Duck Like Essay

Ducks Unlimited is a North American non-profit organization that conserves wetlands and associated habitats for waterfowl, other wildlife and people. Ducks Unlimited was formed during the Great Depression when a group of conservation-minded waterfowlers saw a decrease in waterfowl populations. As an employee of Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC), I have a strong understanding of the company, and I will be analyzing the site of DUC’s sister organization – Ducks Unlimited Inc. (DUI).

There are numerous counts of evidence showing the processes of evolution and how species ultimately evolved over millions of years. One of the most compelling hypotheses behind evolution was presented by Charles Darwin with his study of the Galapagos Islands. His study showing the various different birds and their different evolutions they went through to be able to survive the changes of weather and relocation. The birds he studied had to change in order to survive, or as he simply puts it: “Survival of the Fittest”. Evolution is the changing of past organisms to diversify and have the ability to fit better in their environment and survive. Diving into the dinosaur cladogram, studies have shown that ancient dinosaurs, over hundreds of millions of years ago, evolved into our modern day birds, and not lizards as many suppose. It became apparent that there would not be enough food for a 9 ton dinosaur to consume on a daily basis forever. So evolution occurred and dinosaurs evolved to become more efficient so they could survive more effectively in their

Duck hunting is an absolute passion for me and nothing could possibly interrupt this annual event. For me, sitting out in a duck blind at 5:30 in the morning with the brisk cold air biting at my skin is something I look forward to each and every year. Even having to break through a layer of thin ice to make it out to my blind never gets old. The frigid cold on my hands can get unbearable at times, but the possibility of frostbite is never at the forefront of my thoughts. After all, when the ducks start to fly, nothing can force me off the lake.

There are four main groups of reptiles, known as Crocodilians, Squamates, Tuataras, and Turtles. Crocodilians consists of large reptiles which includes alligators, crocodiles, gharials, and caimans. Squamates are lizards, snakes, and worm-lizards. A worm-lizard is a subterranean burrowing reptile that resembles an earthworm, a legless lizard. Tuataras are a group of reptiles that are lizard-like in appearance but are different from squamates because their skull isn’t jointed. Turtles are the most ancient reptiles alive today. They have changed very little since they first showed up 220 million years ago. The first turtle appeared 220 million years ago.(Laura Klappenbach)

The first chapter of the book discusses the way we can use fossil records to study the biological world. Fossils are one of the major lines of evidence we use to understand ourselves. Surprisingly, we are able to discover them with a high amount of precision and predictability. In particular, field paleontologists have it easier than it has ever been before due to the current information age. The physical hunt for important fossils, however, is much like it has always been. Three factors limiting the number of useful fossil sites include rock age, type (whether or not it can preserve fossils), and number of exposed rocks. So, it takes a bit of luck to reliably find fossils. Thankfully, rock

Birds are closely related to crocodiles because they share the same ancestry with the dinosaurs. To compare the crocodile and lizard, one would think the lizard is closely related to crocodiles, as we read in our text, "similar structures don't always reveal common ancestry." Crocodiles and birds evolved having the same common ancestry as the dinosaur. Lizards, on the other hand, do not share a close common ancestor with crocodiles or dinosaurs, their common ancestry is more distant.

The fossil of Tiktaalik confirmed a major prediction of paleontology as it shows the characteristics

In order to find evidence of the transition from fish to land animals, the author and his colleagues chose to focus on 375 million year old rocks. In 2004, they studied sedimentary rock on Ellesmere Island in Canada’s Arctic as they thought that the rocks there would be exposed and untouched by humans, which would be ideal for fossil excavations. They studied sedimentary rocks (limestone, sandstone, siltstone and shales) because these

The elongated arm bones that support the wing evolved in the first coelurosaur, which probably looked like ornitholestes. As far as we know feathers are unique to birds, but this doesn’t mean that birds are not dinosaurs. Because birds belong to the group called dinosaurs, it follows that birds are feathered dinosaurs. The closest known evolutionary relatives of birds are some of the small carnivorous dinosaurs, such as velociraptor, ornitholestes, and deinonychus. The difference between a Tyrannosaurus Rex and Apatosaurus is that almost everything about Tyrannosaurus Rex indicates enormous power of one of the largest theropod dinosaurs that ever existed. They have a 4-foot-long jaw, 6-inch-long teeth and massive thighbones. It is the largest and most fearsome carnivore of all time. The fossil was originally arranged so that the dinosaur stood

Parrsboro’s very own, local fossil collector Eldon George discovered the world’s smallest dinosaur footprints. They were made by a creature no bigger than a robin. His discovery proved the theory that birds evolved from dinosaurs.

The fossils that are yet to be found in this project just very well may double the museum’s collection which is already at 3.5 million fossils. The project contains 16 fossil deposits that were recently unknown which makes us wonder how many more deposits are there left to discover (The Natural History Foundation, 2016). As technology advances and our understanding of these fossils grows it will be interesting to see what the future years will bring to the field of

At the time, although it was understood that fossils were the hardened remains of dead animals, it was not yet accepted that these animals might be extinct species from hundreds of millions of years ago. So, when Anning showed up with a giant marine reptile fossil (the world’s first Ichthyosaur) it caused quite a stir, because at the time the Bible was widely used for interpreting scientific ideas and religion ruled people’s lives. Hence Anning’s findings encouraged the largely creationist population, to rethink the history of the Earth. Her fossils had helped scientists understand how things

The author and his colleagues chose to focus on 375 million year old rocks in their search for fossils because amphibians that look dissimilar to fish were discovered in 365 million year old rocks, while fish without amphibian characteristics were discovered in 385 million year old rocks. Thus, it is possible that the evolutionary intermediary, or the “missing link” between fish and amphibians, would be discovered in 375 million year old rocks, between the two time periods. The rocks examined were sedimentary in composition, as the gradual and relatively gentle formation of sedimentary rock under conditions of mild pressure and low heat are conducive to the fossilization of animal remains. Sedimentary rock is also often formed in rivers and seas, where animals are likely to live. This site provides a resource that describes means by which fossils are formed and how the fossil record may be interpreted, and shows some examples of fossils demonstrating evolution through geological periods: http://www.fossilmuseum.net/fossilrecord.htm. In 2004, Shubin and his colleagues were looking for fossils on Ellesmere Island, in northern Canada. This location was chosen because of its lack of human development, as well as of obstructing natural formations and life forms such as trees, which

In the science of paleontology, the history of life is studied. Paleontologists study fossils to learn the past ecologies, evolution, and the origins of humans. In order to understand the processes that have led to both the origination and destruction of organisms since life began, paleontologists incorporate both scientific knowledge and studies. Fossil findings are critically important for confirming predictions of evolution theory. Of the many discoveries that are made yearly to add depth to the understanding of evolution, an example is a recent discovery of a creature they named Tiktaalik. The Tiktaalik was uncovered to be a transitional animal between shallow-water fishes and limbed animals. The creature supports the idea that it emerged from both mammals and reptiles, suggesting that the two are related. These findings support prediction of evolution, contradicting the belief that God

Disregarding the feathers of Longisquama, and therefore disregarding its link to Archaeopteryx, these scientists still fully support the dinosaur-bird link. As mentioned before, the extreme majority of paleontologists still subscribe to this idea. A recent discovery in the western region of China seems to clarify the link between dinosaurs and birds. Living at roughly the same time as Archaeopteryx, Sinovenator changii is very closely related to the bird yet is classified as a dinosaur.5