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After collecting data of the observed behaviors and placing them into behavioral categories, we concluded the categories to be normal, innate behaviors of young foals. Each behavioral category is seen multiple times in the total 48 minutes and 55 seconds of footage and a total number of 65 individuals behaviors were documented. The playful behavioral category had 11 specific behaviors performed by the foals that were described and documented (Table 1). The aggression category shows 9 different behaviors of the foals (Table 2). The feeding behavioral category had a total of 10 unique foal behaviors (Table 3). Locomotion behavioral category of the foals had a total of 7 behaviors (Table 4). The grooming behavioral category had the most classified behaviors with a total of 15 (Table 5). The affection behavioral category had the least amount with 3 behaviors (Table 6). The behavioral category of observation had a total of 8 behaviors listed (Table 7). By weeding through the repetitions and similarities of the collected behaviors, we were able to formulate a well organized set of tables and learn about the constant signals that Morgan horses use to communicate.

The first part of the Ethogram project had us closely analyze the everyday behaviors of a small group of female Equus caballus (Morgan horses). After observing the horses for a total of 48 minutes and 55 seconds, we recorded the many different behaviors of two female foals (aged 2 to 4 months) with two mares at the Umass Amherst Equestrian Center in Amherst Massachusetts during late summer. To record these behaviors, we captured the still images of these behaviors and recorded the time that the behavior took place in the results tables. Seven individual behavioral categories were derived. The individual behaviors were described in greater detail and, based on what the behavior fell under, put into behavioral category tables.

An experiment was first conducted on rats to determine how prenatal testosterone in males can change behavior. It was found that rats with more testosterone at a young age had more impulsive decisions than female rats. Then the experiment went onto to include human beings. Male children approximately around the age of 3 with prenatal testosterone were compared to female children around the age of 3. The experiment involved a rewards system where the children were given the option of obtaining an instant reward or waiting to obtain a larger reward. For example, the instant reward would include one marshmallow and if they were to wait the child would be given two marshmallows. The males would choose to have the instant prize knowing that if they waited longer they would have gotten a bigger prize more often compared to females. It showed clear signs of ADHD as the males had more signs of attention problems and overactive behavior.

By analyzing the speed of the reactions performed and how the differences in temperature impacted them, we were able to conclude that the higher the temperature at which the reaction is conducted, the faster the reaction time, and the lower the activation energy. The previously calculated rate of the reaction helped us calculate K, and after converting the temperature to kelvin, we were able to graph the -Ea/R to show the activation energy. The increase in temperature would explain the decrease in activation energy because the higher the temperature, the lower the magnitude of the bond energy. This means that the bonds are more likely to break faster because they are weaker than they would be at cooler temperatures. This experiment was successful in explaining the connection between the temperature that a reaction is run at and the amount of activation energy needed to start the reaction.

In experiment 3, we were asked to take different volumes of H₂O, ~0.5M H2C2O4 and  ~0.02M KMnO4. We ran three different experiments with three different volume combinations using the burette to mix the solutions. We then timed how long it took for the solution to change color depending on the volume of each solution. After doing each experiment with three trials, we were able to find the relationship between volume concentration by calculating the rate.

Between the moving from the crude product to the recrystallized product, there is a 50% loss product. This could potentially be improved because it shows that product was lost during the recrystallization process. Acetone as a solvent could be used to increase the percent yield. A solvent that has a higher boiling point would allow the product more time to cool and more time to recrystalize. Ethanol has an even higher boiling point than acetone and could also be used as a better solvent for recrystallization.

This science may not be grounded in reality but I just saw something about the walking dead pop up on snapchat and it got me thinking. I mean the walking dead is supposed to take place over years. There is no way that zombies would still be around, they are dead so there is no cell division and no bodily up keep. Just the weather alone would cause the zombies to just dissolve. If not environmental factors the zombies walking and bumping into things that cause cuts would add up. That one cut would grow and grow until it completely separates the zombie. Then we can think about the bacterial cells that would be invading the zombies. These cells would degrade the rotting flesh and cause the zombies to diminish at an even faster rate. Another zombie scenario is in world war z. Zombies travel into the sea and live at the bottom of the ocean. There is just absolutely no way that these could even be remotely possible. The pressure alone would cause the zombies to pancake and I would imagine that the salt water would degrade their flesh. Also all the animals in the ocean that would pick away at them because they couldn’t react quick enough.

Located in the drainage basin of the Amazon River,  the Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest (“The Amazon Basin Forest”, n.d.). It is mostly a lowlands forest with some mountainous areas, and it has more biodiversity than any other single area on the planet. It is hot, humid, and very damp (Butler, 2017), and although some areas have a “rainy” season and a “dry” season, there is rainfall year round, often created by the rainforest itself from the large amounts of transpiration and moisture from the rainfall which add to the local humidity and form cloud cover (Butler, 2017). The Amazon rainforest is stratified and is primarily evergreen, with huge trees that have smooth trunks and widespread roots (“Amazon Forest Ecology”, n.d.). Most rainforest life is congregated in the canopy, a dense ceiling of closely spaced branches and trees 25-30 m off the ground that is constantly abuzz with activity. Above the canopy are the few emergent trees that can reach up to 60 m, while below in the sub-canopy are the trees that grow towards the light openings in the canopy, and in the understory below that are the small trees and shrubs that are adapted to low-light conditions (“Amazon Forest Ecology”, n.d.). The bottom layer is the forest floor,  full of tree trunks, fungi, and low-growing vegetation (Butler, 2012), and it is here, deep in the rainforest, that Mycospondylus mesanyctus spends its days. Named for the mushroom-like growths on its back, the “moon” on its forehead, its blue-black coloration, and its nocturnal lifestyle, Mycospondylus mesanyctus—the Mushroom-Spined Midnight cat—is commonly known as the “Midnight Cat”.

Sanguivory is a challenging food source: it is mostly liquid which can overwhelm the kidneys and bladder, it contains a lot of protein, there is a risk of it carrying blood-borne pathogens, etc. To cope with these challenges, vampire bats have evolved microbiomes that are highly specialized to face these challenges. Although the common vampire bat has a gut microbiome that is taxonomically more similar to insectivorous and carnivorous bats than to frugivorous (fruit-eating) bats, and although insectivorous, carnivorous, and frugivorous bats all have similarly functioning gut microbiomes, vampire bats have gut microbiomes that are unique. A study on “Hologenomic adaptations underlying the evolution of sanguivory in the common vampire bat” (Mendoza et al. 2018) suggests that the function of the microbiome may be influenced more by phylogeny than taxonomy, and that the vampire bat’s gut microbiome is specialized for its highly specific diet.