Oh where, oh where do the Annelids belong? Oh where oh where could they be?

Ever thought about what organisms an earthworm is related too? Or the ancestral conditions of segmented worms? Check out the article below for the latest in molecular research in order to find out the answer to these questions.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/09/090909122108.htm

Animal-Like Protists

Please read the short articles on edline. Notice that there are three different articles and you should choose yours according to your last name. Summarize the article and provide details on what you found interesting and any important concepts related to protist biology. Why do we study protists in zoology (if they are not animals)?

What the Scientists Decided--Green Sea Slug

Elysia chlorotica
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
(unranked):	clade Heterobranchia informal group Opisthobranchia clade Sacoglossa subclade Placobranchacea
Superfamily:	Placobranchoidea
Family:	Placobranchidae
Genus:	Elysia
Species:	E. chlorotica
Binomial name
Elysia chlorotica Gould, 1870 Scientists classified the Green Sea Slug as shown above. For more information and a short film of the slug eating...check out the following link: http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16124-solarpowered-sea-slug-harnesses-stolen-plant-genes-.html

Green Sea Slug

It's really interesting that an animal can steal genes from a plant and keep them for the duration of its entire life. The fact that a slug can manufacture chlorophyll is an amazing step in evolution for these animals. I didn't know that genes could flow across kingdoms. This slug is different from other slugs because it doesn't need other nutrients to keep its new talent working, it can just sunbathe and this is all very new. We would have to make a new way to class these plant animal hybrids because they are the first of their kind. This is fascinating that there can be a hybrid between plant an animal but it does make sense from an evolutionary standpoint that an animal would want to be able to never have to eat and just sunbathe.

green sea slug

I thought that this organism was especially interesting because it could be classified many different ways. It is an invertebrate, it is a plant, it is an animal. It has no backbone and it lives in the sea, it looks like a plant, it produces chlorophyll, but it is really a slug. “This could be a fusion of a plant and an animal — that’s just cool,” said invertebrate zoologist John Zardus of The Citadel in Charleston, S.C.

I thought that these were really interesting because they could be classified so many different ways; it depends on what the most important kingdom to classify something under is.

In my opinion, there should be a classification for things that fall under more than one category. I think that there should be special classification an 7^th group for something that fits into more than one group.

It has adapted its self to produce chlorophyll and blend in with coral and other plants in order for it to be more transparent in its surroundings.

Green Sea Slug--How do we classify it?

Please comment on this post, and write a brief response to the article "Green Sea Slug."
http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/01/green-sea-slug/

Think about this organism--what strikes you as interesting? What adaptations does it have? How is it different from other organisms with similar abilities? Where in the world do we group this organism using our current 6 Kingdom taxonomic system? What shared traits does it have with other organisms and what characters are derived?

You do not have to answer all these questions, but be thoughtful and creative in your response, demonstrating your knowledge of concepts used in class. Also, check out your classmates posts and build upon their comments.

Zoology Zone Welcomes a New Year, a New Class

The Fall 2009 class finished the year strong and is currently spreading their newly acquired knowledge of animal diversity. It was a wonderful first semester for the Zoology Class, and I would like to thank the 12 brave students who made this class fun to teach everyday. I would also like to thank them for providing critical feedback and suggestions in order to improve the success of the class for the benefit of future students.

With that...Spring 2010 semester is quickly approaching! An entire new class of soon-to-be zoologist will be entering the Zoology Zone and writing our weekly blog sections. Keep your eyes peeled for their first entries as we follow the recent trends in animal science.

Comment on Bird/Dinosaur Article

I thought this article was very interesting and logically laid out. I have always thought that birds and dinosaurs were brothers, but, after reading this article, I find myself convinced that dinosaurs and birds are quite different. As said in the article, "It's really strange that no one realized [how different they are] before."

The article explains that, for many years, birds were thought to have been the descendants of theropod dinosaurs. Recent studies and findings, however, debunk this theory. Birds have a fixed femur and walk exclusively with their knees, unlike any other animal. They have this unique bone structure so that their lungs, while flying, do not collapse under the strain that flying can cause. Dinosaurs had moveable femurs and walked using a combination of their femur and knees. Birds and dinosaurs have been linked for so long because of similarities perceived in their lung structure, but the structures surrounding dinosaur lungs and bird lungs are, in fact, entirely different. Furthermore, birds seem to appear earlier in the fossil record than dinosaurs, so birds couldn’t be descended from dinosaurs. It is more likely that birds and dinosaurs shared a common ancestor, as opposed to being directly related.

Bird Mania!!

Science is happening all around us, every day. Sometimes, however, the current science news doesn't make it into our textbooks for over 3 years or more! Read this article from June 2009 on the current thoughts of bird evolution. Quite contradictory to the theories we just learned and discussed in class isn't it? Be prepared to talk about this in class on Friday, and feel free to comment below on whether you agree, are skeptical, etc.

Discovery Raises New Doubts About Dinosaur-Bird Links

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090609092055.htm

Zoology goes to the Indy Zoo!

Above, the zoology class is pictured with Tombi, one of the Indianapolis Zoo's African elephants. Aside from learning about Project Elephant and the training and research conducted on artificial insemination, students also explored the Oceans Biome with Project Dogshark and the Desert Biome with the Iguana Project.

Giant Squid

This giant squid's tentacles have crazy hooks to catch prey.

Mollusks!

Blue Ringed Octopus
Please comment on interesting traits unique to mollusks, or post other videos/pictures for your classmates to explore! What is your favorite type or species of mollusk?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oExwxkuT_c&feature=related

Carsten Smith: Coral Bleaching

Coral bleaching is a rising problem in today’s oceans, but I feel that the area where coral is most at risk is near the Gulf of Mexico, the coast of Florida, and the Caribbean, and in the waters surrounding East Asia. I think that the coral is most susceptible to coral bleaching around East Asia because of the high levels of pollution coming out of the industrial nations of that area of the world. I feel that the coral in the Caribbean are in danger because of rising water temperature because of global warming, and natural disasters, which can change the depth of water, and physically kill a lot of coral. I feel that although we cannot immediately stop any of these problems now, we can make steps towards the future with stable marine conditions, we can still do our part to replenish the worlds coral populations. I heard earlier this week on the radio that as a science project a man and his daughter tried to breed coral, and now the state of Florida is spending millions of dollars to expand this families “science project” into a major breeding center for the many endangered species of coral, and has proven to actually accelerate the expansion and development of coral to other areas other than the areas where they are planted and can definitely help replenish the falling number of coral, which can even keep future species of coral from going extinct.

Coral Bleaching

I think that coral bleaching would be more popular near the equator in the warm waters. I think this because corals become bleached when the zooanthellae can't protect the corals anymore from the UV rays. Also i think coral bleaching would be more common in the shallower waters since they would be near the surface which gets the most sunlight again causing the corals to die. A way humans could help with coral bleaching is not polluting the waters such as dumping oil in the water. Another thing would be to help stop global warming because this plays a big part in helping the corals survive. Without the corals, many organisms such as the zooanthellae would die out because they wouldn't have the corals to live off of.

Coral Bleaching

I think that the coral reefs around the equator and in tropical seas are most susceptible by coral bleaching. These tropical seas contain the corals that form a symbiotic relationship with the algae, and depend on this relationship to live. This area is most affected by coral bleaching due to the numerous problems that can occur that will ‘stress’ the coral and make them get rid of their algae partners, such as rising temperatures or changes in water make-up. Radiation can also greatly affect these corals, and events such as water levels dropping can cause radiation to hit corals that previously were submerged. There are several ways humans can help to prevent coral bleaching. Keeping the oceans and seas clean is one way that is most valuable. Chemical and oil spills damage corals and surrounding life, and can alter the temperature and chemical make-up of the ocean waters causing coral bleaching. Also monitoring and helping to combat global warming is another prevention for coral bleaching. Global warming increase the temperature at which corals live in, and will cause them to expel the algae living on them, opening them up to radiation and coral bleaching. Being a caretaker for the environment will help to prevent coral bleaching from continuing or happening in the seas.

Coral Bleaching

I think that regions closer to the equator are more susceptible to coral bleaching. These regions are hot, and the coral tends to be nearer to the surface of the water, allowing the coral to be exposed to UV rays. These UV rays can damage and destroy the algae that makes corals healthy. I think Australia would especially have problems with coral bleaching because it can get deathly hot there. Humans exacerbate coral bleaching by polluting the oceans and aiding global warming. In areas known to have issues with coral bleaching, boating and diving activities should be monitored and decreased. Conservations programs should be launched that tend to needy coral reefs.
After reading the article, I was surprised to find that the Caribbean was struggling with coral bleaching issues but this makes sense. The Caribbean is close to the equator and has a large coral population. I was especially shocked to read that 90% of the coral in some areas is bleached.

Coral Bleaching

Coral Bleaching is the result of algae not properly doing there job when interacting with the reef corals. This causes a problem because then the corals will not be able to photosynthesize or be protected from the UV rays without the algae. Because of this, I believe most of corals that are being affected by bleaching would be in warm climates, such as near the equator, and they would most likely be in shallower water. This is because the sun will make them much more vulnerable to the UV ways when they are in the warmer climate and when they do not have the water’s protection. This is a problem because bleaching will lead to the coral reefs dying, which will also lead to many organisms losing their habitat. Humans must find a way to solve this problem because of this. For instance, they could pass laws to not allow boats on the waters where coral reefs that are in danger. This will help the coral reefs because by boating, they will only be exposed to more problems, such as polluting. If a community does not allow boating, it will aid the coral reefs by not creating other problems for them as well as bleaching.

Coral Bleaching

Please comment DIRECTLY on this posting.

a. What oceanic region of the world do you think is currently susceptible to coral bleaching? Why so?

b. Is there anything that humans can do to prevent coral bleaching? Explain/describe.


After you respond, check out the following article and see how your thoughts match those of the current studies being conducted on corals!
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090725120003.htm

Ever wonder how our Amoeba friends actually find their food?

So did other scientists. And here's what they discovered about amoeba's navigation ability. Even cooler, they've determined that it's the same mechanism by which immune cells locate the site of infection in your body!

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/10/081023144057.htm