A Murder of Crows

Look for ways crows show their intelligence.  Enjoy!

How Do Birds Fly?

1. What adaptations do birds have that help them fly?

Magic in the Air

1. Describe how Humming birds have adapted for flight.
2. How have some of the adaptations of humming birds help them adapt to their niche?
3. Which humming bird characteristics were interesting? Why?
4. What is the reason for different hummingbirds having different shaped beaks?
5. Scientists think that humming birds evolved from swifts. What behaviors do they share?

Inside Nature's Giants Monster Python

Watch Inside Nature's Giants - Monster Python.

Be able to compare and contrast the anatomy of a turtle with the anatomy of a snake.

Croc Zilla, The King of Giant Crocodiles

Enjoy Croczilla!
Be prepared to discuss what you learn about crocodilians.

The Thin Green Line

Watch the video: The Thin Green Line and answer the following questions.

1. Why are amphibians important environmentally?  
2. Why are amphibians in trouble?  
3. How are people involved?

Inside Nature's Giants - Great White

Watch the video and answer the following questions:

1. How do great white sharks behave in the wild? 
2. What adaptations do sharks have to survive in the wild? 
3. Describe some of the anatomy of great white sharks that help them to be at the top of the food chain. 
4. Did your perception of sharks change?  
5. Compare how people today feel about sharks to how people felt 30 years ago.

Arthropod Profile

Watch the videos about bug eating and arthropod medicine (8 in all) and then work on this project. This is about to get crazy…have fun!

Objective:

Choose an arthropod that is (or could be) medically important, a food source, or useful in some other way. Create and share (with your teacher) a Google doc, which responds to the following prompts.

Procedure:

1. Research online…

·      Why is it an arthropod? (Think characteristics…)

·      Which subphylum of arthropod does it belong to?

·      What is its ecological niche?

·      Why is it important to people? Be specific!

o   Is it for food, medical, or other use?

o   What exactly would it do?

·      What problems would there be in making it useful?

o   How could it be made available to the majority of people?

o   What taboos would have to be overcome?

·      Include a picture of the animal you chose.

2. Create a Google doc and record what you learned about each of the prompts.

3. Share your Google doc with your teacher

Suggestions:

Arthropods you could choose include…(

Grading:

To get and “A”, you must choose an arthropod which is beyond what we normally use. You must answer all the bulleted prompts. You must create a Google doc and share it with your teacher.

Blue Blood

What is a horseshoe crab? Why is its blood blue? Why are we interested in its use as medicine?

Bee Venom Therapy

What is bee venom therapy? How does it work? What does it treat?

Bee Therapy

What is bee therapy? How does it work? What does it treat?

Maggot Medicine

What is maggot medicine? How does it work?

Fear Factor Eating Stunt

Okay, this one is just for kicks…
Which animal did they eat wasn't an arthropod?

Try Morton Bay Bugs - Food to Eat Before You Die

What are Morton Bay Bugs?
Why is everyone in the video excited about them?

Extreme Eats: Bugs

Why?!?
Why would bug eating be beneficial? How would it look if it was available to everyone?

Man vs Wild - Eating Giant Larva

Brace yourself! 
Why would Bear do this? What did he know about the larva before he did this? Why would eating larva be beneficial?

The Arthropod Story

Click on the link below to investigate "The Arthropod Story." Complete the handout as you work.  Have fun!

The Arthropod Story

World's Scariest Sea Monster

Watch the video and answer the following questions:

1. What class of annelid is the Bobbit Worm?
2. What role does the Bobbit Worm have in it's ecosystem?
3. Have I ruined the going to the beach? Why?

Green Bomber Worms

Watch the video and answer the following questions:

1. What class of annelid is the green bomber worm?
2. Where does it live?
3. How does it defend itself?

The Giant Earthworm

Watch the video and answer the following questions:

1. What class of annelid is the giant earthworm?
2. How big is this earthworm?
3. Where does it live?

10 Little Known Facts About Earthworms

Watch the video and answer the following questions:

1. Did any of the facts confirm something you already knew?
2. Which fact was most surprising? Why?
3. Why are earthworms important?

Elliot's Leech Therapy

Watch the video and answer the following questions:

1. What is leech therapy?
2. How can a leech be beneficial to treating a person? (at least 3 benefits)
3. Would you try this?!?

Kingdom of the Leeches

Watch the video and answer the following:

1. What class of annelid is a leech?
2. What is a leech's role in the ecosystem?
3. Are leeches cute?

Hydra Catches a Water Flea

How does an animal like a hydra catch its food?

Should You Pee on a Jellyfish Sting?

How should you treat a jellyfish sting?

How Dangerous is Box Jelly Venom?

How Does a Sponge Eat?

Why are sponges called filter feeders?

Enjoy the video! but read the caption below too.

Notice that "the clap" spreads just like a population grow.  It starts with one, then doubles, then doubles again.  Hmm…What kind of growth is that?

Wolves - watch the video and answer the prompts

1. What is the problem?
2. Why is is happening?
3. What is its impact?
4. What can be done or is being done?
5. How does it impact society? me?

See the picture below:

Beavers - a Keystone Species

Watch Leave it to Beavers. Answer the following prompts:

A keystone species is a species on which other species in an ecosystem largely depend, such that if it were removed the ecosystem would change drastically.

1. Why is the beaver a keystone species?

2. Why is the beaver an import animal to humans?

3. What would you do to manage beaver populations?

Great Transformations

Watch the video, Great Transformations, and answer the following questions:

1. What are the scientists studying in this video?  What types of evidence are they looking at? (List as many as you can.  This question is ongoing throughout the video.)

2. What evidence supports the evolutionary history of whales? (List as many as you can.  This question is ongoing throughout the video.)

3. What is a transitional form?  What is an example of transitional form?

4. Why are scientists studying spines?

5. Why are scientists interested in different ways animals travel?

6. What evidence can you discuss that shows connections of all living things?  Give specific examples.

7. Give examples of signposts or key species in the “tree of life”.

8. What allowed major events in life history?

Lamarke vs. Darwin Two Theories of Change

I think you will find the following links useful in answering the writing prompts.  The assignment is due Tues 9/1

Evolution writing prompt!

Respond to the following writing prompts.   Be sure to include supporting details.  Be specific.  You need to write between a half a page and a page to answer this.  You may use the textbook CH 4 and/or the internet as a resource. 

1. Who would have agreed with the following statement? “Elephants stretched their noses and passed on the long nose trait until their descendants had a long nose called a trunk."
2. Who would have agreed with the following statement?  “Elephants with longer noses were able to survive and have more offspringthan elephants with shorter noses.” 
3. Who would have agreed with the following statement?  “Elephants’ noses have changed over time.”
4. Compare and Contrast Lamarke’s Theory and Darwin’s Theory

Links:

Lamarke

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/history_09

http://necsi.edu/projects/evolution/lamarck/lamarck/lamarck_lamarck.html

Darwin

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/educators/course/session2/explain_c_pop2.html

http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/article/0_0_0/history_14

Whale Kiosk Investigation

Whale Kiosk

Click on the link to the Whale Kiosk and investigate how whales evolved.  Make sure you complete the packet!  

Cells Alive! Interactive Website!

Check out the parts of a cell and how cells work on cells alive!

Lab Safety - Be smart, Be safe

Be smart, be safe.  Always follow lab directions and think before you act.  Enjoy the video!

In the Valley of the Wolves

Answer the following prompts as you watch…

1. How is the social structure of wolves arranged?  
2. What is each wolf’s role?  
3. How do wolves behave? (list and explain specific behaviors – feeding, communication, courtship, territorial, raising young, hunting, etc)
4. Why are wolves important to the community they live in?