Date: 5/5/2017
Time: 2:20pm Weather: Rainy, 50* F Site Alpha and Site Beta have changed a lot since I first started to observe them. Site Alpha has changed the most because I have been observing it for longer. The grass is much greener and more abundant. The tree has also begun to bloom and there are now leaves growing on it. Site Beta's trees were already leafy when I began observing but the grass is much greener than when I started observing. Themes of the Class in Site Alpha and Beta Ecology: Site Alpha and Beta have all the levels of ecological organization up to ecosystem. The Public Garden where both sites are located is an ecosystem. There are multiple species of plants and animals as well as air and bodies of water. Properties of Life: I noticed many properties of life in my Sites. Reproduction was prevalent in Site Beta because I often noticed male ducks following female ducks and came to the conclusion that the males would want to mate with the female they were following. Organisms acquiring and using energy was present because of the plants (trees & grass) in both sites because they maintained aliveness as well as being green which means they are healthy and converting sunlight and water into energy. Properties of Water: The Duck Pond in the Public Garden demonstrated properties of water. I observed very small birds sit a top the pond, demonstrating surface tension. Also the pond does not evaporate when it's hot out because of the high boiling/evaporation point. Genetic Mutations: I discussed the Grey Squirrel mutation in a previous assignment. The mutation where squirrels are black instead of grey. I saw one black squirrel in my observations. Though it was not directly in Site Alpha or Beta, it was near them and in the Public Garden. Emergent Properties: Similar to ecology, in my Sites there were microorganisms that I could not see with the naked eye all the way to recognizable animals and humans. Explanation of Photos 1: The tree I observed throughout this project in Site Alpha 2: The grass in my transect in Site Alpha 3: The grass in my transect in Site Beta
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For this assignment, I wanted to examine a different species than I did in Assignment 6. So I chose the Mallard Duck which I have seen in Site Beta. Unfortunately, when I started to do research on this species I couldn't find much on it's evolutionary history. I figured squirrels have been around for a very long time (partly because of the movie Ice Age), so I went back to examining them.
Squirrels evolved originally from bacteria just like most species and plants. However, the first time something somewhat resembling what we know now as a squirrel was about 200 million years ago. Though these creatures were not officially squirrels they were what squirrels evolved from. The Eastern Grey Squirrel isn't the only species derived from the same family but species like chipmunks, marmots and prairie dogs also come from the same evolutionary line. Red squirrels used to be a lot more common in our area of the world than they are now. This is due to group selection. I mentioned it in my previous assignment but Red Squirrels are more susceptible to disease and also to hunting so they no longer are as common as the Eastern Grey Squirrel. The video inserted above goes through the evolution of squirrels and related species. |
AuthorSophomore Intro to Biology student at Lesley University Archives
May 2017
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