Blog Question 7/31

Hi all,

I hope you enjoy this last week of lab, and I hope you have learned a lot!

For this week, please read this article: http://www.popsci.com/sunfish-species-bizarre

Answer the following questions:

1. Why do you think the sunfish looks the way it does? Why did it evolve to look the way it does? How does it's appearance and features help it live and survive? Take a guess.

2. Why and how do you think new species appear?

3. What do you think the sunfish's future looks like in terms of survival?

Wildebeest Questions Ethan Weed

How do the drowned wildebeest contribute to the ecosystem?

It is estimated that roughly 0.7% of the wildebeest population dies due to drowning when attempting to cross rivers and other bodies of water. Once their bodies collect alongside rivers, organisms such a vultures consume the meat off of the bodies bones. Vultures are scavengers, and often eat other organisms that have already died. Not only that, but it has been found that fish also consume the decaying wildebeest, making up about 50% of their diet. Decaying wildebeest are vital to providing their ecosystem both food and nutrients.

What conclusions could be made and what are the greater implications of these findings?

Through examining and collecting data on how dead wildebeest effect their ecosystem, researchers now have a better understanding of the impact that they actually have. The research collected goes to show that every organism within an ecosystem plays a role in providing things such as food. These organisms are capable of both providing to the ecosystem when they are alive and also dead.

Wildebeest

Every year in the Serengeti, hundreds of thousands of wildebeest migrate through the Mara River. As they stop to feed and rest, the environment and its various inhabitants take the lives of around 6500 of these animals. When the rest of the herd moves on, the dead carcasses of the wildebeest continue to contribute to the rich Serengeti ecosystem.

The bodies initially provide food for the other animals in the environment. They make up 50% of the local fish diet, feed crocodiles, and attract scavengers such as vultures. As they decay, they release essential nutrients such as phosphorous, nitrogen, and carbon into the environment. According to the Science article by Elizabeth Pennisi, "Annually, the bodies add about 13 tons of phosphorus, 25 tons of nitrogen, and 107 tons of carbon to the ecosystem in half a dozen pulses that each last about a month." Even the bones, which take up to seven years to decay, sustain microbes that in turn feed fish and other river- dwelling creatures.

These effects are essential to maintaining the Mara River ecosystem. What may seem like nothing more than a dismal mass death actually provides vitality and fosters growth throughout the river and the surrounding environment. Studying how the large-scale wildebeest deaths affect this specific ecosystem is very important. “The [wildebeest] findings have implications for understanding the ecological role of past and present animal migrations,” says David Janetski, an aquatic ecologist at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Ecosystems are vast, complicated webs of influence and when organisms- even those that may only pass through an environment- decline, everyone is affected. Understanding this is a key to understanding the best preservation and restoration methods.

Blog Post #4: Wildebeest

During their yearly migration, around 6,500 wildebeest drown in river crossings. However, there's some positive to it. They add 13 tons of phosphorus, 25 tons of nitrogen, and 107 tons of carbon back with their decomposition. And by doing that, they are fueling many kinds of plant, animal, and microbial growth. Their bones support a film of microbes that become fish food. And they also feed a lot of animals with their meat. 

One big implication that researchers can't understand the ecological role of past and current animal migrations. However, this does show a good example of how an ecosystem should look. 

I personally would not like to complete this kind of research. You have to really go there and survey the land, doing very dangerous and extensive work. I personally wouldn't want to get to so close to an animal who many kill. I'd prefer to watch videos than see it in real life. 

Wildebeest

During the great migration of the wildebeest, 0.07% drown while crossing the Mara River. The wildebeest that drown have a great impact in the ecosystem by feeding other animals such as crocodiles and 50% of the fish's diet. They produce the 13 ton of phosphorous, 25 tons of nitrogen, and 107 tons of carbon which contains many nutrients for animals and plants.

I would want to do research on a similar phenomenon that involves different animals because this is something that can help us understand what is going on and it can also show that having animals die this way instead of getting hunted by people can have a great impact on the ecosystem. From this I can also learn what animals are benefiting from this and how and where all of the nutrients end up.

Drowning Wildebeest

Drowning Wildebeest 

Sandy Flores

The mass migration of wildebeest is one of the most iconic sights of Africa, but due to river crossings many of this creature has drowned or got eaten by other predators. Even though for this sad event that happens at the river crossings, these deaths have contributed to the ecosystems. Researchers have been trying to find what kind of nutrients does the carcasses provide for the ecosystems. Half of the biomass from the carcass is bones, which takes 7 years to decay. The meat is consumed by vultures and crocodiles giving them nutrients. When the meat is gone and there is only bone, the bones turn into a film of microbes that feeds fishes and other water dwellers. These carcasses has provided 13 tons of Phosphorus, 25 tons of Nitrogen, and 107 tons of Carbon. Even though these deaths are tragic, only 0.7% die from the herd each year. 

This article was very interesting to read because it show the importance of an wildebeest carcass to an ecosystem and how it helps and adapts. Researching a similar phenomenon with in an animal would be very interesting because you can see how this adapts to our ecosystem. Being able to figure out how a certain animal effects one ecosystem would be intriguing to research.    

WIldebeest

Drowned Wildebeest contribute to the ecosystem because the meat eaters, like Crocodiles and Vultures eat off the meat of the Wildebeests. Since it takes at least 7 years for their bones to decay, it grows microbes on them which the fish the water now eat. I would want to research a similar phenomenon because to me, it's very interesting how the ecosystem works and how other factors are able to affect in ways that we wouldn't imagine. We never realize the big impacts that "natural" occurrences have.

The Wildebeest

In their annual mass migration, millions of wildebeest drown in their journey across the water. Despite their fates, researchers have found that their tragedy feeds a number of other creatures that live in the ecosystem around them. From the predators that eat the drowned carcasses of the animal, to the vultures that pick at the leftover meat on their bones, wildebeests serve as significant sources in many animals' diets.

While the phenomenon that occurs is very gruesome and particularly disappointing, it is important to recognize that this is process that happens purely due to nature. In this case, the wildebeest migration has not been meddled with by any humans, and I admire that particular trait. It would be very interesting to find this similar pattern in other ecosystems, possibly ones that occur within the wildlife that is near our homes. Studying the natural patterns that happen in our backyard with animals such as birds or insects would not only give people an understanding of what was happening in the world around us before large houses or buildings were built, it would also help humans to realize their large impact on the organisms' lives. We could acknowledge how our structures disrupted their ecosystems, but at the same time theorize ways to restore the natural patterns and really observe what these organisms need us to stop doing.

Dylan's Wildebeest

Drowned wildebeest contribute greatly to the ecosystem. Their dead bodies are full of nutrients that are very beneficial to many other animals.Their dead bodies float into rivers providing food to many of fish and other water creatures. On land their bodies also act as an organic fertilizer for the landscape. Rotting flesh decomposes into the soil around them. I would research the benefit of having snakes in urban environments. Whenever someone sees a snake in their yard, they want to kill it. Many people don't realize how important having these animals in our world is. If there were no snakes, we would be taken over by rats, likewise, with no dead bodies there wouldn't be any food for other creatures.

The Wildebeests' Noble Sacrifice

    The drowned wildebeest contribute to the Mara River ecosystem long after their death by providing nutrients for countless organisms.  The wildebeest carcass offers a supply of phosphorus, nitrogen, and carbon, which are ingredients needed for the growth of a vast variety of plants, animals and microbes.  The most direct example of these organisms gaining from the wildebeest are the vultures that eat the carcass.  These scavenger birds consume five percent of the nitrogen and another five percent of the carbon from the drowned bodies.  The phosphorus and nitrogen is also absorbed into the stream-bed to act as fertilizer.  Further nutrients are washed down stream to feed other organisms.
    I would like to research a phenomenon that this study reminded me of, which is how roadkill impacts other species in the area, especially the decomposers.  I am curious to see how this man-made issue compares to the natural phenomenon of the mass drowned wildebeest.  I originally thought that this is a completely negative event, however, this article made me think of the issue in a new light of how the bodies could provide nutrients for the environment.
 

Wildebeest

The drowned wildebeest contribute to the ecosystem on many levels. What is clear to the eye is that the meat feed animals such as vultures, storks, crocodiles, and fish. Their decomposition adds large amounts of organic matter being carbon, phosphorous, and nitrogen. These nutrients benefit the ecosystem. The conclusions that could be made are that this annual wildebeest migration and the resulting carnage are vital to the survival of the ecosytstems in the savanna between Kenya and Tanzania. The wildebeest provides such an astonishing amount of both meat and nutrients that it seems the animals in this area rely on their death. 13 tons of phosphorous, 25 tons of nitrogen, 107 tons of carbon, bones, and 10 blue whales' worth of meat is a contribution that is difficult to replace. The greater implications of these findings are that current as well as past mass migrations have a significant impact on the lives of animals and wildlife in the involved areas.

Alice Wildebeest Blog

The drowned wildebeest contribute to the ecosystem in numerous ways. They provide carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus to the energy budget of the Mara River. They also fed many of the marine lives including crocodiles and 50 % of the local fishes. Scientists in this field conclude that the mass carnage of not only the wildebeest but other animals is actually very beneficial to the ecosystem. For example, the wildebeest provide excessive amounts of nutrients while dead salmons add nutrients to the river ecosystems too. Personally, I would not perform a similar experiment because it is unethical to kill animals to benefit the ecosystem. If scientists continue to research this topic, then they will be more convinced that killing off animals is the best way to improve the ecosystem because there are many evidence to support that. However, I believe that scientists should investigate other ways to get nutrients that do not require the mass slaughter of animals.

Blog Question 7/17

Hi lovely Interns!

I hope you're enjoying lab.

For you're next blog post, I want you to read an article about wildebeest. There is also a video associated with the article that you should see as well.

Here is the link: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/06/every-year-thousands-drowned-wildebeest-feed-african-ecosystem

Questions to answer (please answer at least two):

How do the drowned wildebeest contribute to the ecosystem?
What conclusions could be made and what are the greater implications of these findings?
Would you want to study/research a similar phenomenon involving different animals? Why or why not?

Blogpost #3- Jasmine Jones

This article was pretty interesting. It talks about how scientists still aren't sure about what caused the dinosaurs (and other animals and plants) to go extinct. I find it interesting how no one is 100% sure of what caused it. Some say a tsunami, a volcanic eruption, etc. They are getting closer to an answer though. I think what caused the extinction was a mixture of natural events. The article talks about a volcano, a comet/asteroid, and a tsunami. They've found glass in fish gill fossils, a crater, and mercury in the oceans, thus proving multiple theories correct. 

What killed the Dinosaurs?

What I found the most surprising in this article is how people can come up with these theories and have evidence provided to support it. It amazed me how many people can identify when and what is happening. For instance, in the article they were able to identify that there was an tsunami or when there was the “Inescapable night” that lasted for years. I would find it impossible to know that there was darkness for years a long time ago. Of course it takes a lot of research and experience but it amazes what humans can do and identify.

There are many theories that shows what might have killed the Dinosaurs but I would not be able to know which one is correct because each has their own evidence that support it and makes sense in their own way. However, the one that I have not heard of was the years of darkness on earth. Who knows if it was maybe something completely different from what many say.

Week Three

This week marks the end of week three of the internship. After reading the article, I learned quite a bit. I have been working with specimens from the late Cretaceous period, and had some backround on the organisms that lived durring that period when reading the article. It is common knowledge that the most accepted theory on how the dinosaurs died is by an asteroid impacting the earths surface. I always believed that the force of the impact is what killed the dinosaurs. However, it is. elieved that the dust that came up after the impact is what actually killed the organisms that were currently living. The dust in the air did many things, incliding make it impossible for plants to photosynthesize. This resulted in 3/4 plant species dying, leaving no food sources for animals like dinosaurs.

The article also taught me that an extraterrestrial body such as an asteroid wasn't the only potential ending to the mass extinction. Researchers have also theorized that there may have been a series of volcanic erruptions where modern day India is. It is important that researchers and scientists continue to develop technologies to more effectively solidify theories on how the dinosaurs met their ending.

Alice Li What Killed The Dinosaurs Blog

What I find most surprising about this article is the numerous explanations for the extinction of dinosaurs. There is this one popular theory that the dinosaurs are killed off by asteroids, and there is evidence to support that. For example, there is the discovery of iridium that is found in asteroids and the hidden crater. These are concrete evidence to support the theory, but then scientists suggested this other theory that got me thinking. Can asteroids actually kill off an entire species of animals in one shot? This is when I start thinking that the second argument is reasonable. It is possible for dinosaurs to die off during the "darkness" period when no light shone for two years, and the temperature dropped to an unacceptable degree. It is possible in this case for dinosaurs to slowly die off because they are not well-adapted to this new environment. This is the case for many animals today too. For example, if penguins were suddenly placed in a hot environment, then they will fail to survive too. Therefore, I believe that the asteroid and the darkness theory can be combined to accurately interpret the extinction of dinosaurs.

Who Killed the Dinosaurs?

   After reading the article, "What Killed the Dinosaurs?", what stuck out to me the most was the line, "Life may have already been in trouble." Right after I read that line, the first thing that popped into my head was "that sounds interesting, I want to know more." The first thing taught about the dinosaurs when you're a little kid is that, the dinosaurs went extinct because of a massive volcano eruption. Back then people did try to argue and say a meteor hit the Earth and killed them but those ideas were always dismissed. Learning later on in late middle school years, that in fact a meteor actually did hit the Earth and killed them was astonishing for someone who has always been curious about the dinosaurs. Now being a little bit older, I still have that curiosity and hearing that the dinosaurs were in trouble before the meteor perked up my ears a little bit. A supervolcano erupted releasing molten rock and gases. These things could have acidified the ocean causing the eco-system to be all messed up.

Based on the article, what is said to have killed the dinosaurs is a huge meteor that was ten billion times stronger then the atomic bomb that was landed on Hiroshima, a volcanism or the possibility of both.  I believe its a mixture of both, because a good point that was brought up was even though the meteor was a very strong one, it really wouldn't have affected the Earth "globally' so there had to be something else. The volcano and the meteor could of most definitely together could of took the dinosaurs out completely.  

What Killed the Dinosaurs?

Based on the background knowledge I already have and the new information presented in the article, I believe that the severity of the mass extinction that killed the dinosaurs was due to both the Chicxulub impact and the Deccan volcanic eruptions. I made this conclusion for a few reasons. First of all, with all of the new information the article mentions, it is hard to ignore the effects of the Deccan eruptions. Mercury residue shows the expansive range of the lava flow, and deteriorated fossil shells from marine organisms prove that the eruptions dangerously increased ocean acidity. However, these volcanoes had been erupting for tens of thousands of years before the Chicxulub impact, and although they most likely did cause some extinctions, there is no fossil record that shows as devastating of an annihilation as the K-Pg boundary. Also, across the globe in the Hell Creek foundation, there is no evidence that the Deccan eruptions were directly affecting life at all. However, this ecosystem was absolutely devastated by the Chicxulub impact, and the tsunamis and debris that followed. Fish, dinosaurs, and other organisms were alive and well right up until the impact occurred.When the impact did occur, a chain of detrimental effects such as the release of dust into the atmosphere, earthquakes, tsunamis, ocean acidification, deforestation, and debris buildup all directly affected life on Earth, whether immediately or after some time.

The Chicxulub impact threw the Earth into two years of utter darkness, and species died. The planet cooled, and species died. The impact caused earthquakes, tsunamis, and dust to clog the air, and species died. The impact flung carbon into the air, the planet warmed, and species died. It is an unavoidable fact that the Deccan eruptions, no matter how destructive they were, couldn't have directly caused such an enormous mass extinction on their own. They may have contributed to the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and started a trend of extinction before the asteroid hit, however. For these reasons, the Deccan eruptions and the Chicxulub asteroid impact both contributed to the mass extinction marked by the K-Pg boundary.


Besides coming to the aforementioned conclusion, I thought that the most surprising thing in the article was the mention of carbon dioxide and ocean acidification, which contributed to species loss way back in the time of the dinosaurs. This is interesting because we are seeing almost the same exact occurrence play out before our eyes right now. Our oceans are warming and becoming more acidic due to the release of CO2 into the atmosphere, and the fossil records we see are evidence of how destructive this can be. These fossils act as a scientific and historic warning about what can happen to our world if we let the trend of global warming continue. I found this to be very interesting, surprising, and important.

How I make a difference

In my internship, I clean and organize microfossils that came from an expedition from Ellen Thomas somewhere around 1980's. What I do is important because, when the mud is finally off the fossils, people can now study them and be able to tell what time period the fossils came from and what the climate was around that time. My PI is a new mother right now, so I haven't been able to talk to her about the work I'm doing, but I know it's very important since Ellen Thomas, the person's whose forams we are cleaning told us that we were part of a big help.

Why did the Dinosaurs Die?

Well, According to Article,  Scientists have discovered the creator that was left by an asteroid about 66 Mya in what we know today as Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. Now that there is some evidence this could be proof that this was a possibility. However, there is also much more evidence that suggests that there were multiple events that caused the Dinosaurs to go extinct and vanish. Another strongly debated point is that a tsunami swept across parts of western Noth American. I also believe that this is a valid argument.

One thing that stood out to me in this article was the fact that almost every possible way the Dinosaurs could have died that they mentioned in the article could be true. I never knew that there were some many possibilities and factors that could have contributed to their death. Indeed I mist say that the Dinosaurs have it rough. Especially having to live in 2 years of darkness. Just imagine not seeing the sun for two years, I'm sure the Earth would be a much darker place. Both physically and emotionally.

My personal theory on why the Dinosaurs went extinct is very different and a very knew theory. In addition to all of the geological factors that may have caused them to die off, have there been any studies that suggest a biological phenomenon happened. I understand that this would be very complicated to study because most of the things that were living are now dead. However, what if the Dinosaurs became subjective to some type of plague or virus die to the rapidly changing environment. There is a strong possibility that Dinosaurs became the only reliable host for bacteria and viruses to live in since most of the trees died during the 2 dark years. As we have seen in science history, microorganism are nothing to play with and the could make a drastic change on a population. 

Overall, I feel that there is plenty of time for more of this research to take place and hopefully one day we will have a definite answer.

What Killed the Dinosaurs?

Overall, I saw this as a very interesting article that asked me to think about an event that I do not really think about as much. The article stated the extinction of the dinosaurs to be a 'mass murder', and I found that to be a simple, yet thought provoking way to put it.

A part that struck my interest was in the very beginning when Sumner states, "Life may already have been in trouble." This sentence interested me because in the widespread argument of what killed the dinosaurs the spectrum stretches as far as scientific proof and extends out to religious roots as well. It is easy to forget that while scientists and scholars search for evidence to support their hypotheses, life happened around the dinosaurs either way. This simple statement caused me to think about the nature around the creatures that impacted their ecosystems and survival. Changing temperatures are effects of nature that they could not have avoided. Sumner continues by explaining how the oceans were acidifying and the life that thrived in those conditions could have already been dying even before the mass extinction happened. In another section, he also mentions the lack of sunlight and the effects that it could have has on its wildlife—these are both circumstances that dinosaurs could not avoid.

While I learned about many of the efforts that scientists have taken to explain this event, I have also been brought to understand that with whatever did cause dinosaurs to go extinct, life around them was still happening, and that is an explanation in itself.

What Killed the Dinosaurs?

What I found the most surprising about this article is that there is a possibility that mass extinction took place before an asteroid impact. For the most part, I've only been acquainted with the well-known theory that an asteroid impact caused devastation that wiped out most species. This is the first time I've heard about the gradual acidifying of the oceans doing this same thing. I believe a combination of the two theories killed the dinosaurs. There is overwhelming evidence that Chicxulub caused widespread extinction in North America and possibly South America, as well as overwhelming evidence that the Deccan eruptions caused this in Europe and elsewhere. At this point, it is impossible to rule out either event as the culprit. Something that stood out to me is the sentence that stated that the Alvarez duo "discover[ed] lots of iridium in places worldwide". This being such a crucial pointer to the Chicxulub theory, I would have expected a more specific explanation rather than such a general statement that lacks exact amounts and places.

What Killed the Big Lizards?

The most surprising thing to me is the facts that this whole story of the dinosaurs dying keeps on changing. Some scientists claim that climate changes killed off the dinosaurs. Others say that there was a massive eruption. And of course, there is the rock that fell to Earth and killed off the dinosaurs. Now there is evidence of a cooling period that killed the dinosaurs. The heat didn't kill the beasts, it was the cool down that killed off the beasts. I find that very unusual because that big impact didn't kill the beasts, that big impact caused the earth to shut down and go blank causing the temps to cool. This was what really killed off those beasts. The meteor impact was the first stage in the extinction of the dinosaurs, but the cool down really did away with the dinosaurs. I could believe this thought. The only question I have is what happens to is? What will wipe us away?

What Killed the Dinosaurs? - Sandy Flores

What Killed The Dinosaurs?

Sandy Flores

I believe that many natural disasters were beginning to form and that is what main source of what killed them off. This article focuses on some other theories of how dinosaurs could have been killed off. Many of these theories that Sumner explained was based on different natural disasters. It seemed more focus on the volcanic explosion that could have happened. In this article, I didn't find a lot of things surprising because dinosaurs lived on a planet where man made disasters weren't created yet. Natural causes is the only way the population of dinosaurs can be affected. It could have been a matter of time for dinosaurs to be wiped off the planet. I found this article pretty interesting because it includes information and theories on how the dinosaurs could have been wiped off the planet.

Blog Question 7/10

Hello all,

I hope you had a great week!

For this week, please read the article here called "What Killed the Dinosaurs:"  https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/dinosaurs-extinction-asteroid-eruptions-doom

In your blog, please answer the questions below:

What did you find most surprising and why?
What do you think killed off the Dinosaurs and why?
Feel free to talk about anything else that stood out to you!

Alondra :)

Importance of what I am doing

I am working at West Campus in Vertebrate Zoology and what we are doing is moving specimens from old cabinets to new ones. By doing this I am helping them for the future in making these specimens much easier to access and get information from. We are also making them in alphabetical order which makes things much easier when trying to find them. Something else we are doing is cleaning the specimens. There are specimens that are filled with bugs and others that are very dusty and what we are doing is cleaning them for they can last longer and be useful in the future when they are needed to identify or help with something. I may not be doing research with my PI to figure out things at the moment but helping my PI preserve the specimens that have been there for years will help many for future research.

Week Two

This past week marks down the second week of my invertebrate/vertebrate paleontology internship. While I have learned many skills both in and out of the lab, it is important for me to also remember that my work for the collections is contributing to a "bigger picture".

The work that I am doing alongside my partner Jasmine is vital for many reasons. The main focus of our job is to contribute to digitizing specimens from the late Cretaceous period. By providing an easily accessible platform for researcher and students alike to find specimens that may help them, then they can more effectively conduct research. Museum collections can tell us so much. For example, by looking at a fossil that lived in a certain time period, we can find out things about the past world such as climate. By obtaining this information, we can then compare it to today's climate, and make scientifically supported predictions about how climate change will effect us.

All of this would not be possible if museums like the Peabody didn't properly preserve specimens and make them accessible for research.

Botany Collection

In my internship, we have been doing cataloging with the specimens that are collected from different places. This helps scientists use these plants as part of an experiment and the evidence they get is based on the cataloging we have been doing. We have conserved, mounted plants, and we have been data basing them. I have found out that these steps are important to getting the bigger pictures. These collections provide so much information for us to expand on, such as, Dr. Sweeney's research question. His question question has to do with plant systematic, which is the taxonomy of plants. He is mainly focusing on the evolution of plants and since the prehistoric times. A way Juhi and I help him is by doing these processes so he can see how evolution affected plants.

Plant Systematics, Collections, and Me

A major concept that Dr. Sweeney focuses on in the research he does, and collections that he manages, is plant systematics. While the concept of 'systematics' has its roots in biology, it can also be applied to plants. Plant systematics refers to the classification of plants. Researchers can use certain similarities between species to answer questions about their evolution and how it has adapted to the Earth's ever changing climate. In Dr. Sweeney's research on Vibernum (shrubs) and Mangosteens, he works with others to answer how these species have adapted to their changing locations and the new climates that they are introduced to. 

When I think about my contribution in this internship, or even to the Herbarium, I think about the small steps that have to be taken before getting to the 'big picture'. From conserving specimens, to mounting them for the collection, to adding information in an online database that has information for over 3,000 specimens-- I have come to realize that these tasks that I am given contribute to a collection that contains plant specimens that are used by researchers globally. Without completing them, researchers would not have a way to specify certain traits that they need to confirm about a specimen that they found. 

Iron Sucrose and Its relevance to Society.

Tyler (my mentor) and I are working on a micro molecule called Iron Sucrose. Since the project is somewhat "Top secret" due to the patient research we are doing, it is hard for me to go into vivid detail. However, I know that the significance of our research is to help the company we are working with to develop a generic form of Iron Sucrose. This will allow paitintits that need to use the product an alternative for a cheaper price. In our research process so far, we have used a Transmission Electron Microscope to see how well the agglomeration of the Iron Sucrose. This data will help us determine weather or not the generic can be put on the market and used for pharmaceutical purposes.

Blogpost #2: Jasmine Jones

Recently Ethan, Kyndall, Carina, and I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Chris Norris give a talk about how the work we do is important. Currently Ethan and I are cataloging, labeling, photographing, and scanning specimen in both vertebrate and invertebrate paleontology. 

In the past researchers had to travel or mail specimen from museum to museum to be able to see what they had. This was a long process that both limited researchers ability to conduct research and (when mailing) didn't guarantee the specimen would be returned. Then the internet got big and someone had the great idea of putting specimen on the internet, which is where we come in. By creating a way for people to view what the Peabody (and other museums) had online, then a lot more people could see each specimen. So the scanning and photographing that Ethan and I do are important because we help people see what is in the Peabody collections without having to drive here.

There used to be a virus going around called the 'No Name Virus'. It was one that people in the South-Western corner of the U.S. got. It was a big one that closely related to one found during the Korean War. No one knew where it was coming from, but with it relating to the Korean War, people started suggesting government foul play. Then mice became the focus of science and people started looking for dry mouse skins in museum collections. Scientists looked for these skins because you could extract their DNA. And thus scientists found out that people got it by breathing in deer mouse feces and urine smells. Without updated museum collections, scientists wouldn't have found the cause of this virus.

The Importance of Museum Collections

The main responsibility of my internship involves the moving of thousands of museum specimens from old storage cabinets to new cabinets. While doing this, I have learned a lot about the importance of collections, why they need to be taken care of, and how they can make a difference in the scientific community.

Museum collections help researchers to examine species' morphology, and observe patterns over time. One of the ways they do this is through species re-assessment. When new species are discovered, specimens need to be reevaluated and the research that has been done with those species' needs to be assessed. Specimens provide genetic data and morphology for for recorded species, which can then be re-assessed and examined to figure out what the new species behaves like/looks like. Having collections accessible and in good condition is essential if this process of re-assessment is to work.

Specimens can also be used to assess the patterns and effects of invasive species. Reconstructing historical species distributions can compare pre- and post- invasion. Stable isotope and/or fatty acid analyses on the collections can also help to compare diets over time and observe trends. Similarly, significant environmental disturbances, regulators, or natural events can be traced through collections, as well as their effects.

Finally, comparing specimens over time can show evolutionary adaptations to changes in climate and urbanization of habitats. This is especially important now, as we take a hard look at how humans and their actions are affecting the natural world.

Having properly labelled, cataloged, and preserved collections is essential if this kind of important and fascinating work is going to continue. This is why the work that I a doing over the summer is important, and how it connects to the museum and research communities at large.

CRISP Project

Our Research at SCSU

At Southern, I am working with a college student on a fairly simple, but widely used product in almost every home. We are trying to solve a research question not for a P.I, but for a company. The company we are working for designs types of filters for different water sources, like brita filters. We are currently looking at cellulose nano fibers and we are looking at the quality in the fibers. One of the tools we use is a scanning electron microscope. This microscope contains an electron gun that shoots an electron beam. In this way we could see deep within the fibers and get a clear picture of what is going on. On a big picture this simple project actually affects our health on a major scale. The water we drink must be purified of whatever contaminants lay in inside of it. The cleaner the water, the better off the organism drinking it. Our work however, isn't dealing with any live tissue so things like cross contamination, and deadly bacteria isn't a concern to our project. Nevertheless, this project in return helps improve the quality of what we drink everyday and not even realize it! 

Your Blog Question 7/3

Hi all,

I hope you all enjoyed your first week of lab or are looking forward to working in a lab!

For your next blog please think about how the work you are doing is contributing to the bigger picture. Exactly what do you do and why is this important? How does it help solve the question your PI is asking? Are there any other techniques that could be used to solve this question? If you have not yet started lab feel free to talk about a research question you would like to know the answer to. How may you go about solving it?

Let me know if you have any questions! Good luck!

Alondra <3

First Day in Lab

My first day in the lab for vertebrate zoology was June 26, 2017 which is where I met Mel, Caesar (a college student), and my PI. This day consisted of touring the labs where we will be working in and labeling the objects in the old cabinets. However, the lab we will be working in for most of the summer is in West Campus. When we arrived at West campus we started to put labels in a magnetic envelope that were later put on the new cabinets that they got. After doing that we went through all the old cabinets to check if everything had a barcode but if they didn't they would be either printed out or looked for in labels that were printed out before. For the rest of the week we continued doing this and organizing it in alphabetical order.