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Week 10- Draft 4

Submitted by aswan on Wed, 12/05/2018 - 23:57

Ulva lactuca and Gigartina canaliculata are two seaweeds that interact within their shared environment. In an experiment scientists observed, tracked, and graphically represented the presence of  G.canaliculata in two separate scenarios, one in which U. Lactuca was removed from the environment and one in which  U. Lactuca was present. In the presence of U. Lactuca G.canaliculata was able to thrive in environment with a significant number of recruits, while the removal of  U. Lactuca resulted in low recruitment for G.canaliculata. This shows the effect of Ulva on Gigartina can be characterized by a facilitative successional mechanism. Facilitative succession is defined by a scenario in which one species allows for the growth of successive species in an environment, this appears to be the case here as the presence of U. Lactuca results in the growth of G.canaliculata and its removal causes the recruitment of G.canaliculata to decrease significantly in comparison to the. 

Week 10- Draft 3

Submitted by aswan on Wed, 12/05/2018 - 23:56

Ulva lactuca and Gigartina canaliculata are two seaweeds that interact within their shared environment. In an experiment scientists observed, tracked, and graphically represented the presence of  G.canaliculata in two separate scenarios, one in which U. Lactuca was removed from the environment and one in which  U. Lactuca was present. In the presence of U. Lactuca G.canaliculata was able to thrive in environment with a significant number of recruits, while the removal of  U. Lactuca resulted in low recruitment for G.canaliculata. This shows the effect of Ulva on Gigartina can be characterized by a facilitative successional mechanism. Facilitative succession is defined by a scenario in which one species allows for the growth of successive species in an environment, 

Week 10- Draft 2

Submitted by aswan on Wed, 12/05/2018 - 23:56

Ulva lactuca and Gigartina canaliculata are two seaweeds that interact within their shared environment. In an experiment scientists observed, tracked, and graphically represented the presence of  G.canaliculata in two separate scenarios, one in which U. Lactuca was removed from the environment and one in which  U. Lactuca was present. In the presence of U. Lactuca G.canaliculata was able to thrive in environment with a significant number of recruits, while the removal of  U. Lactuca resulted in low recruitment for G.canaliculata. This shows the effect of Ulva on Gigartina can be characterized by a facilitative successional mechanism. 

Week 10- Draft 1

Submitted by aswan on Wed, 12/05/2018 - 23:55

Ulva lactuca and Gigartina canaliculata are two seaweeds that interact within their shared environment. In an experiment scientists observed, tracked, and graphically represented the presence of  G.canaliculata in two separate scenarios, one in which U. Lactuca was removed from the environment and one in which  U. Lactuca was present. In the presence of U. Lactuca G.canaliculata was able to thrive in environment with a significant number of recruits, while the removal of  U. Lactuca resulted in low recruitment for G.canaliculata.

methods draft again

Submitted by msalvucci on Wed, 12/05/2018 - 22:18

For the warm environment, the spiders were placed in plastic cup enclosures that rested 18 inches below a heat lamp. Prior to starting data collection, the spiders and plastic cup apparatuses for each condition were weighed so that a difference in weight could be detected after four days. The spiders were then left in each condition for four days, and their condition was checked every 12 hours. To avoid from overheating the conditions, the heat lamp was alternated on and off every 12 hours. Following the four days, the plastic cup enclosures were weighed to get a final weight of the spider web in each enclosure.

 

methods draft

Submitted by msalvucci on Wed, 12/05/2018 - 22:18

For this experiment, two spiders were observed in the warm, cool and control environments. A thermometer was used in each environment to track the temperature in each environment with the goal of keeping it constant. The spiders for both the cool and control environments were kept in plastic cup enclosures inside a Styrofoam box. The cool environment had a layer of ice enclosed underneath the plastic cups that could be replenished in order to keep a constant temperature. The control environment consisted of the plastic cups enclosures with no ice or heat to keep the environment at room temperature.

nuclear debate

Submitted by kruzzoli on Wed, 12/05/2018 - 22:05

In the United States, energy generation emits most of the Co2. It emits more than transportation and industry and electricity is a needed resource in this day and age. Nuclear power is currently the largest source of carbon free electricity so using nuclear power would greatly reduce the amount carbon dioxide released. This is beneficial because Co2 is one of the major greenhouse gases that is destroying our environment, so if we can potentially find an electricity source that reduces CO2 emission, we would be taking a huge step towards creating a healthier environment.

 

2. There is a large push for both wind and solar power which are great environmentally friendly ways of producing electricity but they are poorly suited for large scale use because of their intermittent and variable supply. They depend upon the weather to create good supplies of energy and this is something that we cannot control, so their effectiveness cannot be guaranteed to run whenever needed and to produce as much energy as needed all the time. Nuclear power, however, does not rely on the weather to generate electricity and is therefore more reliable and better suited for mass production of electricity.

 

Parts to include for methods poster

Submitted by bthoole on Wed, 12/05/2018 - 18:12

-Colors: We chose to test the colors white versus yellow and cyan versus green in our experiment. Some species of crab spiders are able to change their color from white to yellow, and yellow to white. We decided to use white and yellow as a control in our experiment and see which side the spiders would prefer. In the RGB model, the color white is made up of red, green and blue all at their highest intensities, which is 255. Yellow is made up of red and green both at their highest intensities of 255, with no blue is added. Cyan is made up of green and blue both at their highest intensities of 255, and no addition of red. Green is made up of only green at its highest intensity of 255.

-Set up: We used two spiders in our experiment, and each was given its own tank. One spider was placed in a yellow and white tank, and the other in a cyan and green tank. The color backgrounds in the tanks were split right down the middle and the other factors including light entering, materials and temperature were kept constant between the tanks.

-Procedure: To collect data we took measurements once a day for eight days in a row. Everyday we collected two measurements. The first measurement was what color side the spider was on when we first entered the room and before interacting with the spider. The second measurement was taken after moving the spider to the middle of the tank where the colors met. We gave the spiders a ten minute rest period before taking and recording the data on which color side background the spider chose.

 

Amphiprioninae

Submitted by mtracy on Wed, 12/05/2018 - 15:32

Amphiprioninae includes the clownfish. There are roughly 128 species of these fish. Clownfish are generally very colorful and many live as commensals to sea anemones. Usually anemones use their stining cells to sting whatever swims into them. Generally this occurs with small fish, which it proceeds to eat after making contact. There are several hypotheses as to why clownfish can safetly live in sea anemones. One idea is that the slime which covers the clownfish essentially makes it invisible to the anenome. Another assumes the anenome recognizes the clownfish's movements, and thus knowns it is not dangerous and will not sting it. Lastly, it is possible that the anenome gradually learns about the clownfish, as generally clownfish have a little harder of a time when young, so over time the anenome may learn to "accept" them. These hypotheses attribute somewhat human aspects to the organisms however. Regardless, the clownfish lives among the anenome and will clean a portion of the coral at its base, where it will lay its eggs. The after hatching, the young float up into the water column and will eventually find a new anenome to call its home.

Conclusion

Submitted by jmalloldiaz on Wed, 12/05/2018 - 13:28

The data for the cyan versus green trials suggests that Mecaphesa celer shows an initial preference towards cyan, but when placed in the center of the arena it will move towards the green background. Meanwhile, in the white and yellow trials Mecaphesa initially shows no particular preference between the backgrounds, but when placed in the center of the arena it will move towards the white side.

The results agree with our hypothesis that crab spiders prefer backgrounds that match their current body coloration, although further trials with a larger sample size and a refined protocol should be performed in the future to confirm these findings. Despite being a pilot study, this line of investigation could shed light on multiple aspects of the ecology and evolution of cryptic coloration in predator-prey relationships.

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