Mollusk Discovery!

Gastropod

Common and Scientific Name

Couldnt find the common name / Flabellina rubrolineata

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Mollusca

Class: Gastropoda

Order: Opisthobranchia

Family: Flabellina

Genus: rubrolineata

Specific Name: Flabellina rubrolineata

Picture and link to a video:

Video below!

http://vimeo.com/10266893

Characteristics of group:
Nudibranchs do not have shells or reduced shells. They breathe through their gills and skin. These gastropods are often toxic and may have stingers. Their bright colors are used as a warning, to other animals, that they are poisonous. Nudibranchs also have a radula; a ribbon like tooth structure. This is used for eating and may even cut through oyster shells.



Crustaceans and Echinoderms in Construction

*Crustaceans and Echinoderms*

Similarities: They are both bilateral, but only when echinoderms are in their larvae stage.

Differences: Echinoderms have an endoskeleton while crustaceans have and exosketelton. Crustaceans have 5 legs, while an echinoderms has no body segiments. Crustaceans molt their outer layer and grow news ones. Echinoderms do not molt.

Examples of Crustaceans

(http://lh3.ggpht.com/_RVsMiNRNEYs/SwGEINt5ffI/AAAAAAAAJ-w/sdNxME3nUOk/ShrimpWhitebanded1.jpg)

White-banded Cleaner Shrimp

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Malacostraca

Order: Decapoda

Family: Alpheidae

Genus: Lysmata

Specific Name: amboinensis

(http://www.dpughphoto.com/images/ghost%20crab%20springer%27s%20point%2051106.JPG)

Ghost Crab

 Examples of Echinoderms

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Malacostraca

Order: Decapoda

Family: Ocypodoidea
Genus: Ocypode

Specific Name: ceratophthalma

(http://www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/mrri/acechar/image/photos/fiddler.jpg)

Fiddler Crab

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Malacostraca

Order: Decapoda

Family: Ocypodoidea
Genus: Uca

Specific Name: pugnax

Examples of Echinoderms

(http://www.stanford.edu/~bhackett/monterey-2005-02-04/images/california-sea-cucumber.jpg)

California Sea Cucumber

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Echinodermata

Class: Holothuroidea

Order: Aspidochirotida

Family: Curculionoidea
Genus: Parastichopus

Specific Name: californicus

(http://www.layoutstar.com/images/allbackgrounds/bgs/upped/1245927403.jpg)

Blue Sea Star

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Echinodermata

Class: Asteroidea

Order: Not Listed

Family: Not Listed
Genus: Phataria

Specific Name: unifascialis

(http://rlv.zcache.com/pair_of_giant_red_sea_urchins_fine_art_prints-p228374452788696333trma_400.jpg)

Giant Red Sea Urchin

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Echinodermata

Class: Echinoidea

Order: Echinoida

Family: Curculionoidea
Genus:Strongylocentrotus

Specific Name: franciscanus

COOL VIDEO!



Signs of Spring! Still in Construction!

Signs of Spring

*Site One*

The first signs of spring I recognized were the bright, green honeysuckles growing along the JV football field. The trees were blocking the sun here and the breeze was quite chilly. I could hear the wind and, according to Mrs. Richardson, at least seven different birds.

Above is Katelynn Watson trying to lick the honeysuckles, I guess. Not sure you're really going to get anything out of that Katelynn! Haha!

My amazing picture taking skills are revealed in the above picture. Once again honeysuckles are famous; Lydia and Katelynn wanted a picture with the honeysuckles.

This picture just shows all the green that comes along with spring! :)

*Site Two*

Our next site was on the side of the pond. Here we saw many buds on bushes and trees along with alder catkins. There was still a cold wind here and the sun still couldn't reach us. I could hear the wind blowing and crows crowing. Someone said the temperature was 43 degrees here, but the wind made it feel much much colder!

(Pictures from sight 2 taken by Katelynn Watson)

*Site Three*

(Picture taken by Katelynn Watson)

At this site, the sun was shining, but there was still a chilly breeze. I could hear the leaves rushing. In the picture above, you see buds beginning to blossom. The perfect sign of spring coming our way.

*Site Four*

(Picture taken by Katelynn Watson)

In this picture, the tress are covered with buds. The wind, like the other sites, was still blowing a cold breeze. The sun was still out but was not very bright here. The leaves were still blowing and the birds were still chirping. Spring has sprung! :)

Biofilm Simulation at the G.C. Marine Reserve

Biofilm Simulation at the G.C. Marine Reserve

Dear Mom,

So, to start off, the picture above and below are pictures of the yummy lab we did on Friday! You ask, why the weird combination? The point of this lab was to simulate biofilms and how they work. Biofilms are a bunch of life on a thing, simple as that. The graham cracker represented Plexiglas; the icing was the EPS, or in easier terms slime. We then had to add the "organisms." The first organism to stick was the red coralline algae (red sugar crystals). We then added a slightly bigger organism called diatoms (brown long johns). The next organisms were the barnacles (rainbow sprinkles) and then the coral (rainbow long johns). Oysters were the next organisms that we added; they were represented by flower sprinkles. The last product we added to our biofilms were for every ten barnacles, we added a small marshmallow. All in all my biolfilm had 144 organisms land on it. This is lab was a great way to show how a biofilm works, while also being very delicious! We should try it some time! :)

Love, Autumn!



Plankton Wars & Algae in the Cuboard!

*PLANKTON WARS*

Pictured above: Katelynn Watson (Left), Ika Wika (Middle), Autumn Wood (Right), Lydia Haren (Back, not sure why she is in this picture??)

Yes, Ika Wika looks like a winner, but she was not! :( Disappointing, I know, since she is the MOST creative! :) She was made out of clay, toothpicks, paperclips, brads, a sponge, and ribbon. We started by making her tail and putting two toothpicks in her tail to make her body. Next, put a piece of sponge as her body, then attached her head. We then added the very tip of her tail. That part consisted of a paperclip and a brad. At the top of the head we attached a ribbon by sticking two toothpicks in the top of her head. At the end of the ribbon we attached two extra paperclips; those might have been what dragged her down too much!  :(

*ALGAE IN THE CUBOARD*



Our assignment was to go home and take a picture of three things that have alginates, carrageenan, and beta carotene (three types of algae) in them. I was successful in finding three items, but they all had the same type of algae in them. In the picture above are the items I found. The only algae I was able to find carrageenan.

Observation Day 5 Outside

Observation Site 1

At this site, our class sat by the pond. We sat for a total of 5 minutes in complete silence. From sitting this long in silence, we could hear and see just about everything that crossed our path. Unfortunately, I didn't get any picture from this site, but I got tons of observations. At this site, we saw 8 geese swimming across the pond. We could hear all the commotion of the bus garage. There were horns, the starting of vehicles, and an intercom. There was a light breeze here and the pine needles were poking us as we sat. It was so silent, I could even hear the class writing down these observations. We also saw two buzzards out in the distance, flying high in the sky.

Observation Site 2

The picture below is from our second site. At this site, we saw many little birds. In the trees above we saw a Warbler, pictured below. There was a lot of chirping at this site. There was still a light breeze and we could hear the rustling of the leaves.

Observation Site 2

I got many pictures from this site. The first picture (below) is of moss at the bottom of a tree. At this site, we were way back in the woods. The rustling of leaves was pretty loud and we could no longer hear the horns or buses anymore.



This picture below was on a fallen tree. As you can see, it is a very bright orange, and yes it is fungus. It kinda makes fungus look pretty, and not disgusting, for once! :)

This picture, you can see that the tree is falling apart, but if you could feel it you could have guessed that the tree was starting to decompose. This tree was very soft and flimbzy.

This was the most interesting thing we found on our day outside. Kim Dabney was the lucky winner at finding this little guy. This salamander was hiding under a fallen tree, in the moist dirt. 

Just for the heck of it!

This picture is not from any of the sites nor is it from that day outside, but I took this picture one day after school. I thought it was pretty and should be shared with everyone else, so enjoy! :)



Observation day 4, Phytoplankton Site 3

 *Phytoplankton Observation*

Site 3

 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This this picture above, at the top center you can see a bright green patch. This is a type of algae, which is also a type of phytoplankton! At this part of the site, it was shady and you could hear running water.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In this picture, there is a huge patch of algae. This algae is more of a dark green color. Here, you can see the rippling of water indicating that the water was moving!

Observation day 4, Phytoplankton Site 2

*Phytoplankton Observation*

 Site 2

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This picture was taken on the opposite side of the pond, but the algae looks the same. It is still a brownish-green color. The breeze stopped blowing at this site and the weather felt really nice. There was no sound.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Here, Mrs. Richardson found a baby turtle egg shell. Pretty interesting, huh? :)

Observation day 4, Phytoplankton

 *Phytoplankton Observations*

Site 1 

 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The goal of this day outside was to find as many examples of phytoplankton as possible! What we were looking for was algae, which is a type of phytoplankton. As you can see in this picture above, we succeeded this goal. The plants in this pond are covered in algae. This algae is a brownish-green color.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The picture above is the same pond, just a different location. At this site, there was a nice little breeze and it was warm enough that no jacket was needed. The only noises to be heard here were the rustling of leaves.

Plankton Observations

*Plankton Observations*

 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The worm above can be classified as micro. I'm not positive if this worm is my group's worm, but we had one similar to this one. We named him Pizza Hut, but ,unfortunately, Mrs. Richardson lost him. :( I know that he is a zooplankton, but if I had to guess, I would say he is a holoplankton. Meaning that he will stay a plankton his whole life. 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The same goes for the worm above, he is a zoo plankton and will most likely stay one his whole life. You can see on his left shoulder that he has little hairs. I'm pretty certain those hairs are there to push him, or propel, him through the water. Maybe they are his flagella.

 ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

This little guy, I think, is a bacteria or protoza. He is most likely a holoplankton and will stay in the plankton stage for all his life. Here, I'm pretty sure he was having a little snack on the background object! :) I believe he is the size of a Nano.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

The objects above are forams, meaning they are holoplankton, or they were! This is there remains, their skeletons. They now make up the sand at Star Beach in Japan. They are probably considered Macro, in size.

Observation 4, Day 3

Observation 4

It is hard to see why I took both of the pictures, but these trees were covered in buds. Like the last site, I was amazed to see the trees trying to grow buds because it is still so cold outside. One pretty day in the winter season, and every tree is trying to prepare for spring.



Though these trees are big, they did not block the wind. It was cold at this site. This site was filled with the yelling of crows and the passing of cars. It didnt sound very earthly here.

Observation 3, Day 3

Observation 3

I took a picture of this bud, above, because I thought it was interesting to see something growing on the trees when it is still so cold outside. As you can see in the background, these buds were all over the trees. The wind was blocked by all the trees at this site, so it wasnt as cold. 

In this picture, it looks like it is the next step of the growing process for the little bud in the first picture. It was very quiet and peaceful at this site. No particular noises here.

Observation 2, Day 3

Observation 2

Though the picture above is pretty, the geese in the water are not very clear. In this picture there was a small flock of geese and one duck. At this site the wind was blowing harder than the last site, making it colder than the last site. I could also hear the birds and wind blowing here.

Here, the grass was pushed down making it seem like an animal might have been trying to get to the water or maybe the wind had just pushed it down. There was what looked like a trail though so I just guessed that the trails were from animals.

Observation 1, Day 3

Observation 1

This site was not a very big site and it was hard to take picture of things. At this site, we were near a  creek leading to the pond in the following pictures. In the picture above, I snapped a shot at what looks like a squirrel nest. If not a squirrel nest, it is probably a large birds nest. It was quiet at this sight. The wind was not blowing very hard, but it was still cold. I could hear the water and birds in the quietness.



Observation 4, Day 2

This site was very very cold. At this site there were no trees to block the wind. The rushing of leaves and the water moving were the present sounds.

The picture above is not very clear, but in this picture was a big flock of geese floating the top of the pond.

Here, you can see evidence of a mole making its way through the ground.

It is very clear that deer roam around the pond. you can observe that by the track that were found near the pond. These tracks looked like the might have belonged to a fairly big deer.

Observation 3, Day 2

By this time in our walk, it was very cold, but the wind was not blowing in these pictures. We were close enough to the road that we could hear the cars in the distance.

 The picture above is a falling tree with a very big mushroom/fungus growth. It was the first time on the whole walk that I saw fungus alone!

Here is a huge patch of fungus growing on a fallen tree. This is only a little section of the growth; it pretty much covered the whole tree.

This last picture looked like it was beginning to rot and as it is in the process of doing so, termites sit down to have a bite!