Evolution Unit
Sponge Dissection
The ideal habitat for marine animals is the coral reef, where large sponge forms do best. Sponges have mutually beneficial relationships with other organisms. Such as providing habitats for other organisms. The irregular shape and large size of sponges create ideal houses for other organisms. The have more beneficial relationships with protists. These photosynthetic organisms provide oxygen and food to the sponge. Organisms in the sponge get enough light to carry out photosynthesis within the sponge.
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Jellyfish DissectionThe advancement in complexity of the phylum Cnidarian compared to the phylum Porifera includes many things such as differences in specialization of cells or tissues, presence of organs, and overall body plan. The Cnidarians have two tissue layers including an outer epidermis and an inner gastrodermis. While the Porifera has three layers of cells and it does not really have any real tissue layers. For the Cnidarian the food enters the mouth and it is digested by something called the gastrodermis. Also waste goes through the mouth. However the Porifera uses canals that pushes food and water into and out of the sponge. The Cnidarian is radially symmetrical with a mouth in the center. It changes into many different forms that can allow them to have arm and leg like tentacles. The Porifera is asymmetrical with no front, back, right, or left. They also have a spiked shape skeleton.
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Squid Dissection
Mollusk
Look at chart below Worm Dissection
Annelid
Look at chart below |
Fish Dissection
Fishes
Ecology of Fishes Some fishes spend their lives in the ocean and then move to fresh water to breed. Those fishes are called anadromous. For example salmon begin their lives in rivers, after one to four years they go back to where they were born. This trip takes up to several months. Some other fish go from their homes in fresh water and then breed in the ocean. These are called catadromous. Some examples of catadromous are eels which live their lives in rivers and then go to the ocean to breed. Groups of Fishes/Characteristics Jawless Fish: Jawless fishes don’t have teeth or jaws. Lack vertebrae and keep their notochords as adults. They are divided into two groups; lampreys and hagfishes. Lampreys are filter feeders as larvae and parasites as adults. Hagfishes have pinkish grey skin. They are worm like and have tentacles near the mouth area. Chondrichthyes: Consists of sharks, rays, and many different types of their relatives. Their structures are created from cartilage not of bones or anything else Bony Fish: Bony fish obviously have a bony infrastructure unlike Chondrichthyes or Jawless fish. Most of all common fish are bony. Perch Dissection 1. The perch is about 8 inches long and 3 inches wide and has 8 fins. It has a dark grey coat of scales on the top and a white scales on the bottom. 2. The gill rakers protect the actual gills underneath them because they are very delicate. 3. Pectoral and pelvic fins- they move really fast with a certain flow to them. Dorsal fin-moves with the water Caudal fin-moves back and forth in a side to side motion. 4. The scales of the perch were very round and thin. We noticed when we were dissecting the perch that lots of the scales fell off the fish, this helped us get a closer examination of the perch’s scales. 5. The perch as two nostrils that below the eyes and above the mouth. They are different from our nostrils because they use there's strickly for smell and not to breath. 6.Their triangular shape and feathery texture make the gills an efficient respiratory system. 7. The lateral line runs across the top of the fish and under the spine on the outside of the perch. This line acts as a sensor to alert the fish of its surrounds.
Chordates
How did they Evolve Chordate species have changed greatly over geological time. An example of an adaption would be the development of the jaw, of paired appendages, including pectoral and pelvic fin or limb girdles. Adaptive radiation contributes to produce new species that are very similar in looks and behavior, but they are not closely related whatsoever. When this happens a trend is created which is called convergent evolution. How do they maintain body temp? Chordates that are cold blooded maintain their body temperature by moving to the areas that fits their needs. For example, if a cold blooded animal is hot, it will move to a shady, colder area. If it then gets cold, then it will most likely move to a sunny, warm area. Most warm blooded chordates maintain their body heat by regulating metabolic processes. There are many other methods of thermoregulation among warm blooded chordates How do Chordates feed, respire, excrete, circulate, move and respond? Feeding- Many chordates are filter feeders, these include tunicates and all lancelets. Vertebrates are adapted for feeding on much wider assortment of foods, this includes insects to large mammals. It can also include leaves, fruits, and seeds. Many mammal chordates have sharp teeth like a canine and incisors that help them tear and slice up their food. Respire-Aquatic chordates usually use gills for respiration. Land vertebrates use lungs for respiration. Although some chordates use both gills and lungs. Excrete-In nonvertebrate chordates gills and gill slits are an important feature when it comes to excretion. Many vertebrates however use kidneys, and excretory organs composed of small filtering tubes that remove waste from the blood. In tunicates waste leaves the body through the outflow siphons. Circulate-Chordates that use gills for respiration have a single-loop circulatory system. The blood travels from the heart to the gills , then to the rest of the body, and back to the heart in a single loop. Vertebrates that use lungs to breath have a double loop circulatory system. The first loop carries blood between the heart and lungs. Well healthy blood full of oxygen coming from the lungs returns to the heart. The second loop carries blood from the heart and is pumped to the body, while oxygen-poor blood from the body returns to the heart. Response-Nonvertebrate chordates gave a relatively simple nervous system with a mass of nerve cells that form a brain. Vertebrates have a more complex brain with a distinct regions, each with a different function. Movement-The skeletal system and muscular system supports a vertebrate’s body and make it possible to control movement. Vertebrates have a much easier time moving than nonvertebrate chordates. How fish feed, respire, circulate, excrete, respond? -Feeding Fish can be herbivores,carnivores, parasites, filter feeders, and detritus feeders. Fish are not limited to one of these categories, some can be many of them depending on what type of food is available. when the fish consumes food it passes through the esophagus to the stomach where it is broken down and made into energy. -Respire most fish use feather like gills located behind their head on either side of the body. they use this large surface area to make the exchange of of oxygen and carbon dioxide. this exchange process happens when the fish pull in oxygen rich water through their gills and push out the carbon dioxide. some fish such as lampreys and sharks have many gill openings, however most fish have only two covered by an operculum bone. other fish have lungs from which oxygen is supplied through the mouth and not through the gills. these fish need to go to the surface to get oxygen every so often so that they don't suffocate. -Circulation Fish have closed circulatory systems that pumps blood around the body and through the heart. they pump blood from the heart through the gills where the blood is oxygenated. The blood is then sent around the body to the brain, muscles, and digestive system. when the blood returns back to the heart it is pumped to the gills where the carbon dioxide is expelled through the respiration process. -Excrete Fishes rid themselves of nitrogenous waste through the gills and into the surrounding water. other waste is removed through the kidneys which are used to filter waste from blood. kidneys help fish control the amount of water in there body, salt water fishes lose water by osmosis so there kidneys try to concentrate waste and retain as much water as possible. freshwater fish excrete their waste through urine to retain as much water as possible, some fish can live in both environments by changing kidney function. -Response Fish have well developed nervous systems that consist of an olfactory bulb, cerebrum, optic lobe, cerebellum, medulla oblongata, and spinal cord. In addition fish have a nose to smell with and ears that they can’t hear with so they use their lateral lines to sense vibrations in the water. these vibrations can alert them to potential predators in their vicinity. |
Frog Dissection
Amphibia
Groups of Amphibians There are three different groups of amphibians. There are salamanders, frogs and toads, and caecilians. Most people know what frogs, toads, and salamanders are, but not many people know what caecilians. Caecilians are long, legless animals that live in water or burrow in moist soil. Ecology of Amphibians Amphibians have no feathers, fur, or scales this makes them easy prey for mammals and birds. However amphibians do have defenses to their predators such as, camouflage, bright coloration, and a skin gland that releases gross tasting, poisonous substance. Global amphibian population is declining and scientist aren't completely sure why this is happening. How did amphibians Evolve The first amphibians to cruise land were most likely similar to modern coelacanth. In order to adapt to land amphibians needed more than just legs. They have to breath air, protect their eggs from drying out, and they had to support themselves. How do they Maintain Body Heat Amphibians are cold blooded so they change body temperature depending on their surroundings. Often when they are too hot they go for a swim and cool down in the water. Once they start getting cold in the water, they might find a sunny spot to warm themselves up. |
Evolution Book Club Reflection
1. Title, author: The Dragons of Eden, Carl Sagan
2. Viewpoint/What is the author arguing? He's searching for a way of measuring intelligence. Also arguing for the search for quantities meaning of intelligence.
3. Main ideas/ Evidence: The main ideas include speculations on the evolution of Human and animal intelligence through things such as genes. As well as how we evolved from fish, reptiles, and early mammals. It also talks about the brain and how we use it, even during sleep.
4. Interesting facts:
- Our brain has a core that could rightly be considered reptilian
- The emotional part of our brain develops much faster than the rational part
- The big difference between human and other animals brains is the evolution of the rational part of the brain
- Oldest part of limbic system is the olfactory cortex
5. Vocab you need to look up:
- Prosimian- a primitive primate of a group includes lemurs and bushbabies.
- Neo cortex- part of cerebral cortex
- Limbic system- complex system of nerves and networks in the brain, involving several areas near the edge of the cortex concerned with instinct and mood. It controls the basic emotions (fear, pleasure, anger) and drives (hunger, sex, dominance, care of offspring).
-Interspersed- scattered among or between other things
-Endocranial- internal cast of the cranium
-Mesozoic Era- development of of flying reptiles, birds, and flowering plants, and extinction of dinosaurs
-zygote- the cell formed by the union of the nuclei of two reproductive cells, especially fertilized egg cell
6. Things you don't understand or understand fully or don't make sense: It was hard to understand a majority of the chapter Brains and Chariots. The main thing in that chapter that was hard to interrupt was the R-Complex. Another thing that stumped us was how dreams occur.
7. Favorite things you learned so far: We learned a ton about the brain. all of us in our group didn't know anything much about the brain just the simple things, like it is the main controller of our nervous system. The examination of the brain towards the beginning of the book told me a lot about the brain that i didn’t know before. It brought a clearer understanding about the functions and evolves. Also that bloodhounds have such a great sense of smell that they can track down a kidnapped person who was taken hours earlier. They have to be able to tell the difference between characteristics in body molecules with many different background sounds and smells. Also when dogs fall into a deep sleep they dream of hunting. This can be seen by the movement in their legs during their sleep.
8. You may be surprised to find out that this book has nothing to do with dragons, it actually has to do with evolution of the brain. In the Dragon of Eden, Carl Sagan takes us into the brain, offering his vivid insight Into the brain of man, the origin of human intelligence, the function of our most important organ. Personally for us, being people who are not very interested in this subject, it was very difficult for us to get hooked to the book. It wasn't an easy sit down and read we had to be focused and constantly be rereading sentences. It can be a difficult read, with high level vocabulary that many people can not comprehend. To an unintelligent high school student this book may be beyond them. Considering most high students read books that should be read by fifth graders and under.
This book is full of useful and interesting information. If you are someone who is into evolution than this is a book for you. This story has the ability to expand your views and knowledge on the contained topics. The most interesting parts are when he talks about the evolution of the brain and how it develops emotionally before it develops rationally. When we read that, we wondered how?
For me the most interesting topics in the story were about the dreams. We personally liked hearing about why and how dreams are a thing. We do want to know how these studies are proven and we can imagine others would too. This book shows how the brain works while developing dreams. Also about how the limbic system has to do with a lot of different parts of daily routines including dreams. Some of the most complex things happening in your brain happen while you are unconscious.
The main problem of this story is the fact that it is an old book. Carl Sagan wrote this in 1977 and there have been new discoveries since. The book is full of wonder and new information, for those people who are wanting to gain knowledge about evolution of intelligence, we suggest giving this book a shot.
Reflection Socratic Seminar
I learned that there is a possibility that dinosaurs were brought aboard Noah's Ark. Also I learned that Noah's Ark lasted 371 days. I wanted to say that Noah's Ark was proven wrong because the size the boat could not possibly stay afloat because of how big it was and what it was made of. Also I wanted to say that the cave people who drew pictures of dinosaurs could possibly be drawing photos of lizards that were much bigger than in reality.
Overall Reflection
I think this project went well. It was huge and took forever. We did many dissections, where we then created a table explaining what every creature that we dissected did. I feel like we did the dissections and the book club well and the video didn't go as well as we planned. I learned how to use iMovie better and how to dissect multiple species of animals. I feel that we could have done a better job making sure our content was clear on the video and on making our dissections more exact. My favorite part of the project was creating the Transitional Species video and the worst part was the dissections because they were not enjoyable.