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Figure 1 - The Thylacine, Thylacinus cynocephalus, is an extant species of carnivorous marsupial that was hunted to extinction by farmers because of predation of domestic sheep.

Step 1- The lungfish points it's head and mouth out of the water. It then opens its mouth using the sternohyoideus and expanding its buccal cavity taking air into its mouth. The mouth remains open.

Step 2- The lungfish opens its glottis allowing the air in its lungs to exit out its mouth mixing with the air in its buccal cavity. The air is able to exit the lungs through elastic recoil and contraction of smooth muscles.

Step 3- The mouth closes and using brachial constricting muscles and the lungfish forces the mixed air into its lungs

Step 4- The lungfish closes its glottis and hold the air into its lungs. The lungfish then submerges.

The plastid is an organelle found in plant cells that is undifferentiated and takes on many roles depending on what the cell needs it for. In photosynthetic cells in leaves, the plastid is known as the chloroplast and its main function is to create sugar through the process of photosynthesis. In petals, the plastid turns into a chromoplast and is used to create pigments to color the cells. In roots, the plastid becomes an amyloplast which uses dense starch to sense the direction of gravity so the roots know where to grow. The undifferentiated plastid is very similar to a stem cell in which it contains the DNA to become any one of these organelles. One thing that makes the plastid different from stem cells is its ability to become undifferentiated again. Some plants are able to take the differentiated plastid like a chromoplast and turn it into an undifferentiated plastid so that it can perform another task. This remarkable organelle is just one thing that makes plants so spectacular, and successful.

The plumage characteristics in the phylogenies and the table were chosen based off of the color patterns of specific anatomical positions of the bird. Most of the positions were in areas that would be easy to see from far away, or that might be used in species recognition. In addition, the majority of the plumage characteristics were classified by if they were colored brightly, colored cryptically, or multicolored. In our table characteristics were mapped out using a numerical system to indicate if they had a specific trait or if the trait was absent. Some plumage characteristics were given a binary code of 0', and 1's while others used 0's, 1's, and 2's. If the color was also involved in the identified characteristic the box was colored the same color. On the phylogeny, the characteristics were only mapped if they were present. If the characteristic was not there it was left blank. In addition, if the trait was colored it was given a colored bar of that color to see if it was a significant factor in species differentiation.

The plumage characteristics in the phylogenies and the table were chosen based off of the color patterns of specific anatomical positions of the bird. Most of the positions were in areas that would be easy to see from far away, or that might be used in species recognition. In addition, the majority of the plumage characteristics were classified by if they were colored brightly, colored cryptically, or multicolored. In our table characteristics were mapped out using a numerical system to indicate if they had a specific trait or if the trait was absent. Some plumage characteristics were given a binary code of 0', and 1's while others used 0's, 1's, and 2's. If the color was also involved in the identified characteristic the box was colored the same color. On the phylogeny, the characteristics were only mapped if they were present. If the characteristic was not there it was left blank. In addition, if the trait was colored it was given a colored bar of that color to see if it was a significant factor in species differentiation.

The majority of my day at Umass Amherst is spent walking to different locations on campus. When I wake up in the morning I walk to the bathroom, and when I’m going to class I walk to the classroom. Not only am I walking very frequently but the majority of the walks are very long. The size of the campus at Umass Amherst makes it very difficult to not have to walk very far on a daily basis. Even my dining hall which at most campuses would be a relatively short walk can sometimes take ten minutes to walk to. Students who plan on attending this school should be prepared to walk roughly two miles a day when trying to go to class and get food. The amount of walking at Umass is also made even more difficult by the amount residential areas and buildings that are found on steep hills. After a student’s first year at Umass Amherst they will notice a significant increase in the size of their calves and hopefully avoid the freshman fifteen by always attending class.

The larva that was observed in class was tan in color with a short stalky body and a long brown tail. The organism moved in an undulatory fashion sending a wave down the length of its body in order to propel it forward. The skin of the larva was stretchy and translucent allowing the observer to look into the organism's body. When looking inside the larva you could see some white masses and brown or black masses, which could be a number of interior organs. Because of how the larva moved and that it also had trouble climbing it is safe to assume that the organism is terrestrial and would be found running around on the forest floor. The diet of the larva is unknown due to a lack of resources in the research area. If studied for longer than more information could be gathered for this small insect larva. 

The coyote Canis latrans, wolf Canis lupus, and domestic dog Canis familiaris are all separate species.  The three species have been known to interbreed with one another in very scattered populations around the united states. Some northeastern coyotes have been shown to have percentages of both domestic dog and the wolf showing solid evidence towards the three species interbreeding. The idea that the inability to breed with other species should be removed from defining what a species is using this coyote hybrid as a great example. The northeastern coyotes show evidence of gene flow and while it is similar to hybridization these coyote hybrids are not a separate species. These hybrid coyotes should not be seen as a perfect example of gene flow and how an animal may adapt the changing environment.

Observations on the larvae.

Tan body color. Is capable of moving around through undulatory locomotion. It is able to contract its body in order to shorten, condense, and protect its body. When moving its body is roughly ¾ to ½ the length of the larvae’s tail. When condensed the body is roughly 1/3 to ¼ the length of the larvae’s tail. The larvae will one day metamorphosis into an insect with a different exterior morphology. It has a segmented body with 8 small bud like legs. Tail is thicker at the base than it is at the tip. Tail looks like it has a skin coat over it that is not present at the tip of the tail. The outer layer of skin is soft and elastic, allowing the organism to stretch and contract as it moves around. The outer layer of skin is also translucent and certain organs are visible. While terrestrial in nature due to the media it was found in the larvae has small dots that appear to be eyes and has a mouth both located in the cranial or rostral region. From the naked eye small brown incisors or claspers can be seen in the mouth region. This oral appendage can be used for feeding and for locomotion. The locomotion of the organism can be broken up into three steps. First, the organism stretches its head region out as far as it can, bringing it down towards the substrate and clasps onto it firmly. Second, the organism then pulls the lower half of its body towards its head region shortening its body. This sends a wave back to the base of the tail. Third, another undulatory wave from the caudal end of the organism propels forward toward the cranial region, and at the same time the claspers or incisors let go of the substrate allowing the head to extend forward. When prodding at the tail with a pencil the larvae first attempted to run away but when it found that it couldn’t get away it began rolling and thrashing wildly. When that didn’t work the larvae began to try biting and attacking the pencil. When the body is poked with a pencil it twitches violently almost jumping away from the pain. When tapping the surrounding area with the pencil the larvae stopped moving all together until the noise stopped. On the underside of the larvae a large white area can be seen in the center of the interior of the body this area could be some kind of digestive area of lymph. The body is covered in many tiny hairs. It is roughly 27mm long with its tail being 17mm long and its body being 5 to 10 mm long. Two dots in the front of the head appear to be eyes or some type of sensory organ. There is a greater distress reaction when poking the head/cranial region than there is poking the tail/caudal region. The interior of the body appears to have a few long rod shaped muscles of organs. While the body is soft and squishy it appears to be durable. Its legs are not strong enough for it to walk up completely vertical surfaces. It’s hard for the larvae to walk around on bumpy or rough surfaces so it spends a lot of time rolling around. When suspended in the air by the tip of the tail the organism showed a lack of flexibility and was unable to reach back and touch its tail. When blowing air on the organism it acted as if nothing was wrong and continued to move around normally. Where would this organism live? Possible underground, in the water or mud, maybe underground, or even up in the tree canopy. The larvae can create a good amount of force through contractions. Its best defense mechanism is to roll away. It is bilaterally symmetrical.