Fall Line Cities (Lab 5)

The city of Macon is located along the geographical feature known as the fall line, the upper region of the Piedmont meets the Atlantic Coastal Plain. Rivers that cross this line are especially prominent since they usually have rapids and waterfalls. Because of this, sites along the rivers on these fall lines have long been sought after by civilizations because these features can mark the head of navigation and a good source of water power. Macon is one such city that has been colonized throughout the years by the Native Americans, and early settlers and colonists searching for a place to set down roots. The earliest settlers valued this area for its location on the river which supplied water and the fish and game that was readily available around it. Later, the area was sought after by settlers for the easy access to trade and travel that the river supplied.

The Twelve Soil Orders (Lab 4)

These are the 12 soil orders of the world. Follow the hyperlinks to learn about each one. Or this link to the whole website http://soils.cals.uidaho.edu/soilorders/orders.htm.
 
Gelisols
Histosols
Spodosols
Andisols
Oxisols
Vertisols
Aridisols
Ultisols
Mollisols
Alfisols
Inceptisols
Entisols

Blood Glucose Graph (Lab 3)

Dr. Rood's blood sugar reaction to the consumption of a candy bar

The biological device that allows us to regulate or blood glucose (even after sending it through the roof by eating a candy bar) is the body's homeostatic mechanism. This mechanism keeps blood glucose levels within a narrow range and is composed of several interacting systems, of which hormone regulation is the most important. There are two types of metabolic hormones that affect blood glucose levels: catabolic (which increase blood glucose) and anabolic (which decrease blood glucose levels).

Negative Feedback Loop
A negative feedback loop occurs when the output of a system acts to oppose changes to the input of the system, with the result that the changes are attenuated. When the overall feedback of the system is negative then the system will tend to be stable. Here is a graph describing what happens when the body regulates its blood glucose and how that mechanism is a negative feedback loop.

Trees, Plants, and Flowers! (Lab 2)

After walking around campus and observing and classifying different plants, trees, and flowers around campus these are five of each that I am particularly interested in...

TREES:

Ginko Tree (Ginko biloba)

The Ginkgo in an ancient tree thought to have been preserved for a thousand years by Chinese monks in the Zhejiang province of China after going extinct in the wild. It has both a male and female gender. The female version has a pungent odor.

Willow Oak (Quercus phellos)

 

Yaupon Holly (Ilex vomitoria)

 

 

Live Oak (Quercus virginiana)

Yoshino Cherry Tree (Prunus x yedoensis)

PLANTS/FLOWERS:

Aloe Vera (Aloe Vera)

This plant can be used to remedy burns and skin irritations in humans. It is widespread throughout the world but this is probably due to human cultivation and not natural occurrence.

Hosta (Undulata variegata)

 

Elephant Ear (Colocasia esculenta)

Monkey Grass (Liriope spicata)

Angel's Trumpet (Brugmansia arorea)

 

This angel's trumpet gets its name from the long tubular flowers that hang from it. Although fun to look at all parts of this plant are highly toxic and if ingested are fatal. It is said to have hallucenagenic properties, however due to its toxicity using it for this trait is not recommended.

Zinnia (Zinnia angustifolia)

 Nandina (Nandina domestica)

River Transect and Clam Data (Lab 2)

Ocmulgee River

We went to the Ocmulgee river and measured the depth every ten feet on a line from bank to bank. We also took samples from the river bed at various points and counted the number of clams that we unearthed. On the map is a line representing where we measured the depth of the river and markers that show where we dug for clams and how many we found at each point. The point marked "NA" is where we found a significant number of dead clams.

Atlantic Sailfish (Lab 1)

Atlantic Sailfish (Istiophorus albicans): Found in the Atlantic oceans and the Caribbean Sea, Atlantic sailfish prefer more tropical, temperate waters. They are usually found in the upper layers of water above the thermocline. They generally feed on schooling fishes like anchovies, sardines, and mackerel.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Perciformes
Family: Istiophoridae
Genus: Istiophorus
Species: Istiophorus albicans

They can grow up to 3.40 m and weigh up to 100 kg. To catch their food, they first surround a school of fish and then they swim through them attempting to impale them on their long pointed bills. Although they have little value to commercial fishermen they are very popular among recreational fishermen. Popular fishing locations include the Gulf of Mexico, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It is also the official saltwater fish of the state of Florida.

Isarithmic Map of Mean Precipitation in Georgia (Lab 1)