The First Thing With a Spine

Amphioxus
Also known as a 'lancelet', these tiny creatures can be found in most places buried in sand or in shallow parts of temperate and tropical seas. In Asia they are commonly harvested as food for both humans and animals. Lancelets grow up to about 5 centimeters (2.0 in) long, reaching 7 centimeters (2.8 in) at the longest. They have a translucent, somewhat fish-like body, but without any paired fins or other limbs. A relatively poorly developed tail fin is present, but they are not especially good swimmers. One feature that makes amphioxus such an interesting animal is the hollow nerve cord running along the back that it shares in common with vertebrates. They are also the modern representatives of the subphylum Cephalochordata.

Burgess Shale: The Holy Shrimp (Lab 8)

Sanctacaris
The discovery of the extensive fossil record hidden in the Burgess Shale, revealed to scientists a plethora of new and previously undiscovered species. On the evolution timeline such a burst of species development was unheard of. This discovery also known as the Cambrian Explosion, marked the sudden appearance of an ecosystem full of highly developed predator and prey organisms that the like of which had never been seen before. One such organism was Sanctacaris.

Its name literally means 'sacred shrimp'. It is thought to have used its head appendages to trap and consume its prey. It is regarded as a primitive form of chelicerate, a group that includes horseshoe crabs, spiders, and scorpions. The specimens that have been found range from 43-93 mm in length. Although it is grouped in with the other organisms from the Cambrian Explosion, Sanctacaris was discovered in 1980, long after Charles Walcott's original findings in 1909.

 Some say that it still exists to this day! ;)

If you find the Cambrian explosion super interesting and want to experience what these animals might have tasted like check out this link: Edible Cambrians.

Wild Ginger Profile and Uncommon Uses (Lab 7)

Asarum canadense (Canada Wild Ginger)

Also known as wild ginger, it is native to deciduous forests all over the east coast. While not a substitute for the ginger commonly used for cooking it can be added to food for spice or flavor.

 

The native Americans used the root to treat dysentery, digestive problems, coughs and colds, and even swollen breasts, among other ailments. It was also used as a stimulant and appetite enhancer.



ALSO........
Here's me hugging a tree on our Hitchiti field trip!

Jellyfish Lake (Lab 6)

This lake is of particular interest to me as is contains a large population of unique jellyfish. Located in the mostly unpopulated Rock Islands in Palau, Jellyfish Lake (Palauan: Ongeim'l Tketau, "Fifth Lake"), receives its water from the nearby lagoon.

The lake is connected to the ocean water of the lagoon by fissures and tunnels in the limestone of ancient Miocene reef. This reef is so ancient, that it dates back to when the Himalayas first began to rise. A marine lake is defined as "a unique ecosystem which forms when a depression in a porous, calcareous landscape is flooded by rising sea-levels. Connected in various ways to the sea, they form a continuum from complete isolation to lagoon-like. Marine lakes can contain a variety of habitats which foster adaptive radiation and rapid evolution of the biological assemblages."

The jellyfish that inhabit the reef are of the scyphozoan class. The predominant species of jellyfish are the golden jellyfish, species Mastigias. They are quite similar the the spotted jellyfish that inhabit the nearby lagoon however, they are morphologically, physiologically, and behaviorally distinct from them. The golden jellyfish migrate horizontally across the lake throughout the course of the day in order to increase and perpetuate the growth of the symbiotic algae that they rely on for nutrients.

Above is a graph representing the stratification of the lake. It is divided into two layers, an oxygenated upper layer (mixolimnion) and a lower anoxic layer (monimolimnion).The stratification of the lake is caused by conditions which prevent or restrict the mixing of water vertically. Causes of this condition are:
1. The lake is surrounded by rock walls and trees which substantially block the wind flow across the lake that would cause mixing.
2. The primary water sources for the lake (rain, runoff and tidal flows through tunnels) are all close to the surface.
3. The lake is in the tropics where seasonal temperature variation is small so that the temperature inversion that can cause vertical mixing of lakes in temperate zones does not occur.

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.