pyloric or cardiac stomach.Did you know that when a starfish eats, its entire stomach emerges from its mouth to digest the starfish prey from the outside? They do. Trust me. The tube feet are responsible for the movement of the starfish and also aid in feeding.

For more information watch the video in the link below~

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DFXGafpGkQ

Internal Anatomy

The starfish's pyloric caeca are the starfish's digestive glands which produce the digestive juices. The ampulla, attached to the tube feet are important in contribution to the locomotion, the respiration and gas exchange, and the excretion of the starfish.

The gonads of a starfish are located in each arm and are used in reproduction by producing egg or sperm . If you cut off the arm of a starfish, another arm will grown in its place and a completely new starfish will grow of the severed arm. 

As mentioned before, the cardiac stomach is also known as the pyloric stomach and is known to come out of the mouth to digest the prey and its nutrients.

To conclude this post, I would have to say that this was on of the more fascinating specimen that we have dissected and will try to learn more about it's ability to regenerate its limbs because i find it really interesting and want to know about any other animals that have evolved to have such an ability. Will humans ever be able to to this? Hmmm...

Grasshopper Dissection

Phylum Arthropoda

A while ago our class made the transition from learning about simple organisms in the phylum nematoda to the more complex organisms of the phylum arthropod. (a phylum with actual faces!)

Here are some characteristics of the phylum:

• have bilateral symmetry
• have segmented body
• have an exoskeleton
• have open circulatory system & no blood vessels 
• have brain, nerve cord,sensory organs, and compound eye
• have hinged appendages
• respiration system includes spiracles,gills, and book lungs

These characteristics are clearly shown in the photos below.

External Anatomy

• the grasshopper has three segments; the head, the thorax, and the abdomen which itself has another six visible segments
• although not labelled, the spiracles on the grasshopper are located one on each segment of the abdomen
• it has two sets of wings the outer set of wings are called the fore wings and the inner set of wings are called the hind wings
• the grasshopper had a total of six legs, four walking legs in the front, and two large jumping legs
• the jumping legs' femur was smooth-ish, but the tibia was spiny and the tarsus was oddly "sticky"

Internal Anatomy

When a grasshopper ingests something, that food goes through the different organs shown in the photo above. (kinda messy, in the end I couldn't really distinguish what was what in the photo so the labeling is a little vague)

• the food after being swallowed is kept in the crop which acts as a storage area before it is taken into the gizzard (which chickens have too)
• the gizzard contains the digesting enzymes which break down the food until it is passed into the stomach then to the large intestine
• the remainder of the food is reverted to wastes and exits the body through the anus (poophole)

Thoughts After Dissection

• Do grasshoppers have feelings? (same question for every single living thing out there btw)
• Are the internal features generally the same in other species of grasshoppers unlike how their external features have slight differences?
• Were there muscles, and if not, how does it even move?
• Are grasshoppers ever born different than their "siblings" like with a little "birthmark" or something to differentiate it from the rest?

Roundworm Dissection

*okay so I know this is late but better late than never!

Roundworms

The roundworm that we had did not have the hook that would have indicated itself as a male so it's female.

Amazing Mollusks!

The Bubble-Rafting Snails: The Violet Snail Janthina Exigua

My recent obsession with snails has guided me to gain this new-found knowledge of bubble-rafting snails, which use clusters of mucus bubbles to float around and travel.

      
      These bubbly creatures have evolved through many generations from wentletraps (which lived on the ocean floor and ate coral) to free floating wonder snails which are now capable of eating floating jellyfish.

       Researchers have been contemplating between two possibilities as to why and how they are able to commute the way that they do. One possibility is that this method of travel is a more highly developed version of the way the floor dwelling snails which use a trail mucus or drogue in which they glide along.  The other possibility is that these bubbles are an evolution of the wentletraps' egg capsules strung together by mucus, the empty egg capsules allowing buoyancy for the entire mass.

      I found this mollusk the most interesting because it's defying its odds, snails were always floor dwellers and even more so on land. It's amazing how this snail can float around the ocean like many other sea creatures its almost as crazy a flying pigs! 

The ASSASSIN Bug

Interesting Arthropod

      A very intimidating yet unlikely predator stalks the forests of Malaysia with the ability to pull a string and ensue the demise of a very unsuspecting spider. This creature is identified as the assassin bug, Reduviidae being its scientific name. The assassin bug is known to act as prey stuck in the web of a spider only to attack when the spider nears. Crazy right? The assassin bug is able to incapacitate is prey by injecting its toxic saliva which then paralyses them completely. Not only does the toxin paralyze its victims, its also has properties that liquefy the preys innards deeming them worthy for the assassin bug to be devoured from the inside out.

      In addition, the assassin bug is also known for wearing the corpses of their prey as a camouflage as well as an armor! Behaviorally speaking, this is just one type of assassin bug, a certain species in South Asia dip their front legs in tree resin as a method to attract bees whereas others are just straight up 

      Gardeners consider the assassin bug as a beneficial insect rather than a pest because it is the one that eats the pest and keeps them under control.

Sources and Additional Information:

• http://www.livescience.com/8834-assassin-bugs-turn-webs-spiders.html
• http://insects.about.com/od/truebugs/p/assassinbugs.htm
• http://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/monster-bug-wars/videos/monster-bug-wars-assassin-bug.htm

The Simple Life of Poriferans (Sponges)

Hello fellow humans!

Today you have the opportunity to learn about the simple creatures that we know as Sponges but in more scientific terms, Poriferans such as this little guy!



Much simpler than as portrayed in this picture, sponges do not have limbs, eyes, a nose, and a mouth nor do they have any access to clothing seeing as they are sponges. A more accurate depiction of this amazing invertebrate would be shown in the image below.

Feeding

Poriferans are filter feeding organisms meaning that they ingest food and oxygen through their Ostia; the pores located on the outer walls of the sponge. There is a constant flow of water through those pores which allows the sponge  to collect the needed nutrients and organisms such as bacteria and plankton as the water passes through.

Respiration

Unlike many organisms that we are familiar with, sponges do not have a complex respiratory system. They do not have gills or lungs but have oxygen supplied to them through their oscula (their "mouth") and their ostia. There is a direct exchange of of oxygen between tissues and the surrounding water.

Circulation

Sponges do not have a circulatory system. The circulation of oxygen and nutrients is strictly water based and relies on the flow of the water within it. The inner cavity of the sponge is lined with specialized cells called collar cells which have tails/flagellum that are responsible for keeping the constant flow of water.

Excretion

The phylum porifera does not have an excretory system but also rely on the flow of water to remove of wastes and other particles that may block the ostia. Many sponges have the ability to produce ammonia and nitrogen containing substances, others may exude large quantities of mucus, and some produce toxic substances that may cause inflammation and skin irritation for humans.

Response

Sponges lack a nervous system in all its simplicity. They do not have senses, can not see, hear, smell, touch, or taste but they do respond to stimuli. An example as such would be their ability to emit a toxic substance when they are in danger.

Movement

Juvenile sponges are motile but as they mature into adult sponges, they do not move at all. Some adult sponges have the ability to move at least 1-4 millimeters a day and many can open and close their oscula and ostia.

Reproduction

Sponges can reproduce asexually and sexually. Asexually, the sponge can basically grow its own mini-me from its side. When the mini-me matures enough, it breaks off and attaches itself to a solid surface nearby where it matures even further. This process of asexual reproduction is called budding. 

Sponges are hermaphrodites, meaning they do not have a specified gender role as they produce both eggs and sperm. At a certain time sponges release their sperm and they make their way to find the egg. Sperm are brought into the sponge through diffusion. Once the egg is fertilized, it remains in the sponge and is released when mature.

Dabid Attenborough: Attack of the Killer Fungi

      Though this is not a part of David Attenborough's "Private Life of Plants" videos, I would like to share with you an amazing yet somewhat disturbing side to fungi that most would not already know. I wanted to share with you a type of fungi called Cordyceps that invade the bodies of insects as spores and from then take over the insect as its host. The insect becomes zombified, and not long after the insects body is infiltrated the insect dies. Over the course of three weeks the Cordyceps fungi grows until it is ready to release new spores into the environment. 

      This fungi has the ability to wipe out entire colonies and  that each species is specialized to destroy a specific species. 

Watch this video if you want to learn more:

"That's just creepy isn't it."

Angiosperms: Monocot or Dicot?

Reverting back to one of my older posts on vascular plants and the functions of roots stems, leaves (x), I wanted to use that content to share with you my somewhat new found knowledge of monocots and dicots!

*overreaction*

Roots

The first plant is a dicot because the vascular bundle resembles an "x" formation in the centre of the root. The second image is a monocot which has multiple small vascular bundles in a ring around the interior of the root.

Stems

The first image display the stem cross-section of a moncot plant, the vascular bundles are again, arranged in the shape of a ring. The second image is a section of a dicot stem, the vascular bundles are diverse in size and are spread out underneath the epidermis.

Leaves

The first leaf cross-section is of a dicot leaf. The vascular bundle has a slightly smeared appearance as it is diagonal to the cut since the vascular tubes branch out from the middle of the leaf. The second image is a cross-section of a monocot leaf. Since the vascular tubes run parallel to each other and are perpendicular to the cut, we have a clear view of the xylem and phloem.

Hmmmm pretty interesting information right?

Plants are cool.

Plant Photo Journal: Local Plants

Mosses:

 

      Mosses are very primitive plants with limited growth and a lack of complexity. This is because they are one of the first descendants of sea-dwelling algae. As a result, the moss have evolved without the more complex vascular tissue meaning that they cannot grow any taller with such a lack of structure. Since the mosses have no xylem and phloem veins that transport water, they have to absorb it directly, mosses inhabit cool, shady areas where there is plenty of water to go around. The reproduction of mosses is dependent on the presence of water (like the areas where these moss pictures were taken) because moss has swimming sperm that need the water to get to the female egg of the moss. Rocks are able to grow on rocks because of their rhizoids, which are root-like structures that can anchor them onto the surface.

Ferns:

      Like mosses, ferns are also found in moist environments. This fern was pound not too far from the little creek that runs behind our school. The moist environment is important in fern reproduction as well because ferns also have swimming sperm on the prothallus (structure formed after a spore fully geminates) that need to swim from the ferns male reproductive parts to the female parts. Contrary to the plant structure of mosses, ferns have vascular tissues and veins called xylem and phloem that transfer water and nutrients throughout the plant. In addition, the vascular tissues support the plant allow it to grow taller. Ferns need to grow in the soil because they need somewhere for their roots to burrow down absorbing water and nutrients, and to anchor the growing fern firmly so it can grow and its height can be supported.

Gymnosperms:

Photos on the left: female

Photos on the right: male

      

      Gymnosperm traits that allow them to live in various environments include the fact that they have needles instead of leaves and the fact that they have seed and pollen cones instead of swimming sperm. Needles are great whereas they are watertight, windproof and can last throughout the winter without shedding entirely. Gymnosperms have seed cones and pollen cones which are more secure. Gymnosperms reproduce starting with a process called pollination, when a pollen cone releases its pollen grains into the environment where they soon find themselves stuck in the sticky sap withing the female seed cone. Fertilization is what happens when the pollen stuck in the sticky residue of the female cone grows pollen tubes reach the egg cell where the sperm is to be released creating a diploid conifer zygote.

Angiosperms:

Monocot: Tulips.

Dicot: That plant.

      Angiosperms are very well adapted because they have an array of strategies that they use to reproduce and disperse their seeds. For example, flowers can reproduce through pollination; their pollen travelling by wind or by insects/animals, sometimes from the flower or instead of a flower a plant produces a fruit which can be eaten by an animal and pooped (Ha.) elsewhere. The purpose of the fruit is to act as a protective layer between the elements and the seed but similarly, the fruit acts as a lure. Attractive and tempting to animals so that the seed can be dispersed.