Lab 9: Macon's Dog Park

Tyler's Place Dog Park

For this lab, we were supposed to go to the local dog park down the street from Mercer's campus.  However, due to an intense thunderstorm, we only made it halfway down Adams Street.

With regards to the health of the dog, dog parks are great as it allows them to roam (somewhat) free, run around, and just have a good time.  More so, dog parks allow for fraternization between owners.  It creates an atmosphere that allows, to an extent, like minded people to socialize.  (I say like minded because I feel that it is safe to assume that almost everyone who goes to a dog park is a zoophile or at least a lover of dogs.

However, concerns do exist.  There is the potential that dogs might attack one another.  While we attempt to humanize these creatures, it must not be forgotten that some are very territorial creatures.  Secondly, there is the potential threat that dogs could pick up illnesses or diseases from bugs or other dogs.  These include rabies, Bordatella aka the "kennel cough," and intestinal parasites.   Finally, this website highlights the potential threat of dogs ending up in packs.

So before you take your dog to the park, remember to be vigilant of the other dogs and be sure your friend has had his/her shots.

Amphioxus

Vertebrate world, say hello to your Uncle Amphioxus!!  Or maybe not...

Once thought to be one of the first creatures to possess a vertebrate like substance, amphioxus has over time grown out of favor in the scientific community.  Now, it is thought that cephalopods may be closer to humans that previously thought.

 Just as a plus, be sure to watch this video in which two guys sing a (now factually inaccurate) song from the early 20th century about amphioxus.

 

It's a long, long way from amphioxus,

But we all came from there!

It wasn't much to look at, and it scarce knew how to swim.

And Nereis was very sure it hadn't come from him.

The molluscs wouldn't own it, and the arthropods got sore,

So the poor thing had to burrow in the sand along the shore.

He burrowed in the sand before a crab could nip his tail.

He said "Gill slits and myotomes are all to no avail

I've grown some metapleural folds, and sport an oral hood.  

And all these fine new characters don't do me any good!"

Chorus:

It's a long way from amphioxus

It's a long way to us…

It's a long way from amphioxus

To the meanest human cuss. 

 

It's good-bye, fins and gill slits,

Hello, lungs and hair!

It's a long, long way from amphioxus,

But we all came from there!

 

He sulked a while down in the sand without a bit of pep.

Then he stiffened up his notochord and said "I'll beat 'em yet!

Let 'em laugh and show their ignorance; I don't mind their jeers!

Just wait until they see me in a hundred million years!"

"My notochord shall turn into a chain of vertebrae;

As fins, my metapleural folds will agitate the sea.

My tiny dorsal nervous chord shall be a mighty brain  

And the vertebrates will dominate the animal domain!"

For more info about the song, check out this webpage.

Mitochondrial Eve

In our cells, we possess Mitochondrial DNA.  This DNA is different from standard DNA as it is passed only through the maternal line.  Ergo, no matter who  the father might be, if the children have the same mother, their mtDNA will be the same.  Of course, over time, with the passage of generations, mutations can occur within the mtDNA to allow some variation.  My mtDNA is not the exact same as that of my great-great-great-great grandmother.  If you go back far enough, one finds that all humans can trace their mtDNA to a single parent: Mitochondrial Eve.  

Of course, we all look different, but it is possible that we all have a common ancestor.  This idea can then be combined with that of allopatric speciation in which a population splits and finds itself in different geographic areas.  This leads to limited genetic drift as those sub-populations is forced to mate within themselves. (Limited due to the fact that the result in this situation didn't not lead to a new species but to greater variation within the species.)  The figure below show possible historic allopatric speciation patterns in humans.

Lab 10: Biodesel

I first heard of Biodesel several years ago while watching Mike Rowe on "Dirty Jobs."  This is a really good clip that I highly recommend.  It is split into 2 parts.  

                  Here is the process explained by steps.

Biodesel is an alternative fuel source but I don't see it ever becoming as powerful (in terms of popularity) as oil.  This is unfortunate as it gets the job done.

My idyllic fuel source would be waste/trash/garbage.  If you have seen Back to the Future, think to the end of the first movie when the Doc Brown shows up from the years 2015 with his DeLorean which was retrofitted to turn Marty's trash into fuel for his nuclear powered car.  In reality, the best scenario possible for the future of American fuels is to allow for a multitude of options.  In my mind, biodesel would be on equal footing with ethanol, methane, hydrogen, oil, natural gas, and electric.  (Of course, the creation of some of these fuel types, particularly that of electric, requires changes to the US's energy production system which are also unsustainable.)

Lab 8: Darwin's Dilemna

Darwin's Dilemna was an interesting video we watched during our last lab.  I highlighted intelligent design over standard Darwinian theory of evolution.  

Here is a trailer for the film.

There were elements of it which I did and did not like.  In particular, I hated their intentional diction.  During many of the interviews, the people being interviewed said that indicated that, to paraphrase, "there must have been some sort of design.  Randomness does not justify the historical scientific evidence.  The most plausible answer is that some intelligence was behind it."  That just got annoying after the first five minutes.  

However, I did like that they presented the alternative point of view.  Certainly Darwinism has become the dominant paradigm and is what is often taught to students.  The minority opinion should still be protected as some elements of the ruling opinion fall short.  Assuming that they were not just trying to push an agenda, the intelligent designists have some qualms with Darwinism as it fails to answer all questions for them.  While intelligent design might not hold the answer, there questions are still valid.

Finally, in the movie, they mention the Cambrian explosion and the biodiversity that we find fossilized at the Burgess Shale.  Below is a video clip from the Field Museum in Chicago which seeks to recreate life from that time.  Note the biodiversity within the exhibit and how aquatic life then differs from aquatic life now.

Lab 7: Hitchiti

I enjoy hiking so I definitely enjoyed our lab in the Hitchiti Experimental Forest.  The lab consisted of us walking a few miles through the woods, taking a picture of us hugging a tree, and getting a chance to see the Oconee River.

Me hugging the tree

Me on rock structure in the middle of the Oconee

I don't know what else to say besides that.  The purpose of the lab was to see the trees and discuss experimental burning techniques to study the regeneration of the ecosystem as well as to guard against overgrowth plants.  (Smokey the Bear was a little bit too successful in his attempts to prevent forest fires.  But forest fires are a nature part of the life cycle of a forest.)  

In conclusion, if anyone likes nature hikes or even rock climbing, check out the Hitchiti Experimental Forest.

http://www.rockclimbing.com/routes/North_America/United_States/Georgia/Georgia_South/Hitchiti_boulders/

Lab 6: Jackson Springs

I studied abroad in England the spring semester of my sophomore year.  While there, I was obligated to attend weekly lectures pertaining to English culture that were often informative and enjoyable.  During that semester, I came to understand the distinction between Classical French and English Gardens.  (I can't remember if I learned this distinction during one of those lectures or not.  But I know I learned it at some point that semester.)

An example of a French formal garden can be found at the Gardens of Versailles.

Note how everything has a proper shape and size.  Manicuring and upkeep for this garden is a must as the visual effect is diminished if a blade is out of place.  

Contrast that with the garden found at Stourhead Manor in England.

Note the untamed nature of the garden.  Certainly, such a garden is manicured, but at significantly lower levels than that of its French counterpart.  The rise in popularity of the English Garden coincides with the rise of English Romantic poetry which highlights the beauty of wild, untamed nature.  

While Jackson Springs features neither a lake not a grotto, I immediately thought of Stourhead upon seeing the cover created by the trees, the little bridge, and the multiple levels to the park.