For many of you, yesterday was the first day you have dissected a preserved organism in order to observe its component structures and learn about its anatomy first-hand. An early nineteenth century anatomist, Xavier Bichat, claimed that once you "open up a few corpses... you will dissipate at once the darkness which observation alone could not dissipate." Before modern technologies, the only understanding scientists and doctors had of bodies--human or otherwise--was derived purely from observation and dissection. Reflect upon your experiences during the dissection today. What were your expectations or anticipations for the lab? What did you see that was familiar, and what did you see that was foreign or unexpected? What do you now understand about earthworms that you did not understand before? What parallels can you make between the anatomy of an earthworm and your own anatomy? Use your answers to the laboratory questions to guide you as you write. Your response should be 2-3 paragraphs' worth of writing.
We have now watched two very different documentaries about amphibians--Cane Toads: An Unnatural History and Thin Green Line. These two films also discussed two very different environmental issues concerning the relationships between humans and amphibian populations. Compare and contrast the environmental issues discussed in these two films. Describe the role humans have had in the problems, and include details about the physiology of amphibians that is pertinent to each issue.
Over the past week, we have seen and heard three different scientists discuss the scope of their research. They have spoken about how they first became interested in their research question, and they have talked about where their interests have taken them through their careers. They also discussed the discoveries they have made and how their discoveries are important for human society. Even though each of these scientists has a very different story to tell, by no accident, they all study arthropods! Compare and contrast these three scientists and their research based on their TED talks and other information available about these scientists online. You may want to take the following questions into consideration:
Yesterday we conducted two simulations involving ecosystems. The first, A Vital Commodity, demonstrated how energy flows through the trophic levels in ecosystems, and the second, A Toxic Commodity, demonstrated how toxins travel up the trophic levels in ecosystems. I would like for you to reflect on the data we collected as a class from these two simulations, and write a conclusion that summarizes the procedure of the simulations, the data we collected, and an analysis of the results. You may want to consider the following ideas or questions as you write your conclusions:
This is the post we hand-wrote on 9/11/2015.
What would happen to a reef ecosystem if suddenly all of the sponges died off? For the past few days we have been discussing the evolutionary origins of animals, and we have learned in more detail about sponges--the organisms contained within the phylum Porifera and the first animals to arrive on earth. Even though sponges are very simple animals, their roles in marine ecosystems from the poles to the tropics are foundational for life in our oceans. You may need to think about what we have learned about them, including their structures, their sessility/mobility, their reproductive strategies, their feeding strategies, their symbiosis with other marine organisms, and their role in marine food webs, as you address the effects their absence would have on the ecosystem. You should also use the information you acquired from watching Blue Planet "Coral Seas" to inform your thoughts as you compose your repsonse. Your response should be thoughtful and structured, and it should show a high level of scientific understanding concerning sponges. I will be grading your responses according to the "Blog Post Rubric from the page Tips for Writing in Science. For many of you, today was the first day you have dissected a preserved organism in order to observe its component structures and learn about its anatomy first-hand. An early nineteenth century anatomist, Xavier Bichat, claimed that once you "open up a few corpses... you will dissipate at once the darkness which observation alone could not dissipate." Before modern technologies, the only understanding scientists and doctors had of bodies--human or otherwise--was derived purely from observation and dissection. Reflect upon your experiences during the dissection today. What were your expectations or anticipations for the lab? What did you see that was familiar, and what did you see that was foreign or unexpected? What do you now understand about earthworms that you did not understand before? What parallels can you make between the anatomy of an earthworm and your own anatomy? Use your answers to the laboratory questions to guide you as you write. Be sure that you are following the rubric under "Tips for Writing in Science" as well!
First, I would like for you to reflect upon your experiences as a zoologist on each of these two days by comparing and contrasting the different methods you used to answer your research questions. Then, I would like for you to bring together these two experiences and describe what it means to be a zoologist.
You might want to consider the following questions as you respond to the prompt:
Due: Wednesday, September 3, 2015 |
Zoology BlogThis will serve as the medium for all blog posts by Mr. Crockett's zoology classes this year. Archives
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