Terrestrial Organism Research Paper

Worksheet to investigate the influence of organismal size and shape on the ratio of surface area to volume.

Some plants and animals have to adapt to the amount of oxygen and visibility underwater. For example, plants have adapted to the amount of sunlight they receive in certain environments, and cattails and water lilies have adapted to be able to survive humid climates. For animals, certain fish like trout have adapted to clear and cool water with a large amount of oxygen. On the other hand, other types of fish, like catfish, are able to survive in an area with a low oxygen level and gloomy visibility. Since otters live on the land surrounding the water, they have adapted to be able to swim to catch their food. Frogs and alligators have adapted to their environment by being able to live on the land after coming from underwater as an egg. Lastly, beavers have adapted to use their teeth to create the dams they live

The author and his colleagues specifically chose to focus on 375 million year old rocks in their search for fossils because this was the time frame that provided fish that would be useful to study from. The 385 million year old rocks provided fish that look too similar to the ones we have now and the 365 million year old rocks have fossils that don’t resemble fish. The 375 million year old rocks, however, provide fossils that show the transition between fish and land living animals.

Adaptations in terrestrial environments involve the structural and functional qualities of the organism, to achieve the adequate intake of oxygen and other essential substances for the animal to survive, the evolution of more complex anatomical structures were required. Gravity is stronger on land than water, which means terrestrial organisms have to be more structural than aquatic organisms. Also, the balance of gas exchange with water loss is a key feature to survive in land. For example plants, when doing photosynthesis require carbon dioxide and water to produce oxygen, at the end of this process a lot of water is lost and terrestrial plants have to compensate the water being lost and the water taken from soil. Furthermore, the dispersal of gametes by wind or other animals have helped plants reproduce in large amounts and create varieties of species of the same kind. Short-term weather patterns as well as long-term climate conditions based on precipitations, temperature, wind, humidity as well as other factors are survival obstacles that organisms in land have to adapt to live; endothermic organisms have to maintain a constant internal

3. What are the major evolutionary trends that developed among major vertebrae groups, specifically those that allowed the transition from aquatic to terrestrial life?

Dallin Ashby, a graduated UF entomology master's student, normally spits crickets with his 11-year-old son Myles Ashby when they participate in BugFest. But this year, his 8-year-old daughter, Eliza Ashby, said she was going to try too.

Fish started to evolve during the Cambrian explosion. Early fish fossil records act for by a small group of fish that are jawless and that have armored scales, which are known as ostracoderms. Jawless fish lineages are mostly extinct. An extant clade, the lampreys may indefinite ancient pre-jawed fish. The first fish with jaws were found in Placoderm fossils. The range of jawed vertebrates may indicate the evolutionary advantage of a jawed mouth. It is not clear if the advantage of a hinged jaw has a stronger biting force, improved respiration, or a combination of

The specific challenges of such a life to animals are food resources and healthy body. To survive, an animal has to ingest and digest foods in order to provide energy for daily activities. Moreover, on the quality aspect of animals’ life, animals have to live healthy without illness.

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

What was the reason you chose to research about this species (topic)? The reason I chose to research about this species was because I thought it was a somewhat rare species that is not really heard from in public or rather often and I feel like I can teach someone about this species and at the same time learn myself further more about this species while I do this research or project as I would call it. A problem that I would say this species faces is that it is becoming extinct because of the small amount of capacity that shelters can only hold for frogs therefore, they are becoming extinct because there is no room for these amphibians to survive in and another problem I would say that that this specie faces is that there isn’t much information as there are to other species

Limulis Polyhemus is the scientific name of the commonly known horseshoe crab. It is one of only four living members of Xiphosura. Being a common inhabitant of shallow waters and soft bottoms such as the beach, it can be found plowing on surface of the sand feeding on invertebrates that are collected from the sediment. This dioecious – dark brow organism is considered to be one of the largest chelicerates, that could reach a maximum length of 60cm. One character that differentiates Limulus from other arthropods, are the absence of antennae.

For example, one way in which their systems differ is in the way they work. Fish use gill irrigation, which is more efficient than the mammal’s system of tidal ventilation. The system must be more efficient due to the viscosity of water, as well as the lower oxygen concentration, which makes it more difficult to ventilate than air. Gill irrigation causes a unidirectional flow, as when they open their mouths water flows in, and when they close them the pressure increases and the water is forced over the gills and out of the operculum. The

Flattened Fauna, the book all about road kill. How could one not be interested in learning more about the flattened animals that litter our roads? I was certainly intrigued by the idea that the study of these very dead animals actually exists. This book contains all sorts of information about flattened fauna such as how to study it, where to study it, why flattened fauna exists, details about the most popular and or dangerous fauna, and of course why it is studied in the first place. The following paragraphs will give a summary of the book Flattened Fauna, what to expect of the book, and how the book relates to furthering ones knowledge of Biology.

woodland was already selected, which was less than 2 miles. The distance to a pasture hayland was also already scored with a 3 for the woodland and old field. The distance to cropland or food plot was already given, the woodland got a 6 and the old field got a 3. Finally, they both got a 6 for percent woodland within a 2 mile wide circle. All of the each individual scores can be seen above in the bullets. The final score for the woodland was a 79 out of a 95. The old field got a 45 out of a 65.

The early Devonian period is largely considered to be a world of a diverse array of lobe-finned fish, including lungfish, coelacanths, and bony fish. Over the course of time, vertebrates made evolutionary strides with provided them with the ability to travel on land. Coelacanths developed a single boned shoulder girdle, lungfish developed paired fins, and sauripterus developed the major structures on the arm (humerus, radius, and ulna). As these developments progressed and environmental pressures were amounting in aquatic environments, vertebrates began to venture onto land. Sometimes it was for short excursions, sometimes a bit longer. A major step in vertebrate evolution was the advancement of the tetrapod, a vertebrate animal with