Student Choice Topic Related to Animals or Classification
This week's blog is open to your choice of topic as long as it is related to animals or classification. For instance, you can research evolutionary lineage, behavior, fossils, etc...
Sleep is really important in good health and well-being of a person. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect you in many ways like: mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety. The way you feel during the day is because of your sleep. While you are sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. In children and teenagers, it also helps support their growth and development. The damage from sleep deficiency can occur in an instant, or it can affect you over time. For example, a sleeping deficiency can raise your risk for some chronic health problems. It can also affect you in the way you think, react, work, learn, and get along with other people.
Sleep helps your brain work properly. When you are sleeping your brain is preparing for the next day. It is forming new pathways to help you learn and remember better the information you receive. Studies show that a good night's sleep improves learning. Sleep also helps you pay attention, make decisions, and be creative. Not sleeping also increases the risk of obesity. For example, one study of teenagers showed that with each hour of sleep lost, the odds of becoming obese went up. It doesn’t only affect one age in specific it affects all the ages.
A pet is a domesticated animal that lives and interacts with humans. We buy pets for many reasons: for protection, to admire their beauty, for companionship, and some us even depend on their help. Truth is, pets have a positive impact on peoples lives. A pet can improve and affect the mood and the health of their owner. A child that is born and raised in a home with a pet, such as a dog or a cat, is less likely to have allergies or asthma. It can also improve their immune system because certain chemicals in their immune system have higher levels. This causes to the child to be healthier as it grows up [1]. Research has been done and even though researchers are not sure why, cat owners are less likely to have a stroke than people who do not own a cat [1]. Animals are constantly used to work with kids that have Autism and other disorders. It is calming for the children to work with animals, for example horses or dogs. Those who suffer from Alzheimer’s have shown in studies to have fewer anxiety outbursts when they have a pet [3]. Once of the greatest impacts a pet can have is the effect they have on depression. A pet will give you unconditional love. No matter how the rest of the world treats you, your pet will think you are the greatest. By simply playing with a dog, the human levels of serotonin and dopamine will increase. Those are nerve transmitters that are known to be calming and pleasurable [3]. There are so many wonderful things that a pet can do for a human. They cannot only detect a disease in a human, they can also help you improve your social skills and reduce your anxiety. A pet, like a dog, can also be the perfect exercising buddy. Also, dogs are used to help people that are disabled, like people that are blind. Pets have shown in many studies to be great for us.
Behavior is defined as the action that alters the relationship between an organism and its environment. Behavior often happens due to an external stimulation, like when an animal hears or senses danger. Behavior may also occur due to an internal stimulation like feeling tired or hungry and this might make you feel upset or grumpy. There are two types of behavior one that is innate and another that is learned. Innate behavior is defined as a behavior that is determined by the nervous system. An example of innate behavior can be a dog that has never been close to or exposed to a body of water, like the beach or a river. If you throw the dog in the water, it will swim; even though no one has ever taught it how to stroke or float, it will swim. It is a survival instinct that your body is programmed to respond to. Another example of innate behavior can be seen in newborn babies and infants. (1) “An infant doesn’t learn how to cry, he just does it. Infants cry for a lot of different reasons as a means of communicating. Babies cry when they’re hungry, sleepy, need changing or are otherwise uncomfortable.” External factors like feeling a finger close to its mouth (a baby’s mouth) will automatically cause the baby to start sucking, because they might think it’s time to feed. On the other hand learned behavior is defined as a permanent change due to an experience of the individual’s organism. Playing games like basketball, soccer or volleyball are all learned behaviors. No one is born automatically knowing the rules of a game, it is something you learn when you are taught and continue to practice. (2) “It is a behavior that is shaped through experience (through conditioning, punishment, reward, etc.). Teaching a dog to roll over by giving a treat is an example of a learned behavior.” I think a lot of our behaviors are innate or by instinct to survive, breathing for example; and some are learned and can be positive or negative. The key is to control your behavior and learn to use it for good things.
Labs are incredible dogs. They are very calm and pretty much harmless to anyone. I personally have two and they are the kindest creatures ever, but where do they come from? Labs were seen in England as the kennel club breed in 1903 (1) and come from the St Johns dog. We can say the St Johns dog is the labs ancestor. The St Johns dog comes from canada Labs have many different colors, for example yellow, brown and black. The St, Johns dog was black with a white mark on its chest. By the early 1900s the St Johns dog went extinct and Labs are now the closest thing we have to them (2). The St John's dog also had the traits of being a quiet and lovely pet, unlike a pitbull or any other aggressive dog we have now.
1) http://www.lorkenfarms.com/labrador%20Retriever%20history.htm History of the Labrador Retriever, Lorken Farms, Fremont WI.
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_water_dog St John's water dog.
There are many signs to being sleep deprived. Some are more noticeable than others; if you walk into a warm room, for example, and immediately have the need to go lay down and take a nap, there is research that suggests that you are probably sleep deprived. Also if you can't wake up before your alarm you're sleep deprived, according to much research by multiple researchers. There is research that says that if you go into REM (rapid eye movement) within a 20 minute nap you are sleep deprived; those are the less noticeable and not as harmful results. If you go two nights in a row without sleep your hand begins to tremor, your eyes become droopy, and you lose focus along with being pain sensitive, after 4 nights of no sleep paranoid delusions and hallucinations begin( this happens because your body needs to make up for the REM it is not getting. Lastly if you go five days or more with no sleep you can become irrational, and your hallucinations will probably intensify.The Harvard Medical School made research to give six reasons not to skip sleep. Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation; chronic sleep deprivation may cause a person to gain weight by affecting the way our bodies store carbohydrates; for safety, our bodies need sleep or the possibilities of falling asleep during the daytime increase; also, lack of sleep causes our mood to change, becoming irritable, impatient, and unable to concentrate; cardiovascular health issues are directly related to sleep deprivation, like hypertension and irregular heartbeat; finally, sleep deprivation also alters our immune system, making it more vulnerable.
http://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/importance_of_sleep_and_health http://www.apa.org/topics/sleep/why.aspx# "Psychology" by Dennis Coon and John O. Mitterer
Blog: What is Bioluminescence and what organisms have it?
Bioluminescence according to National Geographic is “light produced by a chemical reaction within a living organism.” Bioluminescence is produced by different chemiluminescent reactions in an organism. Chemiluminescent reactions are those reactions that produce light without heat, the light produced by them is called cool light (http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/chemilum.html). In the reaction two types of chemicals, luciferin and lucifrase, combine together. The lucifrase works like an enzyme and it allows the luciferin to release energy as it is oxidized(http://siobiolum.ucsd.edu/Biolum_q&a.html).The majority of bioluminescent organisms are found in the ocean(fish, bacteria, plankton and jellyfish) but there are some bioluminescent organisms found on land such like the firefly and some fungi. The color of the light varies depending on the habitat of the organism. Most marine organisms produce a blue-green light, that is easily seen in deep ocean. Land organisms also show blue-green colors, but they may also be in the yellow spectrum, like fireflies. It is rare if an organism glows in more than one color, but there are a few exceptions; The railroad worm’s head glows red while its body glows green(http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/bioluminescence/?ar_a=1). Fungi can also bioluminesce but there are only 71 known species encompassed within three groups(Omphalotus, Armillaria and Mycenoid lineages), that have the capacity to do so. Bioluminescence varies in function, while it is a vital part of the selection of mates in fireflies, it serves mostly as a lure for arthropods in mushrooms.(http://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/2010/04/12/this-bark-glows-in-the-dark-bioluminescence-in-mushrooms/)
Migration is the seasonal movement of animals from one region to another. Even though humans tend to migrate their movement is not specific to certain season and is not constant, other regular animals like birds, bears, fish, and whales are. Some scientists believe migration to be more of a syndrome of behavioral and other traits that work together within individuals (6). Recognizing this as a syndrome allows to find important evolutionary questions concerning migration strategies, trade-offs, the maintenance of genetic variance and the response of migratory syndromes to both similar and different selective regimes. Some of their reasons are for the sake of conservation (1) due to environment changes they are not accustomed to. Migrations can be disrupted by climate changes because they are changing the resource availability, increasing habitat disturbances, changing phenology, and the adaptation from part of animals is quite difficult in these scenarios (7). A huge factor in the distance an animal migrates has to take in account a new quantitative model (2) of animal migration used to describe the maximum that animal is allowed by its body to walk, swim, or fly. This model combines biochemical and metabolism to show how the body size of the animal affects the distances it travels. Like the difference in distance travelled by a whale or the butterfly. Some animals who are known for migrating are butterflies who migrate for because they are not able to survive in cold climates; bears migrate due to season movements for breeding areas to feeding grounds; fish migrate because of diet or reproductive needs; birds migrate to move from areas of low or decreasing resources to areas of high or increasing resources; and whales migrate for breeding and mating season. Migration is important and necessary because of difficulties for survival in their past environment, because of predators, climates, or diseases, in general any kind of risk; but animals have recently faced major difficulties in following their usual migratory routes because of exploitation, intense climate changes, and habitat ruptures (3). These changes in landscapes truly affect species like white-tailed deer, a study showed their behavior has constant change from region to region due to their necessity for conservation, metapopulation dynamics, and species management, the density of the forests was a huge variable in this study (4). They get to do studies like that through the help of isoscapes to track the animals while they migrate, they used to use exogenous markers, but these were fundamentally limited. This new technology can provide the origin, movement, ranges, and diets (5).
...continued... The bad part in migration would be the ability of pathogens to migrate, as well as facilitate cross-species transmission. Migration allows species to flee infected habitats, but can sometimes take it with them. Migratory demands can also reduce immune function, resulting in mortality. More studies are needed in this topic in order to predict future disease risks in wildlife and humans alike (8).
Bibliography: 1. http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/envlnw41&div=13&id=&page= by Ketterson, Ellen D.; Atwell, Jonathan W.; O;Neal, Dawn M. (2011) 2. Energetic and biochemical constraints on animal migration distance. By Andrew M. Hein, Chen Hou, James F. Gillooly. Published 17 November, 2011. 3. A model-driven approach to quantify migration patterns: individual, regional and yearly differneces. By Nils Bunnefeld, Luca Borger, Bram van Moorter, Christer M. Rolandsen, Holger Dettki, Erling Johan Solberg, and Goran Ericsson. Published 25 November 2011. 4. Influence of landscape characteristics on migration strategies eof white-tailed deer. By Troy W. Grovenburg, Christopher N. Jacques, Robert W. Klaver, Christopher S. DePerno, Todd J. Brinkman, Christopher C. Swaanson, and Jonathan A. Jenks. Published June 2011. 5. Using Isoscapes to Track Animal Migration. By Keith A. Hobson, Rachel Barnett-Johnson, and Thure Cerling. (2010) 6. Animal migration: is there a common migratory syndrome? By Hugh Dingle. (2006) 7. Climate change and animal migration. By Thomas T. Moore. (2011) 8. Animal Migration and Infectious Disease Risk. By Sonia Altizer, Rebecca Bartel, Barbara A. Han. Published 21 January 2011.
Many species of bee and other pollinating insects like butterflies, moths and hoverflies have been declining recently. Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) has been decreasing in large amounts and it’s becoming a major threat to global agriculture. Since 2006 beekeepers have noticed that bees were disappearing, leaving not even the dead bodies behind (Alan Boyle, ‘Human pollination? Sting operation uses social media to benefit bees). As bees disappear, their colonies become weak, making them not able to function as they should. (Alan Boyle, ‘Human pollination? Sting operation uses social media to benefit bees). The disappearance of the bees is caused by many factors; for example, the use of pesticides and insecticides, the spread of diseases and viruses, habitat loss, stress factors, poor nutrition, and some more (United States Environmental Protection Agency, Pesticide issues in the works: Honeybee colony collapse disorder). The reason why the decline in the honeybee population is becoming a threat to global agriculture is because honeybees are one of the largest pollinators in the world, which make them responsible for one-third of our food supply (Elizabeth Grossman, Declining Bee Populations Pose A Threat to Global Agriculture).One of every three bites of food eaten worldwide depends on pollinators, in order to have a successful harvest; we need bees (Elizabeth Grossman, Declining Bee Populations Pose A Threat to Global Agriculture). Without bees, we would have up to 50% less fruit and vegetables in the supermarkets, not to mention honey as well. One solution people are coming up with is to support the action charities company and big businesses that study and help bees. Another solution is to spread this information, so people could be aware of it and stop using chemicals but to find another way to deal with these ‘bugs’ (Lord de Mauley, Urgent review launched into bee population decline).
Boyle, A. (2013, June 21). 'human pollination'? sting operation uses social media to benefit bees. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/science/human-pollination-sting-operation-uses-social-media-benefit-bees-6C10415846?franchiseSlug=sciencemain
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012, May 15). Pesticide issues in the works: Honeybee colony collapse disorder. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/about/intheworks/honeybee.htm
Grossman, E. (2013, April 30). Declining bee populations pose a threat to global agriculture. Retrieved from http://e360.yale.edu/feature/declining_bee_populations_pose_a_threat_to_global_agriculture/2645/
Associated Press. (2013, May 02). Us report: Many causes for dramatic bee disappearance (update). Retrieved from http://phys.org/news/2013-05-bee.html
1) HOW DO BEES MAKE HONEY? There are different types of honey bees that have different jobs in a bee hive. The making of honey requires two bees in specific, the forager and the processor. The forager bee begins by going out and collecting nectar from flowers. They store the nectar in the crop or the honey stomach. The crop is only used as storage for the nectar; it is in no way digested. The forager comes back to the hive where the processor bee is waiting at the entrance of the hive. The forager bee regurgitates the nectar into the crop the processor bee and leaves to collect more nectar. The processor bee takes the nectar to the honeycomb, which is usually found at the top of the hive, and regurgitates it into hexagonal wax cells. It takes more than one trip to fill up one cell. Once the cell is filled, the nectar needs to ripen. The processor adds an enzyme called invertase every time it regurgitates. The nectar is made of mainly sucrose (table sugar). The enzyme breaks down the sucrose into glucose (body sugar) and fructose (fruit sugar). Honey is approximately 18.6% or less water while nectar is about 70% water. While the nectar is ripening, the bees fan their wings increasing air circulation throughout the hive which helps evaporate the nectar. Once the nectar has ripened into honey, it has such little water that no microbes can grow in it. At this stage, the bees cover the cell with an airtight wax. The wax protects the honey so that air can’t get in so that bacteria can’t grow in it. (Matt Shipman, 06.19.2013)
2) HOW DO BEES MAKE WAX? Worker bees live about 25 days. On their 10th day they develop a wax producing glands on the abdomen. These glands convert honey into wax, which seep through small pores in the bees’ body leaving tiny white flakes on the abdomen. The wax is then chewed by the bees and added to the honeycomb. Wax of the honeycomb starts off clear to white, then yellows and even browns as pollen oil, honey and propolis is added to it. When the wax is taken off the bees’ abdomen it measures about 3 millimeters across and 0.1 millimeters thick. To make about an ounce of wax, 1100 scales of wax are required. To produce wax, bees must consume about 8 times as much honey by their mass. To produce about 1 pound of beeswax, bees collectively must fly 150,000 miles, roughly 6 times around the earth. To secrete wax, the ambient temperature of the hive must be 33-36oC or 91-97oF. (http://beeuorganics.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/how-do-honey-bees-make-beeswax/, December 20, 2012)
"The Abstract Blog." The Abstract North Carolina State University. Matt Shipman, 19 June 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. . "Beeuorganics." Beeuorganics. N.p., 20 Dec. 2012. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. .
What are Bee populations dyeing in the Northern United States and how is that detrimental to the Human population? Provide examples of how bees help humans and explain what is occurring to them. What is a bee? A bee is according the merriam-webster dictionary “any numerous hymenopteran insects (superfamily Apoidea) that differ from the related wasps especially in the heavier hairier body and in having sucking as well as chewing mouthparts, that feed on pollen and nectar, and that store both and often also honey.” Why are bees so important? “Once bees have left the earth humans have four years left on the planet,” Albert Einstein 1955. This demonstrates that the importance of bees in the food chain has been understood for a long time.” Bees provide many important functions for the planet and humans alike. They are responsible for 90 percent of all the food pollination and 80 percent of all pollination in general, (Fox news). According to the United States Department of Agriculture, $15 billion in increased crop value each year is pollinated by bees, and one mouthful in three of our diet directly or indirectly benefits from honey bee pollination. Bees are very important in today’s economy and environment, but an epidemic has jarred the bee population, once a population of 5 million in the 1940s to only 2.5 million today. (United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service) The cause of this epidemic is unknown but researchers have many ideas of why it is occurring. editors of PureHealthMD (2013) claim that it is being caused by either the increased amount of radio waves being introduced into the air by the large amount of cell phone towers. They claim that the ratio waves disturb the bee’s communication and cause the bees to migrate away from the hive and then die. Countries such as the United Kingdom believe that the decrease in bee population is caused by harmful pesticides called Neonicotinoids and, are now regulation and banning these harmful pesticides, ( Brad Plumer 2013). The united states believes that the bee epidemic is caused by an Unknown pathogen that has been named CCD this pathogen causes the adults in the hive to leave the hive and disappear, no cause has been established for this strange behavior. (National Geographic 2010) The cause for the decrease in bee populations in the world is not exactly know but regardless of the cause the problem must be solved.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070223-bees_2.html October 28, 2010 MAIN http://www.washingtonpost.com By Brad Plumer, Published: May 3, 2013 http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572 2013 http://animal.discovery.com/endangered-species/diminishing-bee-populations.htm ANIMAL NEWS
Sleep is really important in good health and well-being of a person. Getting enough quality sleep at the right times can help protect you in many ways like: mental health, physical health, quality of life, and safety.
ReplyDeleteThe way you feel during the day is because of your sleep. While you are sleep, your body is working to support healthy brain function and maintain your physical health. In children and teenagers, it also helps support their growth and development.
The damage from sleep deficiency can occur in an instant, or it can affect you over time. For example, a sleeping deficiency can raise your risk for some chronic health problems. It can also affect you in the way you think, react, work, learn, and get along with other people.
Sleep helps your brain work properly. When you are sleeping your brain is preparing for the next day. It is forming new pathways to help you learn and remember better the information you receive.
Studies show that a good night's sleep improves learning. Sleep also helps you pay attention, make decisions, and be creative.
Not sleeping also increases the risk of obesity. For example, one study of teenagers showed that with each hour of sleep lost, the odds of becoming obese went up. It doesn’t only affect one age in specific it affects all the ages.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/sdd/why.html
http://www.apa.org/topics/sleep/why.aspx
How do pets affect humans?
ReplyDeleteA pet is a domesticated animal that lives and interacts with humans. We buy pets for many reasons: for protection, to admire their beauty, for companionship, and some us even depend on their help. Truth is, pets have a positive impact on peoples lives.
A pet can improve and affect the mood and the health of their owner. A child that is born and raised in a home with a pet, such as a dog or a cat, is less likely to have allergies or asthma. It can also improve their immune system because certain chemicals in their immune system have higher levels. This causes to the child to be healthier as it grows up [1]. Research has been done and even though researchers are not sure why, cat owners are less likely to have a stroke than people who do not own a cat [1]. Animals are constantly used to work with kids that have Autism and other disorders. It is calming for the children to work with animals, for example horses or dogs. Those who suffer from Alzheimer’s have shown in studies to have fewer anxiety outbursts when they have a pet [3]. Once of the greatest impacts a pet can have is the effect they have on depression. A pet will give you unconditional love. No matter how the rest of the world treats you, your pet will think you are the greatest. By simply playing with a dog, the human levels of serotonin and dopamine will increase. Those are nerve transmitters that are known to be calming and pleasurable [3]. There are so many wonderful things that a pet can do for a human. They cannot only detect a disease in a human, they can also help you improve your social skills and reduce your anxiety. A pet, like a dog, can also be the perfect exercising buddy. Also, dogs are used to help people that are disabled, like people that are blind. Pets have shown in many studies to be great for us.
1. http://pets.webmd.com/ss/slideshow-pets-improve-your-health
2. http://prezi.com/u4utesi0utb2/how-animals-affect-humans/
3. http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/features/health-benefits-of-pets
4. http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/pets-depression
Innate Behavior vs. Learned Behavior
ReplyDeleteBehavior is defined as the action that alters the relationship between an organism and its environment. Behavior often happens due to an external stimulation, like when an animal hears or senses danger. Behavior may also occur due to an internal stimulation like feeling tired or hungry and this might make you feel upset or grumpy. There are two types of behavior one that is innate and another that is learned. Innate behavior is defined as a behavior that is determined by the nervous system. An example of innate behavior can be a dog that has never been close to or exposed to a body of water, like the beach or a river. If you throw the dog in the water, it will swim; even though no one has ever taught it how to stroke or float, it will swim. It is a survival instinct that your body is programmed to respond to. Another example of innate behavior can be seen in newborn babies and infants. (1) “An infant doesn’t learn how to cry, he just does it. Infants cry for a lot of different reasons as a means of communicating. Babies cry when they’re hungry, sleepy, need changing or are otherwise uncomfortable.” External factors like feeling a finger close to its mouth (a baby’s mouth) will automatically cause the baby to start sucking, because they might think it’s time to feed.
On the other hand learned behavior is defined as a permanent change due to an experience of the individual’s organism. Playing games like basketball, soccer or volleyball are all learned behaviors. No one is born automatically knowing the rules of a game, it is something you learn when you are taught and continue to practice. (2) “It is a behavior that is shaped through experience (through conditioning, punishment, reward, etc.). Teaching a dog to roll over by giving a treat is an example of a learned behavior.” I think a lot of our behaviors are innate or by instinct to survive, breathing for example; and some are learned and can be positive or negative. The key is to control your behavior and learn to use it for good things.
References:
(1) http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/innate-behavior-infants-3164.html
(2) http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=334100
Adrian V.
ReplyDeleteWhere do LABS come from?
Labs are incredible dogs. They are very calm and pretty much harmless to anyone. I personally have two and they are the kindest creatures ever, but where do they come from? Labs were seen in England as the kennel club breed in 1903 (1) and come from the St Johns dog. We can say the St Johns dog is the labs ancestor. The St Johns dog comes from canada
Labs have many different colors, for example yellow, brown and black. The St, Johns dog was black with a white mark on its chest. By the early 1900s the St Johns dog went extinct and Labs are now the closest thing we have to them (2). The St John's dog also had the traits of being a quiet and lovely pet, unlike a pitbull or any other aggressive dog we have now.
1) http://www.lorkenfarms.com/labrador%20Retriever%20history.htm History of the Labrador Retriever, Lorken Farms, Fremont WI.
2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John%27s_water_dog St John's water dog.
There are many signs to being sleep deprived. Some are more noticeable than others; if you walk into a warm room, for example, and immediately have the need to go lay down and take a nap, there is research that suggests that you are probably sleep deprived. Also if you can't wake up before your alarm you're sleep deprived, according to much research by multiple researchers. There is research that says that if you go into REM (rapid eye movement) within a 20 minute nap you are sleep deprived; those are the less noticeable and not as harmful results. If you go two nights in a row without sleep your hand begins to tremor, your eyes become droopy, and you lose focus along with being pain sensitive, after 4 nights of no sleep paranoid delusions and hallucinations begin( this happens because your body needs to make up for the REM it is not getting. Lastly if you go five days or more with no sleep you can become irrational, and your hallucinations will probably intensify.The Harvard Medical School made research to give six reasons not to skip sleep. Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation; chronic sleep deprivation may cause a person to gain weight by affecting the way our bodies store carbohydrates; for safety, our bodies need sleep or the possibilities of falling asleep during the daytime increase; also, lack of sleep causes our mood to change, becoming irritable, impatient, and unable to concentrate; cardiovascular health issues are directly related to sleep deprivation, like hypertension and irregular heartbeat; finally, sleep deprivation also alters our immune system, making it more vulnerable.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.health.harvard.edu/press_releases/importance_of_sleep_and_health
http://www.apa.org/topics/sleep/why.aspx#
"Psychology" by Dennis Coon and John O. Mitterer
Blog: What is Bioluminescence and what organisms have it?
ReplyDeleteBioluminescence according to National Geographic is “light produced by a chemical reaction within a living organism.” Bioluminescence is produced by different chemiluminescent reactions in an organism. Chemiluminescent reactions are those reactions that produce light without heat, the light produced by them is called cool light (http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/chemilum.html). In the reaction two types of chemicals, luciferin and lucifrase, combine together. The lucifrase works like an enzyme and it allows the luciferin to release energy as it is oxidized(http://siobiolum.ucsd.edu/Biolum_q&a.html).The majority of bioluminescent organisms are found in the ocean(fish, bacteria, plankton and jellyfish) but there are some bioluminescent organisms found on land such like the firefly and some fungi. The color of the light varies depending on the habitat of the organism. Most marine organisms produce a blue-green light, that is easily seen in deep ocean. Land organisms also show blue-green colors, but they may also be in the yellow spectrum, like fireflies. It is rare if an organism glows in more than one color, but there are a few exceptions; The railroad worm’s head glows red while its body glows green(http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/bioluminescence/?ar_a=1). Fungi can also bioluminesce but there are only 71 known species encompassed within three groups(Omphalotus, Armillaria and Mycenoid lineages), that have the capacity to do so. Bioluminescence varies in function, while it is a vital part of the selection of mates in fireflies, it serves mostly as a lure for arthropods in mushrooms.(http://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/2010/04/12/this-bark-glows-in-the-dark-bioluminescence-in-mushrooms/)
References
p.1 http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/encyclopedia/bioluminescence/?ar_a=1
p.2http://scifun.chem.wisc.edu/homeexpts/chemilum.html
p.3 http://siobiolum.ucsd.edu/Biolum_q&a.html
p.4http://blog.mycology.cornell.edu/2010/04/12/this-bark-glows-in-the-dark-bioluminescence-in-mushrooms/
Veronica Gomez
ReplyDeleteBLOG
Migration
Migration is the seasonal movement of animals from one region to another. Even though humans tend to migrate their movement is not specific to certain season and is not constant, other regular animals like birds, bears, fish, and whales are. Some scientists believe migration to be more of a syndrome of behavioral and other traits that work together within individuals (6). Recognizing this as a syndrome allows to find important evolutionary questions concerning migration strategies, trade-offs, the maintenance of genetic variance and the response of migratory syndromes to both similar and different selective regimes.
Some of their reasons are for the sake of conservation (1) due to environment changes they are not accustomed to. Migrations can be disrupted by climate changes because they are changing the resource availability, increasing habitat disturbances, changing phenology, and the adaptation from part of animals is quite difficult in these scenarios (7).
A huge factor in the distance an animal migrates has to take in account a new quantitative model (2) of animal migration used to describe the maximum that animal is allowed by its body to walk, swim, or fly. This model combines biochemical and metabolism to show how the body size of the animal affects the distances it travels. Like the difference in distance travelled by a whale or the butterfly.
Some animals who are known for migrating are butterflies who migrate for because they are not able to survive in cold climates; bears migrate due to season movements for breeding areas to feeding grounds; fish migrate because of diet or reproductive needs; birds migrate to move from areas of low or decreasing resources to areas of high or increasing resources; and whales migrate for breeding and mating season.
Migration is important and necessary because of difficulties for survival in their past environment, because of predators, climates, or diseases, in general any kind of risk; but animals have recently faced major difficulties in following their usual migratory routes because of exploitation, intense climate changes, and habitat ruptures (3). These changes in landscapes truly affect species like white-tailed deer, a study showed their behavior has constant change from region to region due to their necessity for conservation, metapopulation dynamics, and species management, the density of the forests was a huge variable in this study (4). They get to do studies like that through the help of isoscapes to track the animals while they migrate, they used to use exogenous markers, but these were fundamentally limited. This new technology can provide the origin, movement, ranges, and diets (5).
...continued...
ReplyDeleteThe bad part in migration would be the ability of pathogens to migrate, as well as facilitate cross-species transmission. Migration allows species to flee infected habitats, but can sometimes take it with them. Migratory demands can also reduce immune function, resulting in mortality. More studies are needed in this topic in order to predict future disease risks in wildlife and humans alike (8).
Bibliography:
1. http://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/envlnw41&div=13&id=&page= by Ketterson, Ellen D.; Atwell, Jonathan W.; O;Neal, Dawn M. (2011)
2. Energetic and biochemical constraints on animal migration distance. By Andrew M. Hein, Chen Hou, James F. Gillooly. Published 17 November, 2011.
3. A model-driven approach to quantify migration patterns: individual, regional and yearly differneces. By Nils Bunnefeld, Luca Borger, Bram van Moorter, Christer M. Rolandsen, Holger Dettki, Erling Johan Solberg, and Goran Ericsson. Published 25 November 2011.
4. Influence of landscape characteristics on migration strategies eof white-tailed deer. By Troy W. Grovenburg, Christopher N. Jacques, Robert W. Klaver, Christopher S. DePerno, Todd J. Brinkman, Christopher C. Swaanson, and Jonathan A. Jenks. Published June 2011.
5. Using Isoscapes to Track Animal Migration. By Keith A. Hobson, Rachel Barnett-Johnson, and Thure Cerling. (2010)
6. Animal migration: is there a common migratory syndrome? By Hugh Dingle. (2006)
7. Climate change and animal migration. By Thomas T. Moore. (2011)
8. Animal Migration and Infectious Disease Risk. By Sonia Altizer, Rebecca Bartel, Barbara A. Han. Published 21 January 2011.
The Decline in the Honeybee Population
ReplyDeleteMany species of bee and other pollinating insects like butterflies, moths and hoverflies have been declining recently. Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) has been decreasing in large amounts and it’s becoming a major threat to global agriculture. Since 2006 beekeepers have noticed that bees were disappearing, leaving not even the dead bodies behind (Alan Boyle, ‘Human pollination? Sting operation uses social media to benefit bees). As bees disappear, their colonies become weak, making them not able to function as they should. (Alan Boyle, ‘Human pollination? Sting operation uses social media to benefit bees). The disappearance of the bees is caused by many factors; for example, the use of pesticides and insecticides, the spread of diseases and viruses, habitat loss, stress factors, poor nutrition, and some more (United States Environmental Protection Agency, Pesticide issues in the works: Honeybee colony collapse disorder).
The reason why the decline in the honeybee population is becoming a threat to global agriculture is because honeybees are one of the largest pollinators in the world, which make them responsible for one-third of our food supply (Elizabeth Grossman, Declining Bee Populations Pose A Threat to Global Agriculture).One of every three bites of food eaten worldwide depends on pollinators, in order to have a successful harvest; we need bees (Elizabeth Grossman, Declining Bee Populations Pose A Threat to Global Agriculture). Without bees, we would have up to 50% less fruit and vegetables in the supermarkets, not to mention honey as well.
One solution people are coming up with is to support the action charities company and big businesses that study and help bees. Another solution is to spread this information, so people could be aware of it and stop using chemicals but to find another way to deal with these ‘bugs’ (Lord de Mauley, Urgent review launched into bee population decline).
Boyle, A. (2013, June 21). 'human pollination'? sting operation uses social media to benefit bees. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/science/human-pollination-sting-operation-uses-social-media-benefit-bees-6C10415846?franchiseSlug=sciencemain
United States Environmental Protection Agency. (2012, May 15). Pesticide issues in the works: Honeybee colony collapse disorder. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/about/intheworks/honeybee.htm
Grossman, E. (2013, April 30). Declining bee populations pose a threat to global agriculture. Retrieved from http://e360.yale.edu/feature/declining_bee_populations_pose_a_threat_to_global_agriculture/2645/
Associated Press. (2013, May 02). Us report: Many causes for dramatic bee disappearance (update). Retrieved from http://phys.org/news/2013-05-bee.html
BLOG: Bees; Beeswax and honey, how are they made?
ReplyDelete1) HOW DO BEES MAKE HONEY?
There are different types of honey bees that have different jobs in a bee hive. The making of honey requires two bees in specific, the forager and the processor. The forager bee begins by going out and collecting nectar from flowers. They store the nectar in the crop or the honey stomach. The crop is only used as storage for the nectar; it is in no way digested. The forager comes back to the hive where the processor bee is waiting at the entrance of the hive. The forager bee regurgitates the nectar into the crop the processor bee and leaves to collect more nectar. The processor bee takes the nectar to the honeycomb, which is usually found at the top of the hive, and regurgitates it into hexagonal wax cells. It takes more than one trip to fill up one cell. Once the cell is filled, the nectar needs to ripen. The processor adds an enzyme called invertase every time it regurgitates. The nectar is made of mainly sucrose (table sugar). The enzyme breaks down the sucrose into glucose (body sugar) and fructose (fruit sugar). Honey is approximately 18.6% or less water while nectar is about 70% water. While the nectar is ripening, the bees fan their wings increasing air circulation throughout the hive which helps evaporate the nectar. Once the nectar has ripened into honey, it has such little water that no microbes can grow in it. At this stage, the bees cover the cell with an airtight wax. The wax protects the honey so that air can’t get in so that bacteria can’t grow in it. (Matt Shipman, 06.19.2013)
2) HOW DO BEES MAKE WAX?
Worker bees live about 25 days. On their 10th day they develop a wax producing glands on the abdomen. These glands convert honey into wax, which seep through small pores in the bees’ body leaving tiny white flakes on the abdomen. The wax is then chewed by the bees and added to the honeycomb. Wax of the honeycomb starts off clear to white, then yellows and even browns as pollen oil, honey and propolis is added to it. When the wax is taken off the bees’ abdomen it measures about 3 millimeters across and 0.1 millimeters thick. To make about an ounce of wax, 1100 scales of wax are required. To produce wax, bees must consume about 8 times as much honey by their mass. To produce about 1 pound of beeswax, bees collectively must fly 150,000 miles, roughly 6 times around the earth. To secrete wax, the ambient temperature of the hive must be 33-36oC or 91-97oF. (http://beeuorganics.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/how-do-honey-bees-make-beeswax/, December 20, 2012)
"The Abstract Blog." The Abstract North Carolina State University. Matt Shipman, 19 June 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. .
"Beeuorganics." Beeuorganics. N.p., 20 Dec. 2012. Web. 21 Nov. 2013. .
What are Bee populations dyeing in the Northern United States and how is that detrimental to the Human population? Provide examples of how bees help humans and explain what is occurring to them.
ReplyDeleteWhat is a bee? A bee is according the merriam-webster dictionary “any numerous hymenopteran insects (superfamily Apoidea) that differ from the related wasps especially in the heavier hairier body and in having sucking as well as chewing mouthparts, that feed on pollen and nectar, and that store both and often also honey.” Why are bees so important? “Once bees have left the earth humans have four years left on the planet,” Albert Einstein 1955. This demonstrates that the importance of bees in the food chain has been understood for a long time.” Bees provide many important functions for the planet and humans alike. They are responsible for 90 percent of all the food pollination and 80 percent of all pollination in general, (Fox news). According to the United States Department of Agriculture, $15 billion in increased crop value each year is pollinated by bees, and one mouthful in three of our diet directly or indirectly benefits from honey bee pollination. Bees are very important in today’s economy and environment, but an epidemic has jarred the bee population, once a population of 5 million in the 1940s to only 2.5 million today. (United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service)
The cause of this epidemic is unknown but researchers have many ideas of why it is occurring. editors of PureHealthMD (2013) claim that it is being caused by either the increased amount of radio waves being introduced into the air by the large amount of cell phone towers. They claim that the ratio waves disturb the bee’s communication and cause the bees to migrate away from the hive and then die. Countries such as the United Kingdom believe that the decrease in bee population is caused by harmful pesticides called Neonicotinoids and, are now regulation and banning these harmful pesticides, ( Brad Plumer 2013). The united states believes that the bee epidemic is caused by an Unknown pathogen that has been named CCD this pathogen causes the adults in the hive to leave the hive and disappear, no cause has been established for this strange behavior. (National Geographic 2010)
The cause for the decrease in bee populations in the world is not exactly know but regardless of the cause the problem must be solved.
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/02/070223-bees_2.html October 28, 2010
MAIN http://www.washingtonpost.com By Brad Plumer, Published: May 3, 2013
http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572 2013
http://animal.discovery.com/endangered-species/diminishing-bee-populations.htm
ANIMAL NEWS