"Mariana Common Moorhen / Gallinula chloropus guami / Pulattat "-->The Mariana Common Moorhen, also known in the native language as Pulattat, is the only remaining wetland bird species in the Mariana Islands. The distinguishing physical characteristics of adult birds include a red bill and frontal shield, white undertail coverts, a white line along the flank, and long olive-green legs with large unwebbed feet. Males and females are nearly identical in appearance and are difficult to distinguish from each other. Moorhens in the Mariana Islands are found primarily at freshwater manmade and natural wetlands that are both seasonal and permanent. Occasionally, they are recorded in brackish water wetlands. Wetlands that support about equal amounts of emergent, submergent, and/or floating vegetation and open water are more suitable to moorhens for feeding, nesting, and loafing than wetlands that are predominately open water or that support mostly emergent wetland vegetation. In the Mariana Islands, moorhens have been recorded at golf course wetlands, commercial fish ponds, sewage treatment plants, wetlands created for the mitigation of wetland loss, but rarely at rivers and streams. Mariana Common Moorhens feed on a variety of plant and animal matter that may be located in the water, in and adjacent to wetland vegetation, and along the shoreline. Moorhens in the Mariana Islands move from seasonal to permanent wetlands during the dry season (January to April) and then move back to seasonal wetlands during the rainy season (July to November). They also fly between islands to utilize seasonal and permanent wetlands.http://www.fws.gov/pacificislands/wesa/moorehenmariaindex.html
***Compared to: "Micronesian Megapode / Megapodius laperouse / sasangat or sasangal"-->The Megapodiidae are part of a family within the order Galliformes (chicken-like birds) found only in the Australasian region. The family is comprised of seven genera found in Australasia (Australia, New Guinea and surrounding islands, eastern Indonesia, the Nicobar Islands, the Philippines, Micronesia, Vanuatu, and Niuafo`ou of the Tonga Islands). The Micronesian Megapode is generally a bird of the forest. The Micronesian Megapode is a pigeon-sized bird with an average weight of about 12.25 ounces (3.8 grams). It has a dark gray-brown to black body plumage and an ash gray head with a slightly darker, short, rough crest. The flight feathers and short tail are grayish-black, and the wings are short and round. The bill is yellow with the upper mandible clove-brown to black at the base. The feathers around the eye, ear, and throat are very sparse or absent revealing red skin and a red throat patch. The heavily built legs and feet are yellow with the joints of toes and/or all the upper surface dark gray-black. Megapodes are sometimes called “incubator birds” because they rely on solar energy, volcanic activity, or microbial decomposition as a heat source for incubation. They are also characterized by laying large eggs without an air chamber. Chicks lack an egg tooth at hatching and kick their way out of the egg. Megapode chicks are precocial (feathered, able to walk, and able to regulate their body temperature) at hatching and the adults do not care for the young. The Micronesian Megapode seems to be an omnivore, taking a variety of plant and animal foods available on the forest floor, including seeds, beetles, ants, other insects, and plant matter. http://www.fws.gov/pacificislands/wesa/megapodeindex.html~Describe at least 4 adaptations for each animal and contrast these adaptations to animals of the same class on land. How is the physiology different between the animal and another from the same class on land?-->The Mariana Common Moorhen, or also known as Pulattat, and the Micronesian Megapode both belong to the class aves. Class aves (birds) are bipedal, warm-blooded, egg-laying vertebrate animals. Yet, their way of living differs in many ways. For instance, the pulattats are known to be found primarily at freshwater manmade and natural wetlands. Occasionally, they are recorded in brackish water wetlands. And the Micronesian Megapode are generally known as a bird of the forest. Both birds feed on a variety of plants and animals. But the pulattats commonly feed on plants and animals that may be located in the water, in and adjacent to wetland vegetation, and along the shoreline. While the Micronesian Megapode feed on what is available on the forest floor, including seeds, beetles, ants, other insects, and plant matter.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Adaptations and Biological of Reptiles
Green Sea Turtles:..-->Chelonia mydas, commonly known as the green turtle is a large sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus Chelonia. The range of the species extends throughout tropical and subtropical seas around the world, with two distinct populations in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Anatomically, there are a few characteristics that distinguish the green turtle from the other members of its family. Unlike the closely-related hawksbill turtle, the green turtle's snout is very short and its beak is unhooked. The horny sheath of the turtle's upper jaw possesses a slightly-denticulated edge while its lower jaw has stronger, serrated, more defined denticulation. The dorsal surface of the turtle's head has a single pair of prefrontal scales. Its carapace is composed of five central scutes flanked by four pairs of lateral scutes. Underneath, the green turtle has four pairs of infra-marginal scutes covering the area between the turtle's plastron and its shell. Mature C. mydas front appendages have only a single claw (as opposed to the hawksbill's two), although a second claw is sometimes prominent in young specimens.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_sea_turtle#Anatomy_and_morphology~Describe at least 4 adaptations for each animal and contrast these adaptations to animals of the same class on land. How is the physiology different between the animal and another from the same class on land?
Adaptations and Biological of Mammals
Dolphins:..
--> Dolphins are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating fish and squid. They have a streamlined fusiform body, adapted for fast swimming. The basic colouration patterns are shades of grey with a light underside and a distinct dark cape on the back. It is often combined with lines and patches of different hue and contrast. The head contains the melon, a round organ used for echolocation. In many species, the jaws are elongated, forming a distinct beak; for some species like the Bottlenose, there is a curved mouth which looks like a fixed smile. Teeth can be very numerous (up to two hundred and fifty) in several species. The dolphin brain is large and has a highly structured cortex, which often is referred to in discussions about their advanced intelligence. Unlike most mammals, dolphins do not have hair, but they are born with a few hairs around the tip of their rostrum which they lose after some time, in some cases even before they are born. The only exception to this is the Boto river dolphin, which does have some small hairs on the rostrum. Their reproductive organs are located on the underside of the body. Males have two slits, one concealing the penis and one further behind for the anus. The female has one genital slit, housing the vagina and the anus. A mammary slit is positioned on either side of the female's genital slit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin
***Compared to:
~Describe at least 4 adaptations for each animal and contrast these adaptations to animals of the same class on land. How is the physiology different between the animal and another from the same class on land?
--> Dolphins are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating fish and squid. They have a streamlined fusiform body, adapted for fast swimming. The basic colouration patterns are shades of grey with a light underside and a distinct dark cape on the back. It is often combined with lines and patches of different hue and contrast. The head contains the melon, a round organ used for echolocation. In many species, the jaws are elongated, forming a distinct beak; for some species like the Bottlenose, there is a curved mouth which looks like a fixed smile. Teeth can be very numerous (up to two hundred and fifty) in several species. The dolphin brain is large and has a highly structured cortex, which often is referred to in discussions about their advanced intelligence. Unlike most mammals, dolphins do not have hair, but they are born with a few hairs around the tip of their rostrum which they lose after some time, in some cases even before they are born. The only exception to this is the Boto river dolphin, which does have some small hairs on the rostrum. Their reproductive organs are located on the underside of the body. Males have two slits, one concealing the penis and one further behind for the anus. The female has one genital slit, housing the vagina and the anus. A mammary slit is positioned on either side of the female's genital slit.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin
***Compared to:
~Describe at least 4 adaptations for each animal and contrast these adaptations to animals of the same class on land. How is the physiology different between the animal and another from the same class on land?
Sea Floor Spreading
w3.salemstate.edu
www.windows.ucar.edu
What is sea floor spreading?
-->Sea-floor spreading is the process in which the ocean floor is extended when two plates move apart. As the plates move apart, the rocks break and form a crack between the plates. Earthquakes occur along the plate boundary. Magma rises through the cracks and seeps out onto the ocean floor like a long, thin, undersea volcano. library.thinkquest.org/17457/platetectonics/4.php
What are some of the major land forms that are created from plate movement?
-->A long chain of mountains forms gradually on the ocean floor as magma piles up along the crack. This chain is called an oceanic ridge. library.thinkquest.org/17457/platetectonics/4.php
How were the Mariana Islands formed?
-->A theory known as plate tectonics presumes that the Asian continent and the North and South American continents are moving and that the Lithosphere (crust) of the continents are composed of different material. The edge of these plates are believed to be moving in such a manner that one moves under the other and the cataclysmic forces that result push material upward to form islands. www.cnmi-guide.com/history/formation
What evidence exists today that the plates are still moving and that the islands are ancient volcanoes?
-->Plate tectonics is a theory of geology that has been developed to explain the observed evidence for large scale motions of the Earth's lithosphere. That facts that the fitting together of the coasts of the continents on the opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, the similarity of geologic formations and fossils found on the opposite sides, a geologically active mid-ocean ridge running along the central Atlantic between the opposite coasts, bottom sediments that get thicker the farther one travels from the ridge, and rocks on the sea floor on one side of the ridge show magnetic bands that are mirror images of rocks found on the opposite side of the ridge. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics#Plate_tectonic_theory
What is an atoll?
-->An atoll is an island of coral that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. Darwin (an English Naturalist) reasoned that a fringing coral reef surrounding a volcanic island in the tropical sea will grow upwards as the island subsides, becoming an "almost atoll" (barrier reef island). The fringing reef becomes a barrier reef for the reason that the outer part of the reef maintains itself near sea level through biotic growth, while the inner part of the reef falls behind, becoming a lagoon because conditions are less favorable for the corals and calcareous algae responsible for most reef growth. In time, subsidence carries the old volcano below the ocean surface, but the barrier reef remains. At this point, the island has become an atoll. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atoll
en.wikipedia.orgwikiAtoll
Why are atolls mainly found on the Pacific?-->Atolls are the product of the growth of tropical marine organisms, so these islands are only found in warm tropical waters. Volcanic islands located beyond the warm water temperature requirements of reef building organisms become seamounts as they subside and are eroded away at the surface. An island that is located where the ocean water temperatures are just sufficiently warm for upward reef growth to keep pace with the rate of subsidence is said to be at the Darwin Point.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atoll
www.windows.ucar.edu
What is sea floor spreading?
-->Sea-floor spreading is the process in which the ocean floor is extended when two plates move apart. As the plates move apart, the rocks break and form a crack between the plates. Earthquakes occur along the plate boundary. Magma rises through the cracks and seeps out onto the ocean floor like a long, thin, undersea volcano. library.thinkquest.org/17457/platetectonics/4.php
What are some of the major land forms that are created from plate movement?
-->A long chain of mountains forms gradually on the ocean floor as magma piles up along the crack. This chain is called an oceanic ridge. library.thinkquest.org/17457/platetectonics/4.php
How were the Mariana Islands formed?
-->A theory known as plate tectonics presumes that the Asian continent and the North and South American continents are moving and that the Lithosphere (crust) of the continents are composed of different material. The edge of these plates are believed to be moving in such a manner that one moves under the other and the cataclysmic forces that result push material upward to form islands. www.cnmi-guide.com/history/formation
What evidence exists today that the plates are still moving and that the islands are ancient volcanoes?
-->Plate tectonics is a theory of geology that has been developed to explain the observed evidence for large scale motions of the Earth's lithosphere. That facts that the fitting together of the coasts of the continents on the opposite sides of the Atlantic Ocean, the similarity of geologic formations and fossils found on the opposite sides, a geologically active mid-ocean ridge running along the central Atlantic between the opposite coasts, bottom sediments that get thicker the farther one travels from the ridge, and rocks on the sea floor on one side of the ridge show magnetic bands that are mirror images of rocks found on the opposite side of the ridge. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plate_tectonics#Plate_tectonic_theory
What is an atoll?
-->An atoll is an island of coral that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. Darwin (an English Naturalist) reasoned that a fringing coral reef surrounding a volcanic island in the tropical sea will grow upwards as the island subsides, becoming an "almost atoll" (barrier reef island). The fringing reef becomes a barrier reef for the reason that the outer part of the reef maintains itself near sea level through biotic growth, while the inner part of the reef falls behind, becoming a lagoon because conditions are less favorable for the corals and calcareous algae responsible for most reef growth. In time, subsidence carries the old volcano below the ocean surface, but the barrier reef remains. At this point, the island has become an atoll. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atoll
en.wikipedia.orgwikiAtoll
Why are atolls mainly found on the Pacific?-->Atolls are the product of the growth of tropical marine organisms, so these islands are only found in warm tropical waters. Volcanic islands located beyond the warm water temperature requirements of reef building organisms become seamounts as they subside and are eroded away at the surface. An island that is located where the ocean water temperatures are just sufficiently warm for upward reef growth to keep pace with the rate of subsidence is said to be at the Darwin Point.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atoll
Coral Reefs Part 1
As coral reefs are built, they go through different stages of growth. Throughout development, coral reefs characteristically sink into the water. Each of the following three stages describes a step the reef goes through while it sinks.
~Fringing Reefs~-->The fringing reef is the 1st stage of coral growth, being close to the island. When larvae is attached to sublittoral hard bottom and as corals grow, a fringing reef is formed along the coast. It can be found around the Caribbean Sea. Fringing reefs are close to shore so the water in which they live in gets run off and a mixture of nutrients and pollution from the land.
~Barrier Reefs~
-->Barrier reefs are the 2nd stage in coral reef development where the island has begun to sink. Corals then grow upwards and a lagoon will separate the barrier reef from land. They can be found around Australia, such as the Great Barrier Reef. They are farther out so they have access to water from the lagoon and the deeper ocean.
~Atolls~ -->Atolls are the last geological stage of sinking volcanic island. They are circles of corals with a lagoon in the center. In this stage, island has been completely been submersed in water. Its submersion explains why there is a lagoon in the center. Hundreds of atolls are speckled across the South Pacific.
The sun is the source of energy for the coral reef ecosystem. Plant plankton, called phytoplankton; algae; and other plants convert light energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis. As animals eat the plants and other animals, energy is passed on through the food chain. Reef building corals work together with microscopic algae, called zooxanthellae, that lives in their tissue. The zooxanthellae provide oxygen and food to the coral through photosynthesis. The coral polyp gives the algae a home, and the carbon dioxide it needs through respiration. Besides zooxanthellae, algae and seagrasses are the main types of plants in the coral reef ecosystem. These plants give food and oxygen to the animals that live on the reef. Seagrasses are especially important because they provide shelter for juvenile reef animals like conch and lobster.Coral reefs only make up about 1% of the ocean floor, but they house nearly 25% of life in the ocean. Animals use coral reefs either as a stopping point, like an oasis, as they travel the deep blue sea, or they live as residents at the reef. The corals themselves are the most abundant animal on the reef. They are tiny organisms are called polyps, that attach themselves to the hard reef and live there forever. The reef is like a giant apartment building in New York City and the coral polyps live together in each apartment. Corals are closely related to sea anemones and sea jellies, and use their tentacles for defense and to capture their prey. Corals can be a variety of colors, white, red, pink, green, blue, orange and purple, due to natural pigments and the zooxanthellae in their tissues.Other animals that live on the coral reef include sea urchins, sponges, sea stars, worms, fish, sharks, rays, lobster, shrimp, octopus, snails and many more. Many of these animals work together as a team like the coral polyp and zooxanthellae. This teamwork is called symbiosis. One example of symbiosis on the reef is the anemonefish and sea anemone. The sea anemone’s tentacles provide protection and safety for the fish and their eggs, while the fish protects the anemone from predators, such as butterflyfish. Sometimes anemonefish even remove parasites from their home anemone. http://www.jochemnet.de/fiu/OCB3043_39.htmlhttp://library.thinkquest.org/25713/reef_types.html#fringinghttp://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/nceas-web/kids/biomes/coral.htm
~Fringing Reefs~-->The fringing reef is the 1st stage of coral growth, being close to the island. When larvae is attached to sublittoral hard bottom and as corals grow, a fringing reef is formed along the coast. It can be found around the Caribbean Sea. Fringing reefs are close to shore so the water in which they live in gets run off and a mixture of nutrients and pollution from the land.
~Barrier Reefs~
-->Barrier reefs are the 2nd stage in coral reef development where the island has begun to sink. Corals then grow upwards and a lagoon will separate the barrier reef from land. They can be found around Australia, such as the Great Barrier Reef. They are farther out so they have access to water from the lagoon and the deeper ocean.
~Atolls~ -->Atolls are the last geological stage of sinking volcanic island. They are circles of corals with a lagoon in the center. In this stage, island has been completely been submersed in water. Its submersion explains why there is a lagoon in the center. Hundreds of atolls are speckled across the South Pacific.
The sun is the source of energy for the coral reef ecosystem. Plant plankton, called phytoplankton; algae; and other plants convert light energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis. As animals eat the plants and other animals, energy is passed on through the food chain. Reef building corals work together with microscopic algae, called zooxanthellae, that lives in their tissue. The zooxanthellae provide oxygen and food to the coral through photosynthesis. The coral polyp gives the algae a home, and the carbon dioxide it needs through respiration. Besides zooxanthellae, algae and seagrasses are the main types of plants in the coral reef ecosystem. These plants give food and oxygen to the animals that live on the reef. Seagrasses are especially important because they provide shelter for juvenile reef animals like conch and lobster.Coral reefs only make up about 1% of the ocean floor, but they house nearly 25% of life in the ocean. Animals use coral reefs either as a stopping point, like an oasis, as they travel the deep blue sea, or they live as residents at the reef. The corals themselves are the most abundant animal on the reef. They are tiny organisms are called polyps, that attach themselves to the hard reef and live there forever. The reef is like a giant apartment building in New York City and the coral polyps live together in each apartment. Corals are closely related to sea anemones and sea jellies, and use their tentacles for defense and to capture their prey. Corals can be a variety of colors, white, red, pink, green, blue, orange and purple, due to natural pigments and the zooxanthellae in their tissues.Other animals that live on the coral reef include sea urchins, sponges, sea stars, worms, fish, sharks, rays, lobster, shrimp, octopus, snails and many more. Many of these animals work together as a team like the coral polyp and zooxanthellae. This teamwork is called symbiosis. One example of symbiosis on the reef is the anemonefish and sea anemone. The sea anemone’s tentacles provide protection and safety for the fish and their eggs, while the fish protects the anemone from predators, such as butterflyfish. Sometimes anemonefish even remove parasites from their home anemone. http://www.jochemnet.de/fiu/OCB3043_39.htmlhttp://library.thinkquest.org/25713/reef_types.html#fringinghttp://www.nceas.ucsb.edu/nceas-web/kids/biomes/coral.htm
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Corals Reef Part 2
--The southern coast of Saipan contains several beautiful beaches where extensive reef development has occurred through time. The CNMI Monitoring Program conducts surveys on the reefs adjacent to Obyan, Boyscout, and Coral Ocean Point beaches. These reefs are fortunate for their favorable environmental setting consisting of; 1) protection from prevailing NE swells (low exposure), and 2) adjacent, small watersheds consisting of raised limestone rock, with relatively low amounts of terrigenous sediments washing into the marine environment during storms. These environmental conditions have led to the development of lush, three-dimensional reef structures that exist today. The living reef (the top few centimeters of the reef structure) has been exposed to various natural disturbances over the years. These include large crown-of-thorns starfish populations (COTS) (1969, 1985, 1995, 2004-6) and frequent typhoons.we believe the reef to be resilient based upon the relatively high levels of coralline algae, which are the preferred substrate for new coral settlement, and large number of new coral recruits.
-->Lau Lau Bay contains some of the most diverse yet threatened reefs in the entire CNMI. The protected nature of the bay has allowed thriving reefs to development over the past 5,000 years, resulting in amazing, three dimensional reef structure today. This reef structure is valued by divers and fishermen alike because of its beauty and fish habitat that it provides. The protection and isolation of the bay also means that these reefs are more susceptible to disturbances (typhoons and pollution).
http://www.cnmicoralreef.net/ns/laulau2.html
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Virtual Lab Dissections
~Crayfish~
http://universe-review.ca/I10-82-crayfish.jpg
a.) Digestive System: The digestive tract consists of the foregut, which includes an enlarged stomach, part of which is specialized for grinding; the midgut, which extends from the foregut; and the hindgut, which leads to the anus and functions in water and salt regulation (Miller and Harley, 1992; Snodgrass,1965). The digestive gland secretes digestive enzymes and aids in the absorption of the products of digestion (Pennak, 1989). http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/Harbour/SPECIES/CRAYFISH/CRAYFISH.HTM#Digestiveb.) Circulatory System: The circlatory system of the crayfish is centred around a muscular heart with dorsal, anterior, and posterior arteries leading away from it . Branches of these vessels empty into the sinuses of the hemocoel (the large tissue spaces containing blood). The ventral sinus collects the blood, the blood travels through the gills, and then returns to the pericardial sinus surrounding ther heart (Miller and Hurley, 1992; Snodgrass, 1965). http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/Harbour/SPECIES/CRAYFISH/CRAYFISH.HTM#Digestivec.) Nervous System: The crayfish nervous system is composed of a ventral nerve cord fused with segmental ganglia, and the supresophageal and subesophageal ganglia (Miller and Harley, 1992). Giant neurons in the ventral nerve cord function in escape responses (Bliss, 1990). The supraesophageal and subesophageal ganglia control the head appendages in response to sesory input recieved from receptors (Miller and Harley, 1992). http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/Harbour/SPECIES/CRAYFISH/CRAYFISH.HTM#Digestived.) Excretory System: The excretory organs are also called the antennal glands because they are located at the base of the second antenna. They exrete the waste products of blood filtration; ammonia is the primary waste product (Miller and Harley, 1992). Ammonia is also excreted across the gill surfaces and by diffusion across thin parts of the exoskeleton (Snodgrass, 1965) http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/Harbour/SPECIES/CRAYFISH/CRAYFISH.HTM#Digestivee.) Reproductive System: Crayfish have separate male and female sexes (dioecious) and the gonads are located in the dorsal portion of the thorax (Miller and Harley, 1992). Mating occurs just after the female has molted, usually in the spring. The male deposits sperm near the openings of the female gonoducts (at the base of the 3rd periopods) and uses the two modified pleopods to guide the sperm into the female sperm receptacle. http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/Harbour/SPECIES/CRAYFISH/CRAYFISH.HTM#Digestivef.) Integumentary System: This crustacean has a hard exoskeleton that protects and supports the body. The crayfish has 8 jointed walking legs, a segmented body, 2 pairs of sensory antennae, and compound eyes. It has 2 large pincers or claws called chelipeds. If a crayfish loses a leg, the leg will regenerate (regrow). The head and thorax are fused, forming the cephalothorax. Using gills, a crayfish breathes oxygen that is dissolved in water. Juvenile crawfish are light tan, but adults are deep red. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/crustacean/Crayfishprintout.shtmlg.) Body Plan: The body of the crayfish is divided into two regions: the cephalothorax, which has sensory, feeding, and locomotor functions; and the abdomen, which has locomotor and visceral functions (Miller and Harley, 1992) http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/Harbour/SPECIES/CRAYFISH/CRAYFISH.HTM#DigestiveDescription of its unique habitat, diet and what distinguishes it as a mollusk, echinoderm, or arthropod.--> Crayfish live in streams, rivers, swamps, ponds, and other freshwater habitats. Most crayfish are strictly aquatic but some live in semi-aquatic environments. The semi-aquatic crayfish burrow into the soil to get to water (so that they can breathe). Crayfish are omnivores; they eat plants, animals, and decaying organisms. They are nocturnal (most active at night) and eat fish, shrimp, water plants, worms, insects, snails, and plankton. Larval crayfish are very tiny; they eat plankton. Their color depends on diet. As a crayfish grows, it often molts (loses its old shell and grows a new one). It eats the old shell. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/crustacean/Crayfishprintout.shtml
~Clam~
http://kentsimmons.uwinnipeg.ca/16cm05/1116/33-21-ClamAnatomy-L.jpg
a.) Digestive System: A clam has food brought in through a siphon system and then to its mouth. It then goes to a digstive gland and to its intestine. Wastes via the anus.
b.) Circulatory System: A clam has a heart, blood, and blood vessels.
c.) Nervous System: A clam has no formal nervous system, but has a series of ganglia that conduct impulses.
d.) Excretory System: A clam has an excretory system with an anus. It has an organ called the nephridium that gets rid of wastes.
e.) Reproductive System: A clam is either male or female and reproduces sexually with a large organ called a gonad.
f.) Integumentary System: A Mollusk has a soft, thick, fleshy body. It can be very small or as big as six feet across.
g.) Body Plan: A clam has a soft, thick, fleshy body. It can be very small or as big as six feet across.Description of its unique habitat, diet and what distinguishes it as a mollusk, echinoderm, or arthropod.
http://www.mcwdn.org/Animals/Mollusks.html
~Starfish~
http://www.esu.edu/~milewski/intro_biol_two/lab__13_echinoderm/images/aster_diagr_organs.jpg
a.) Digestive System: Starfish digestion is carried out in two stomachs: the cardiac stomach and the pyloric stomach. The cardiac stomach, which is a sack like stomach located at the center of the body may be everted—pushed out of the organism's body and used to engulf and digest food. Some species take advantage of the endurance of their water vascular systems to force open the shells of bivalve mollusks such as clams and mussels by injecting their stomachs into the shells. With the stomach inserted inside the shell, it digests the mollusk in place. The cardiac stomach is then brought back inside the body, and the partially digested food is moved to the pyloric stomach. Further digestion occurs in the intestine and waste is either excreted through the anus on the aboral side of the body, or if the anus is absent (as in brittle stars), waste is excreted through the mouth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish#Digestion_and_excretion
b.) Circulatory System: Circulation occurs in three places: the perivisceral coelom (basically, the space inside the body but outside the various organs), the water vascular system (of which the tube feet are the most obvious part), and the hemal system (which actually looks something like a circulatory system). The hemal system is shown below. There are hemal channels forming rings around the central part of the body around the mouth (the oral hemal ring), closer to the upper surface (the aboral hemal ring), and a third ring around the digestive system (the gastric hemal ring). These are connected by the axial sinus. There are also radial hemal channels running down the rays next to the gonads (which are also located in the rays). A dorsal sac attached to the axial sinus pulsates, sort of like a very inefficient heart (inefficient because it lacks a one-way valve system). The hemal system seems mostly organized to distribute nutrients from the digestive tract.
http://www.vsf.cape.com/%7Ejdale/science/digest.htm
c.) Nervous System: Echinoderms have rather complex nervous systems, but lack a true centralized brain. All echinoderms have a nerve plexus (a network of interlacing nerves), which lies within as well as below the skin. The esophagus is also surrounded by a number of nerve rings, which send radial nerves that are often parallel with the branches of the water vascular system. The ring nerves and radial nerves coordinate the starfish's balance and directional systems. Although the echinoderms do not have many well-defined sensory inputs, they are sensitive to touch, light, temperature, orientation, and the status of water around them. The tube feet, spines, and pedicellariae found on starfish are sensitive to touch, while eyespots on the ends of the rays are light-sensitive. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish#Digestion_and_excretion
d.) Excretory System: None.
e.) Reproductive System: Starfish are capable of both sexual and asexual reproduction. Individual starfish are male or female. Fertilization takes place externally, both male and female releasing their gametes into the environment. Resulting fertilized embryos form part of the zooplankton. Some species of starfish also reproduce asexually by fragmentation, often with part of an arm becoming detached and eventually developing into an independent individual starfish. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish#Digestion_and_excretion
f.) Integumentary System: (structure ie skin, exoskeleton, shell, etc.)
g.) Body Plan: Most starfish have five arms, however some have more or fewer; in fact some starfish can have different numbers of arms even within one species. The mouth is located underneath the starfish on the oral or ventral surface, while the anus is located on the top of the animal. The spiny upper surface covering the species is called the aboral or dorsal surface. On the aboral surface there is a structure called the madreporite, a small white spot located slightly off-center on the central disc which acts as a water filter and supplies the starfish's water vascular system with water to move. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish#Digestion_and_excretion
Description of its unique habitat, diet and what distinguishes it as a mollusk, echinoderm, or arthropod.
~Squid~
http://www.utmb.edu/nrcc/UFAW%20squid.jpg
a.) Digestive System: Squid, like all cephalopods, have complex digestive systems. Food is transported into a muscular stomach, found roughly in the midpoint of the visceral mass. The bolus is then transported into the caecum for digestion. The caecum, a long, white organ, is found next to the ovary or testis. In mature squid, more priority is given to reproduction and so the stomach and caecum often shrivel up during the later stages of life. Finally, food goes to the liver (or digestive gland), found at the siphon end of the squid, for absorption. Solid waste is passed out of the rectum. Beside the rectum is the ink sac, which allows a squid to discharge a black ink into the mantle cavity at short notice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid#Digestive_system
b.) Circulatory System: The circulatory system is open, except in Cephalopoda and usually includes a dorsal heart with one or two atrias and one ventricle. This is situated in a pericardial cavity. An anterior aorta and other vessels and many blood spaces (hemocoels) exist in the tissues.
http://marinebiology-shine.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html
c.) Nervous System: The giant axon of the squid, which may be up to 1 mm in diameter, innervates the mantle and controls part of the jet propulsion system.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid#Digestive_system
d.) Excretory System: Squid have three hearts. Two branchial hearts, feeding the gills, each surrounding the larger systemic heart that pumps blood around the body. The hearts have a faint greenish appearance and are surrounded by the renal sacs - the main excretory system of the squid. The kidneys are faint and difficult to identify and stretch from the hearts (located at the posterior side of the ink sac) to the liver. The systemic heart is made of three chambers, a lower ventricle and two upper auricles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid#Digestive_system
e.) Reproductive System: In female squid, the ink sac is hidden from view by a pair of white nidamental glands, which lie anterior to the gills. There are also red-spotted accessory nidamental glands. Both of these organs are associated with manufacture of food supplies and shells for the eggs. Females also have a large translucent ovary, situated towards the posterior of the visceral mass.Male squid do not possess these organs, but instead have a large testis in place of the ovary, and a spermatophoric gland and sac. In mature males, this sac may contain spermatophores, which are placed inside the mantle of the female during mating.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid#Digestive_system
f.) Integumentary System: The integumentary system of a squid is enclosed in the mantle, which has two swimming fins along each side. These fins are not the main source of their motility. The skin of the squid is covered in chromatophores, which allows the squid to change color to suit its environment. The underside of the squid is also found to be lighter than the topside, in order to provide camouflage from both prey and predator (countershading).Under the body are openings to the mantle cavity, which contains the gill and openings to the excretory and reproductive systems. At the front of the mantle cavity lies the siphon, which the squid uses for locomotion through means of jet propulsion. This is done by sucking water into the mantle cavity and quickly expelling it out of the siphon in a fast, strong jet. The direction of the siphon can be changed in order to suit the direction of travel.Inside the mantle cavity, beyond the siphon, lies the visceral mass of the squid, which is covered in a thin skin. Under this are all the major internal organs of the squid.
http://taylorsinsight.blogspot.com/
g.) Body Plan: Like all cephalopods, squid are distinguished by having a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms and two tentacles arranged in pairs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid#Digestive_system
Description of its unique habitat, diet and what distinguishes it as a mollusk, echinoderm, or arthropod.
-->Squids live in the ocean - a few, most notably the giant squid and the colossal squid live out in the colder open ocean. Many of the smaller species of squid rely on color changing patterns in order to communicate with each other and to attract prey as well. Squids are considered to be one of the most successful and highly complex of all invertebrates.
http://taylorsinsight.blogspot.com/
http://universe-review.ca/I10-82-crayfish.jpg
a.) Digestive System: The digestive tract consists of the foregut, which includes an enlarged stomach, part of which is specialized for grinding; the midgut, which extends from the foregut; and the hindgut, which leads to the anus and functions in water and salt regulation (Miller and Harley, 1992; Snodgrass,1965). The digestive gland secretes digestive enzymes and aids in the absorption of the products of digestion (Pennak, 1989). http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/Harbour/SPECIES/CRAYFISH/CRAYFISH.HTM#Digestiveb.) Circulatory System: The circlatory system of the crayfish is centred around a muscular heart with dorsal, anterior, and posterior arteries leading away from it . Branches of these vessels empty into the sinuses of the hemocoel (the large tissue spaces containing blood). The ventral sinus collects the blood, the blood travels through the gills, and then returns to the pericardial sinus surrounding ther heart (Miller and Hurley, 1992; Snodgrass, 1965). http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/Harbour/SPECIES/CRAYFISH/CRAYFISH.HTM#Digestivec.) Nervous System: The crayfish nervous system is composed of a ventral nerve cord fused with segmental ganglia, and the supresophageal and subesophageal ganglia (Miller and Harley, 1992). Giant neurons in the ventral nerve cord function in escape responses (Bliss, 1990). The supraesophageal and subesophageal ganglia control the head appendages in response to sesory input recieved from receptors (Miller and Harley, 1992). http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/Harbour/SPECIES/CRAYFISH/CRAYFISH.HTM#Digestived.) Excretory System: The excretory organs are also called the antennal glands because they are located at the base of the second antenna. They exrete the waste products of blood filtration; ammonia is the primary waste product (Miller and Harley, 1992). Ammonia is also excreted across the gill surfaces and by diffusion across thin parts of the exoskeleton (Snodgrass, 1965) http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/Harbour/SPECIES/CRAYFISH/CRAYFISH.HTM#Digestivee.) Reproductive System: Crayfish have separate male and female sexes (dioecious) and the gonads are located in the dorsal portion of the thorax (Miller and Harley, 1992). Mating occurs just after the female has molted, usually in the spring. The male deposits sperm near the openings of the female gonoducts (at the base of the 3rd periopods) and uses the two modified pleopods to guide the sperm into the female sperm receptacle. http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/Harbour/SPECIES/CRAYFISH/CRAYFISH.HTM#Digestivef.) Integumentary System: This crustacean has a hard exoskeleton that protects and supports the body. The crayfish has 8 jointed walking legs, a segmented body, 2 pairs of sensory antennae, and compound eyes. It has 2 large pincers or claws called chelipeds. If a crayfish loses a leg, the leg will regenerate (regrow). The head and thorax are fused, forming the cephalothorax. Using gills, a crayfish breathes oxygen that is dissolved in water. Juvenile crawfish are light tan, but adults are deep red. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/crustacean/Crayfishprintout.shtmlg.) Body Plan: The body of the crayfish is divided into two regions: the cephalothorax, which has sensory, feeding, and locomotor functions; and the abdomen, which has locomotor and visceral functions (Miller and Harley, 1992) http://www.science.mcmaster.ca/Biology/Harbour/SPECIES/CRAYFISH/CRAYFISH.HTM#DigestiveDescription of its unique habitat, diet and what distinguishes it as a mollusk, echinoderm, or arthropod.--> Crayfish live in streams, rivers, swamps, ponds, and other freshwater habitats. Most crayfish are strictly aquatic but some live in semi-aquatic environments. The semi-aquatic crayfish burrow into the soil to get to water (so that they can breathe). Crayfish are omnivores; they eat plants, animals, and decaying organisms. They are nocturnal (most active at night) and eat fish, shrimp, water plants, worms, insects, snails, and plankton. Larval crayfish are very tiny; they eat plankton. Their color depends on diet. As a crayfish grows, it often molts (loses its old shell and grows a new one). It eats the old shell. http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/crustacean/Crayfishprintout.shtml
~Clam~
http://kentsimmons.uwinnipeg.ca/16cm05/1116/33-21-ClamAnatomy-L.jpg
a.) Digestive System: A clam has food brought in through a siphon system and then to its mouth. It then goes to a digstive gland and to its intestine. Wastes via the anus.
b.) Circulatory System: A clam has a heart, blood, and blood vessels.
c.) Nervous System: A clam has no formal nervous system, but has a series of ganglia that conduct impulses.
d.) Excretory System: A clam has an excretory system with an anus. It has an organ called the nephridium that gets rid of wastes.
e.) Reproductive System: A clam is either male or female and reproduces sexually with a large organ called a gonad.
f.) Integumentary System: A Mollusk has a soft, thick, fleshy body. It can be very small or as big as six feet across.
g.) Body Plan: A clam has a soft, thick, fleshy body. It can be very small or as big as six feet across.Description of its unique habitat, diet and what distinguishes it as a mollusk, echinoderm, or arthropod.
http://www.mcwdn.org/Animals/Mollusks.html
~Starfish~
http://www.esu.edu/~milewski/intro_biol_two/lab__13_echinoderm/images/aster_diagr_organs.jpg
a.) Digestive System: Starfish digestion is carried out in two stomachs: the cardiac stomach and the pyloric stomach. The cardiac stomach, which is a sack like stomach located at the center of the body may be everted—pushed out of the organism's body and used to engulf and digest food. Some species take advantage of the endurance of their water vascular systems to force open the shells of bivalve mollusks such as clams and mussels by injecting their stomachs into the shells. With the stomach inserted inside the shell, it digests the mollusk in place. The cardiac stomach is then brought back inside the body, and the partially digested food is moved to the pyloric stomach. Further digestion occurs in the intestine and waste is either excreted through the anus on the aboral side of the body, or if the anus is absent (as in brittle stars), waste is excreted through the mouth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish#Digestion_and_excretion
b.) Circulatory System: Circulation occurs in three places: the perivisceral coelom (basically, the space inside the body but outside the various organs), the water vascular system (of which the tube feet are the most obvious part), and the hemal system (which actually looks something like a circulatory system). The hemal system is shown below. There are hemal channels forming rings around the central part of the body around the mouth (the oral hemal ring), closer to the upper surface (the aboral hemal ring), and a third ring around the digestive system (the gastric hemal ring). These are connected by the axial sinus. There are also radial hemal channels running down the rays next to the gonads (which are also located in the rays). A dorsal sac attached to the axial sinus pulsates, sort of like a very inefficient heart (inefficient because it lacks a one-way valve system). The hemal system seems mostly organized to distribute nutrients from the digestive tract.
http://www.vsf.cape.com/%7Ejdale/science/digest.htm
c.) Nervous System: Echinoderms have rather complex nervous systems, but lack a true centralized brain. All echinoderms have a nerve plexus (a network of interlacing nerves), which lies within as well as below the skin. The esophagus is also surrounded by a number of nerve rings, which send radial nerves that are often parallel with the branches of the water vascular system. The ring nerves and radial nerves coordinate the starfish's balance and directional systems. Although the echinoderms do not have many well-defined sensory inputs, they are sensitive to touch, light, temperature, orientation, and the status of water around them. The tube feet, spines, and pedicellariae found on starfish are sensitive to touch, while eyespots on the ends of the rays are light-sensitive. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish#Digestion_and_excretion
d.) Excretory System: None.
e.) Reproductive System: Starfish are capable of both sexual and asexual reproduction. Individual starfish are male or female. Fertilization takes place externally, both male and female releasing their gametes into the environment. Resulting fertilized embryos form part of the zooplankton. Some species of starfish also reproduce asexually by fragmentation, often with part of an arm becoming detached and eventually developing into an independent individual starfish. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish#Digestion_and_excretion
f.) Integumentary System: (structure ie skin, exoskeleton, shell, etc.)
g.) Body Plan: Most starfish have five arms, however some have more or fewer; in fact some starfish can have different numbers of arms even within one species. The mouth is located underneath the starfish on the oral or ventral surface, while the anus is located on the top of the animal. The spiny upper surface covering the species is called the aboral or dorsal surface. On the aboral surface there is a structure called the madreporite, a small white spot located slightly off-center on the central disc which acts as a water filter and supplies the starfish's water vascular system with water to move. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish#Digestion_and_excretion
Description of its unique habitat, diet and what distinguishes it as a mollusk, echinoderm, or arthropod.
~Squid~
http://www.utmb.edu/nrcc/UFAW%20squid.jpg
a.) Digestive System: Squid, like all cephalopods, have complex digestive systems. Food is transported into a muscular stomach, found roughly in the midpoint of the visceral mass. The bolus is then transported into the caecum for digestion. The caecum, a long, white organ, is found next to the ovary or testis. In mature squid, more priority is given to reproduction and so the stomach and caecum often shrivel up during the later stages of life. Finally, food goes to the liver (or digestive gland), found at the siphon end of the squid, for absorption. Solid waste is passed out of the rectum. Beside the rectum is the ink sac, which allows a squid to discharge a black ink into the mantle cavity at short notice.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid#Digestive_system
b.) Circulatory System: The circulatory system is open, except in Cephalopoda and usually includes a dorsal heart with one or two atrias and one ventricle. This is situated in a pericardial cavity. An anterior aorta and other vessels and many blood spaces (hemocoels) exist in the tissues.
http://marinebiology-shine.blogspot.com/2007_10_01_archive.html
c.) Nervous System: The giant axon of the squid, which may be up to 1 mm in diameter, innervates the mantle and controls part of the jet propulsion system.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid#Digestive_system
d.) Excretory System: Squid have three hearts. Two branchial hearts, feeding the gills, each surrounding the larger systemic heart that pumps blood around the body. The hearts have a faint greenish appearance and are surrounded by the renal sacs - the main excretory system of the squid. The kidneys are faint and difficult to identify and stretch from the hearts (located at the posterior side of the ink sac) to the liver. The systemic heart is made of three chambers, a lower ventricle and two upper auricles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid#Digestive_system
e.) Reproductive System: In female squid, the ink sac is hidden from view by a pair of white nidamental glands, which lie anterior to the gills. There are also red-spotted accessory nidamental glands. Both of these organs are associated with manufacture of food supplies and shells for the eggs. Females also have a large translucent ovary, situated towards the posterior of the visceral mass.Male squid do not possess these organs, but instead have a large testis in place of the ovary, and a spermatophoric gland and sac. In mature males, this sac may contain spermatophores, which are placed inside the mantle of the female during mating.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid#Digestive_system
f.) Integumentary System: The integumentary system of a squid is enclosed in the mantle, which has two swimming fins along each side. These fins are not the main source of their motility. The skin of the squid is covered in chromatophores, which allows the squid to change color to suit its environment. The underside of the squid is also found to be lighter than the topside, in order to provide camouflage from both prey and predator (countershading).Under the body are openings to the mantle cavity, which contains the gill and openings to the excretory and reproductive systems. At the front of the mantle cavity lies the siphon, which the squid uses for locomotion through means of jet propulsion. This is done by sucking water into the mantle cavity and quickly expelling it out of the siphon in a fast, strong jet. The direction of the siphon can be changed in order to suit the direction of travel.Inside the mantle cavity, beyond the siphon, lies the visceral mass of the squid, which is covered in a thin skin. Under this are all the major internal organs of the squid.
http://taylorsinsight.blogspot.com/
g.) Body Plan: Like all cephalopods, squid are distinguished by having a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms and two tentacles arranged in pairs.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid#Digestive_system
Description of its unique habitat, diet and what distinguishes it as a mollusk, echinoderm, or arthropod.
-->Squids live in the ocean - a few, most notably the giant squid and the colossal squid live out in the colder open ocean. Many of the smaller species of squid rely on color changing patterns in order to communicate with each other and to attract prey as well. Squids are considered to be one of the most successful and highly complex of all invertebrates.
http://taylorsinsight.blogspot.com/
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