Biology Vocab

Mammary Glands - gland in mammals that produces milk to nourish the young
Subcutaneous fat -  layer of fat cells beneath the skin
diaphragm - large, flat muscle at the bottom of the chest cavity that contracts during breathing, pulling the bottom of the chest cavity down and increasing its volume
Cerebral cortex - outer layer of the cerebrum of a mammal's brain' center of thinking and other complex behavior.
Monotremes - egg laying mammal
Marsupials - mammal that bears live young that complete their development in an external pouch
Placenta - organ in placental mammals through which nutrients, oxygen, carbon dioxide and wastes are exchanged between embryo and mother.
Hominoid - member of a group of primates that includes apes and humans
Homind - primate that walks upright, has opposite thumbs, and possesses a large brain, only living members are humans.

Chapter 32 Assessment

Chapter Assessment 32: 1-4, 7-10, 11, 22, 24, 26, 27-28, 31, 33

1)      c

2)      a

3)      a

4)      a

7) a

8) b

9) d

10) a

11) high metabolism, external body hair, subcutaneous

fat

22) flexible toes, fingers and shoulders, well-developed cerebrum, and binocular vision

24) Prosimians

26) They have different points of evolution

27) A newborn marsupial still needs MAJOR nurturing from the biological mother, whereas a placental mammal can be bottle-fed and doesn’t really need the actual mother with our present technology.

28) They aid in survival of the mammal

31) A, b and c are all mammals. A is a bat, B is a horse and c is a whale.

33) Vegetarians are herbivores, everyone else is an omnivore.

-Mary-

Chapter 31 Bio Vocab

Reptile - any vertebrate that has dry scaly skin, lungs and terrestrial eggs with several protective membranes.
Feathers - structure made mostly of protein that develops from a pit in a bird's skin
Endotherms - animal that generates its own bod heat and controls its body temperature from within
Gizzard - in earthworms, part of the digestive system in which food is ground into smaller pieces, in birds, a muscular organ that helps in the mechanical breakdown of food
Ectotherms - animal that relies on interactions with the environment to help it control body temperature

The Chordates - Chapter 31 Assessment

Chapter 31 - 1-4, 6, 11-14, 19, 22, 29, 30-31

1) c 2) b 3) b 4)c
6) a
11) It must shed as the animal grows larger.
12) Heat caused their extinction
13) Temperature, loss of food, etc
14) It can keep them cool or warm.
19) fish
22) feathers
29) The warmer island - reptiles need warmth in order to keep up their body temperature.
30) They can stand in water w/o drowning
31) bird

Those Poor Frogs... (A rant)

          The fact that humans affect planet earth is non-debatable.  It’s obvious that we have an effect on our habitat. No problem, it’s our planet – if we destroy it – our loss, who care? It was our fault and nobody gets hurt except the bad guy (us!) Right? Wrong. The problem with this kind of “it doesn’t matter anyway” mindset is that thousands of God’s innocent creatures can be affected and we are 100% to blame. An example of this would be rain-forest creatures. Greedy corporations are tearing down rainforests for lumber that they can harvest cheaply and then sell for a high price. Thousands of species are being destroyed by the same machete knives and bulldozers used to plow through the forests to kill the trees. Some of those species are frogs – not only are they harmed by various machines used to clear the jungle spaces, but they are also affected by the fact that their habitat is destroyed and they have no place to go. If you destroy an animal’s habitat it is like dropping an atomic bomb on a human city – it is almost impossible for the human city to recover. Humans need to be more conscious of their actions and how they affect the various biomes on the planet. Humans are slowly killing frogs by result of pollution, global warming and greed.

Frogs possess a rather interesting type of skin. Instead of drinking water, they absorb most of the moisture they need through their skin. Not only that, but their skin also helps them breathe! Since frogs can only get oxygen through their skin when it’s wet, it’s important for them to stay slimy and cool. Frogs secrete a mucus to help them stay wet but even so it’s important for them to stay near water. Because frogs take in oxygen and water through their skin, other things are bound to get in. Things like chemicals or fertilizers that could potentially harm or even kill the frog! An article from Science Daily states “High levels of nutrients used in farming and ranching activities fuel parasite infections that have caused highly publicized frog deformities in ponds and lakes across North America. “ A study led by the University of Colorado shows that certain pollutants that occur in our environment due to farming encourage parasite growths, thus ramping up infections in the frog population. The infections cause the frogs to grow abnormalities and deformities, putting a damper on their fight for survival. Greedy corporate agriculture firms are using un-safe fertilization formulas because they can spread them cheaply and sell their quick-growing vegetables for a large profit. However, these un-safe fertilizers are endangering the species by causing abnormalities. A study by a Yale professor raised a troubling concern  - 21% of male frogs are hermaphrodites! This means that there are immature eggs growing in their testes and are neither male nor female. Hermaphrodites cannot reproduce which means that the species will not be able to survive.  The professor linked the high level of Hermaphrodites with the also high level of herbicides used in the area. Human pollutants that are environmentally unsafe are causing a high level or problems for frogs. Humans are the greatest enemy to the frog.

     Another human activity – excess energy use is also fueling the frog’s extinction. Global warming caused by Co2 in the atmosphere is drying up lakes and ponds. Because a frog’s skin must stay wet, this destroys the frog’s habitat. Furthermore, one may recall from their high school biology class that frogs must lay their eggs in water. Without water, eggs cannot be laid and new frogs cannot be born. Also, without water, frogs cannot stay cool and they can become feverish and die. All together – Global Warming is not helping frogs! Now, some people might argue that climate change occurs naturally and animals can undergo microevolution in order to cope. This is true – but we aren’t talking about a natural climate change.  It is at least partially if not mostly caused by the human race and this accelerated climate change is coming on too fast even for the most adaptive species of amphibians.  Frogs are incredibly sensitive to environmental changes. The rapid disappearance of many species of frogs acts as a sort of “Canary in a Coalmine.” It is a sort of clue to scientist that something is very, very wrong with our planet. In fact, global warming is SO harmful that every day a new species of frogs disappear from the planet. If this is only the beginning of Global Warming and frogs are dying left and right, what will happen to the human race? The time to take action is now. Not only is it our responsibility to the frogs and the planet but also to ourselves and our children. We have to solve this problem before it gets out of control.

                Many of the problems in our world stem from greed. Starvation, homelessness, and STDS around the world could have been solved if it wasn’t for people acting only on selfish interests. The deaths of frogs is also effected by human greed. Living in a capitalistic system where the main goal is to make money, corporations go to great lengths to use the cheapest products to get the jobs done and often replace natural substances with chemicals in order to make money. The effects of their greed is hurting frogs around the globe. Here’s where the cincher comes in – there is nothing we can do to MAKE people not be greedy. People are sinful and will display greedy qualities until the end of time. How can we help? Government grants? Absolutely not. That is completely unfair – you can’t except a remnant to pay for the sins of the mass. Government regulation? Forget it. We don’t need more limitations, not even if it pertains to saving our planet. Regulation can become corrupted and only will make the problem worse. Government anything? Nope. If it involves power, then forget it. Corruption will take over. So what’s the solution? Education is the only way to fix the problem. Conscious of people still exist and it’s best to take advantage of them by presenting the moral dilemma of greed. When it comes to solving the planet, humans are the ones for the jobs. But you can’t force people to do things – you have to allow them to make the choice on their own. To do so, we offer non-profit education to people and explain the dilemma at hand. No political slogans, no government loans, just mouth to mouth, word-for-word people helping people. We can solve the frog extinction problem if we work together. 

The Chordates - Reptiles

The basic body plan of a reptile is typical of a land vertebrate - well-developed skull, a backbone, a tail, two limb girdles and four limbs. Two types have slightly different plans - Snakes are mostly limbless and turtles have hard shells fused to their vertebrate.

A reptile is a vertebrate that has dry, scaly skin, lungs and terrestrial eggs with several membranes. Reptiles can live their entire lives outside of water.

Reptiles have tough, waterproof skin that sheds when the creature grows out of it.

The only place on earth where reptiles cannot live are very cold areas.

Well-developed lungs' a double loop circulatory system; a water conserving excretory system; strong limbs; internal fertilization; and shelled, terrestrial eggs are the other adaptions that have contributed to the success of reptiles on land. Reptiles control their body temperature by changing environments.

Ectotherms rely on behavior to help control body temperatures. Turtles, snakes and other reptiles are all ectotherms. To warm up, they move to a sunny area or stay under water all night. To cool down, they move to the shade, go for a swim or take shelter in a burrow.

Reptiles eat a wide variety of food .Some are herbivores, such as Iguanas. Snakes, for example are carnivores and chameloms eat insects and plants.

The lungs of reptiles are very spongy, providing more gas exchange area than those of amphibians. This is because reptiles cannot breathe through their skin like other animals. Snakes have only one lung.

Reptiles have a double loop circulatory system. One loop brings blood to and from the lungs, and the other loop brings blood to and from the rest of the body. Crocodiles and alligators have the most developed hearts of living reptiles.

Reptiles eliminate waste products with little water in order to conserve water. Their uric acid is crystallized and emitted in paste form.

Reptiles have complex eyes and can see color well. They also have a very good sense of smell and can pick up vibrations through their skull.

The backbones of reptiles help them achieve movement.

All reptiles reproduce by internal fertilization. They also lay eggs with leathery shells.

The four surviving groups of reptiles are lizards, and snakes, crocodilians, turtles and the tuatara. 

The Chordates - Chapter 30 Key Terms

Chordates - member of the phylum Chordata; animal that has, for at least some stage of its life, a dorsal, hallow nerve cord; a notochord; pharyngeal pouches; and a muscular tail

Notochord - long supporting rod that runs through a chordate's body just below the nerve cord

Pharyngeal pouches - one of a pair of structures in the throat (pharynx) region of a chordate

Vertebrae - animal that has a vertebral column or backbone

Fish  - aquatic vertebrate characterized by paired fins, scales and gills

Cartilage - strong connective tissue that supports the body and is softer and more flexible than bone

Amphibian - vertebrate that, with some exceptions, lives in water as a larva and on land as an adult, breathes with lungs as an adult, and has moist skin that contains mucus glands and lacks scales and claws.

The Chordates - Chapter 30 Assesment

1) c. 2) b 3) c 7) a
11) In most developing vertebrates, the notochord grows into the brain and hardens, turning into the spinal cord or backbone.
25) Two specialized structures that give amphibians movement are legs and fins. An example of legs would be a frog's hind legs that allow them to jump. An example of a fin would be the fins on a salamander that help them move through the water in an S-shaped pattern.
28) The world-wide decline of amphibian populations could be related to two of their prominent characteristics - Their skin is thin and must be kept moist and their eggs have no shell and must be kept moist. Global warming is reducing the amount of water that amphibians can use.

The Chordates - Amphibians

An amphibian is a vertebrate that with some exceptions lives in water as a larva and on land as an adult, breathes with lungs as an adult, has moist skin that contains mucus glands and lacks scales and claws. 

Early amphibians evolved several adaptions that helped them live at least part of their lives out of water. Bones in the limbs and limb girdles of amphibians became stronger, permitting more efficient movement. Lungs and breathing tubes enabled amphibians to breathe air. The sternum or breastbone, formed a bony shield to support and protect internal organs, especially the lungs.

• Feeding - Tadpoles are filter-feeders or herbivores that graze on algae. They turn into carnivores, however when they reach adulthood and their digestive system is completely altered. 
• Respiration - Gas exchange occurs through the skin as well as the gills. Lungs replace gills when the creature reaches adulthood.
• Circulation - The circulation forms a double loop. The first loop carries oxygen-poor blood from the heart to the lungs and skin, and takes oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and skin back to the heart. The second loop transports oxygen rich blood from the heart to the rest of the body and oxygen poor blood from the body back to the heart. 
• Excretion - Amphibians have kidneys that filter wastes from the blood. 
• Reproduction - Many species of amphibians lay their eggs in the water and are fertilized externally. 
• Movement - For the most part, amphibians move much like fish. Frogs and a few others have developed hind legs for jumping. 
• Response - similar brain structure to a fish

Amphibians can be categorized in three groups. Salamanders, frogs/toads, and caecilians. 

Salamanders - Most have four legs. Are carnivores. Live in moist woods and tunnels, under rotting logs and rocks. Some live in water their whole lives. 

Frogs/Toads - They can jump. Frogs and toads lack tails as adults. Frogs typically live in and near water, while toads can survive in dry environments. 

Caecilians - Least known member! Legless creatures. They often live in water or burrow in most soil and feed on small invertebrates such as termites. 

The Chordates - Fishes

Fishes are aquatic vertebrates that are characterized by paired fins, scales and gills.

• Fins are used for movement
• Scales are used for protection
• Gills are for exchanging gases

Fishes were the first vertebrates to evolve. They did not arise directly from tunicates or lancelets, but fishes and nonvertebrate chordates probably did evolve from common invertebrate ancestors. During the course of their evolution, fishes underwent several important changes. 

The evolution of jaws and the evolution of paired fins were important developments during the rise of the fishes! 

The earliest fishes to appear in the fossil record were odd-looking, jaw-less creatures whose bodies were armored with bony plates. 

The Devonian Period, which is often called the Age of fishes. Fish underwent a major evolution at this point. Jaw-less fishes emerged at this points. Unlike their ancestors, they had very little armor. 

The evolution of jaws in early fishes accompanied the evolution of paired pectoral and pelvic fins.  The fins were attached to structures of cartilage or bone that supported the fin. Paired fins gave fish greater movement and jaws gave them a wider diet. 

Although the early jawed fishes soon disappeared they left beyond two groups that continue to evolve and survive today. One group - the ancestors of modern sharks and rays - evolved a skeleton made of strong, resilient cartilage. The other group evolved skeletons made of true bone. A sub-group of bony fishes called lobe-finned fishes have fleshy fins from which the limbs of chordates would later evolve. 

Adaptions to aquatic life include various modes of feeding, specialized structures for gas exchange, and paired fins for locomotion. 

• Feeding- every type of feeding from herbivores, carnivores and omnivores 
• Respiration - Most fishes exchange gases using gills located on either side of the pharynx. The gills are made up of feathery threadlike structures called filaments. Each one contains a network of fine capillaries that provides a large surface area for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. Fishes that exchange gases using gills do so by pulling oxygen-rich water in through their mouths, pumping it over their gill filaments, and then pushing oxygen-poor water out through the openings in the sides of the pharynx. 
• Circulation - Fishes have closed circulatory systems with a heart that pumps blood around the body in a single loop from the heart to the gills from the gills to the rest of the body, from the gills to the rest of the body and back to the heart. 
• Excretion - Like many other animals, most fishes rid themselves of nitrogenous wastes in the form of ammonia. Some wastes diffuse through the gills into the surrounding water. Others are removed by kidneys, which are excretory organs that filter wastes from the blood. 
• Response - Most fishes have highly developed sense organs. Almost all fishes that are active in daylight have well-developed eyes and color vision that is as good as the average human. They have extraordinary senses of taste and smell an can detect motion although they cannot hear very well. 
• Movement - Most fishes move by alternating contracting paired sets of muscles on either side of the backbone. This creates a series of S-shaped curves that propels the fish through the water. 
• Reproduction - The eggs of fishes are fertilized either externally or internally, depending on the species. Those that hatch outside of the mother are called oviparous. Those who are "born alive" are called viviparous. 

When you consider their basic internal structure, all living fishes can be classified into three groups, jaw-less fish, cartilaginous fishes and bony fishes. 

Jaw-less fishes - They have no true teeth or jaws. Skeletons are made of fibers and cartilage and they lack vertebrae. They keep their notochord as adults. They are two types - lampreys and hagfishes. 

Cartilaginous Fish- This group contains sharks and their relatives. 

Bony Fishes- These fishes are made of hard, calcified tissue called bone. Almost all of them are ray-finned. 

Some fishes spend most of their lives in the ocean but breed in fresh water. They are called anadromous. Others live in fresh water but migrate to salt water to breed. These fishes are called catadromous. 

The Chordates - An Introduction

Fish, Amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals are all very different but are all members of the phylum Chordata.
Members of the phylum Chordata are called chordates. To be classified as a chordate and animals hash to have four key characteristics.
A chordate is an animal that has or had for some stage of life, a dorsal, hallow nerve cord; a notochord; pharyngeal pouches and a tail that extends beyond the anus.
The hollow nerve cord runs along the dorsal (back) part of the body. Nerves branch from this cord at regular intervals and connect to the internal organs, muscles, and sense organs.
The notochord is a long supporting rod that runs through the body just below the nerve cord. Most chordates have a notochord only when they are embryos
Pharyngeal pouches - These are paired structures in the throat (pharynx) region. In some chordates - such as fish and amphibians - slits develop that connect the pharyngeal pouches to the outside of the body. These slits may then develop into gills that are used for gas exchange.

At some point in their lives, all chordates have a tail that extends beyond the anus. The tail can contain bone and muscle and is used in swimming by many aquatic species.

Most Chordates are vertebrates. More than 99% of them are in the subphylum Vertebrata and are called vertebrates. A vertebrate is a chordate that has a strong supporting structure called a backbone. IN vertebrates, the dorsal, (hollow nerve cord) is called the spinal cord. The front end is in the brain. It IS the backbone and replaces the notochord in most developing vertebrates and is made of small individual segments called vertebra.

However, there are SOME nonvertebrate chordates. The two groups of nonvertebrate chordates are tunicates and lancelets. Both are soft-bodies marine organisms. They have a hollow nerve cord, a notochord, pharyngeal pouches, and a tail.
Tunicates are filter-feeding organisms that look a bit like tubes. Lancelets are small and fish-like creatures that live on the sandy ocean bottom.

Orange Cupcake Project

        
 27 million people worldwide are victims of the monstrosity we know as human slavery, or trafficking. This is a tragedy against mankind. Men, women and children are held against their will and forced to work in uncomfortable conditions and often physically and sexually assaulted. They are stripped of their identities and treated worse than animals. Often food is withheld from them. How do people become victims of human slavery? Parents sell their children, people become indebted and are forced to become slaves, others are tricked, sometimes, it happens because of war, and other times people are kidnapped or have their lives threatened. There are a variety of causes to this great crime against humanity. No matter the cause, the victim in the incident would need to be rescued and healed from this traumatic event. Slavery is NEVER okay. This is because God created every one of his children equally and wonderfully. Any human who thinks they are more important or superior to another one of God's children is terribly mistaken and committing the sin of pride. Slavery has no place in this world. Unfortunately, people all over the globe are terribly confused about this. As a Christian, it is my job to spread God's truth. That's why I have to do this. My goal is to raise $3,333.33. I plan on doing this by selling cupcakes and orange clothing/accessory products. Why orange? Orange is the color of freedom. It's a color of possibility and determination. It's not the prettiest color, but it IS an honest color. It's stubborn and it doesn't give up. I plan on making headbands, t-shirts and bandannas that are orange and have the word "FREEDOM" in caps stenciled across the front. I'll give all the profits to charitable organizations dedicated to ending slavery. Updates will follow!

Social Security

IM CUTE. DONT STEAL FROM ME. 

Social Security News Flash: If things keep running like they are, the Social Security fund will either be gone away with or depleted. Pick one. It needs to be fixed and FAST! 

In order to fix it, three things need to happen -

• Increase Revenue going into the Social Security Fund
• Decrease Benefits
• Keep the money CONTROLLED and going ONLY to the seniors and disabled people who NEED it. As in, it's not the goverment's checkbook. KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY SOCIAL SECURITY MONEY, LOSERS!

Obviously, some Congress people, for whatever reason, see issues with these simple steps. It's elementary, you morons. 

Who's gonna be effected if we don't fix Social Security? Cute little kids like the ones in the above picture! Anyone who isn't gonna be retired by 2020. People who are gonna be paying INTO the failing system, yet not getting anything out of it. 

Why do we have social security problems? Two reasons

• The Baby Boomers - Right after WWII ended, lots of soliders came home to their otherwise non-pregnant wives. You put the pieces together.
• Abortion - Because the darn baby boomers legalized abortion, the population has a huge lump in it and not very many kids are being born anymore. This means less people to pay into the system. This is really tough, because we have a HUGE lump of people to support. How is Gen Y supposed to take care of the Boomers, the BIGGEST age group when they majority of them were killed in the womb? ARGH! It's just not cool

The "decade" when the Boomers were the most impressionable was the 60s. GREAT. Jusssst great. The sixties were the "irresponsible and DANGEROUS" years. All we need is a bunch of crazy seniors who had a ton of abortions. Yup, that's ALL we need. 

They dug a nice great pit, but they are all gonna die before they actually fall into it. We have to patch it up quick or we'll all die!