Monday, October 13, 2008

Extra Credit assignment... Mini project #6




A bioterrorism attack is the deliberate release of viruses, bacteria, or other germs (agents) used to cause illness or death in people, animals, or plants. These agents are typically found in nature, but it is possible that they could be changed to increase their ability to cause disease, make them resistant to current medicines, or to increase their ability to be spread into the environment. Biological agents can be spread through the air, through water, or in food.
The government is working on developing a system that would alert officials in case there is a bioterrorism attack in the country.
Terrorists may use biological agents because they can be extremely difficult to detect and do not cause illness for several hours to several days. Some bioterrorism agents, like the smallpox virus, can be spread from person to person

Turtles...





Soft Shell Turtle
Trionychidae is a taxomic family which comprises a number of turtle genera commonly known as soft-shell turtles. It consists of some of the world's largest fresh water turtles, though many can adapt to living in highly brackish areas. Members of this family occur in Africa, Asia, North America, and the East Indies.
They are called "soft shelled" because their carapace lacks horny scutes (scales), though the Spiny Softshell Turtle, Apalone spinifera, does have some scale-like projections, hence its name. The carapace is leathery and pliable, particularly at the sides. The central part of the carapace has a layer of solid bone beneath it, as in other turtles, but this is absent at the outer edges. Some species also have dermal bones in the plastron, but these are not attached to the bones of the shell. The light and flexible shell of these turtles allows them to move more easily in open water, or in muddy lake bottoms

Mud Turtle
Mud turtle is the common name given to two genera of aquatic turtles: Kinosternon, mud turtles found in North and South America, and Pelusios, mud turtles found in Africa. Some species are kept as pets.
Mud turtles are known for their dull shell colors and relation to the smelly musk turtles. African and American mud turtles are very different and are not closely related. Their only similarities are in their choice of habitat, both preferring shallow, slow moving bodies of water with muddy bottoms, and having a dome shaped carapace. They can grow up to about 5 inches. They live up to 50 years of age.

Texas Box Turtle
Box Turtles (genus Terrapene) can be distinguished from other native Texas turtles by having a single hinge at the front of the lower shell (plastron), allowing them to fold it up and closing the front of the shell entirely; thus the common name of "box turtle." Box turtles also have a hooked upper jaw ("beak") that is lacking in other Texas turtles. The only other land turtle in Texas is the Texas Tortoise; it lacks any hinges on the plastron, has a head entirely covered with scales rather than having skin, and has a very rough upper shell (carapace). Male box turtles have red eyes (females yellow or golden), a longer tail with a thick base (females shorter and thinner), and a somewhat concave plastron (females have a flat one).

Snake Neck Turtle
The Roti Island Snake-necked Turtle (Chelodina mccordi) is an extremely threatened turtle species from Rote Island southwest of Timor between New Guinea and Australia. It belongs to the genus Chelodina (Australian snake-necked turtles) within the family of Side-necked turtles (Chelidae)The Roti Island Snake-necked turtle was split from the New Guinea Snake-necked Turtle and regarded as distinct species in 1994 after Dr. Anders Rhodin, director of the Chelonian Research Foundation in Lunenburg (Massachusetts), find out that there are differences between the two species. The first snake-necked turtles on Roti Island were discovered in 1891 by George Albert Boulenger. It was named for Dr. William McCord, a vetenary and turtle expert from Hopewell Junction, New York. The carapace can reach a length between 18 and 24 centimetres. The length of the neck is similar. The color of the carapace is pale grey brown. Occasionally there are also specimens which have a chestnut coloured hue. The plastron is pale buff white. The neck is dark brown on the upperparts with round tubercles. The underparts are beige white. The iris is black surrounded by a white ring. Its habitat are swamps, rice terraces, and small lakes.


Red Footed Turtle
Common Names: Sometimes also called red foot (or redfoot), redleg, or Savanna tortoises. There is a slightly smaller variety called the Cherry-head as well.
Life Span: Red footed tortoises live up to 50 years, possibly longer.
Size: Red footed tortoises often reach a length of 10-14 inches, although they can be larger (16 inches or more). A slightly smaller "dwarf" variety is also being sold, commonly called the cherry-head that only attains a length of 10 - 12 inches as an adult. They can reach weights up to 30 pounds.
Reference: wikipedia

Darwin's Theory of Evolution...




Darwin's Theory of Evolution is the widely held notion that all life is related and has descended from a common ancestor: the birds and the bananas, the fishes and the flowers all related. Darwin's general theory presumes the development of life from non-life and stresses a purely naturalistic "descent with modification". That is, complex creatures evolve from more simplistic ancestors naturally over time. In a nutshell, as random genetic mutations occur within an organism's genetic code, the beneficial mutations are preserved because they aid survival -- a process known as "natural selection." These beneficial mutations are passed on to the next generation. Over time, beneficial mutations accumulate and the result is an entirely different organism.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Mini project #5

Superfund

The Superfund program was created by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA). The acts established authority for the government to respond to the release/threat of release of hazardous wastes, including cleanup and enforcement actions. Long term cleanups at National Priority List (NPL) sites last more than a year while short term /emergency cleanups are usually completed in less than a year. Our Federal Facilities Program monitors and provides assistance to federal facilities in Region 4 to ensure compliance with environmental regulations and policies under CERCLA. The Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, under the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response provides the policy, guidance and direction for our knowledge managment programs.The Superfund and Federal Facilities Restoration programs are helping state and local governments all over the Southeast region realize significant real estate and development opportunities by assisting in cleaning up Superfund sites for reuse through our land revitalization effort. We are collaborating with our state and local partners to help restore land and watersheds that have been contaminated, deforested and eroded by mining in the past.The nearest superfund site to me is a facility at the Homestead Air Force Base located in Homestead, FL.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Mini project #4




Genetically modified (GM) foods are foods produced from genetically modified organisms (GMO) that have had their DNA altered through genetic engineering. GM foods were first put on the market in the early 1990s. The most common modified foods are derived from plants: soybean, corn, canola, and cotton seed oil. (Wikipedia)Here is a list of GM products along with its non-GM products:http://www.truefoodnow.org/shoppersguide/guide_printable.html

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Mini project #3





Alligator, American ( Alligator mississippiensis)
Bankclimber, purple ( Elliptoideus sloatianus)
Bat, gray ( Myotis grisescens)
Butterfly, Schaus swallowtail ( Heraclides aristodemus ponceanus)
Caracara, Audubon's crested (FL pop.) ( Polyborus plancus audubonii)
Crane, whooping [XN] ( Grus americana)
Crocodile, American ( Crocodylus acutus)
Darter, Okaloosa ( Etheostoma okaloosae)
Deer, Key ( Odocoileus virginianus clavium)
Eagle, bald (lower 48 States) ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
Jay, Florida scrub ( Aphelocoma coerulescens)
Kite, Everglade snail (FL pop.) ( Rostrhamus sociabilis plumbeus)
Manatee, West Indian ( Trichechus manatus)
Moccasinshell, Gulf ( Medionidus penicillatus)
Moccasinshell, Ochlockonee ( Medionidus simpsonianus)
Mouse, Anastasia Island beach ( Peromyscus polionotus phasma)
Mouse, Choctawhatchee beach ( Peromyscus polionotus allophrys)
Mouse, Key Largo cotton ( Peromyscus gossypinus allapaticola)
Mouse, Perdido Key beach ( Peromyscus polionotus trissyllepsis)
Mouse, southeastern beach ( Peromyscus polionotus niveiventris)
Mouse, St. Andrew beach ( Peromyscus polionotus peninsularis)
Panther, Florida ( Puma concolor coryi)
Pigtoe, oval ( Pleurobema pyriforme)
Plover, piping (except Great Lakes watershed) ( Charadrius melodus)
Pocketbook, shinyrayed ( Lampsilis subangulata)
Puma (FL) ( Puma concolor)
Rabbit, Lower Keys marsh ( Sylvilagus palustris hefneri)
Rice rat (lower FL Keys) ( Oryzomys palustris natator)
Salamander, flatwoods ( Ambystoma cingulatum)
Sea turtle, green (FL, Mexico nesting pops.) ( Chelonia mydas)
Sea turtle, green (except where endangered) ( Chelonia mydas)
Sea turtle, hawksbill ( Eretmochelys imbricata)
Sea turtle, Kemp's ridley ( Lepidochelys kempii)
Sea turtle, leatherback ( Dermochelys coriacea)
Sea turtle, loggerhead ( Caretta caretta)
Seal, Caribbean monk ( Monachus tropicalis)
Shrimp, Squirrel Chimney Cave ( Palaemonetes cummingi)
Skink, bluetail mole ( Eumeces egregius lividus)
Skink, sand ( Neoseps reynoldsi)
Slabshell, Chipola ( Elliptio chipolaensis)
Snail, Stock Island tree ( Orthalicus reses)
Snake, Atlantic salt marsh ( Nerodia clarkii taeniata)
Snake, eastern indigo ( Drymarchon corais couperi)
Sparrow, Cape Sable seaside ( Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis)
Sparrow, Florida grasshopper ( Ammodramus savannarum floridanus)
Stork, wood (AL, FL, GA, SC) ( Mycteria americana)
Sturgeon, Gulf ( Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi)
Sturgeon, shortnose ( Acipenser brevirostrum)
Tern, roseate (Western Hemisphere except NE U.S.) ( Sterna dougallii dougallii)
Three-ridge, fat ( Amblema neislerii)
Vole, Florida salt marsh ( Microtus pennsylvanicus dukecampbelli)
Whale, finback ( Balaenoptera physalus)
Whale, humpback ( Megaptera novaeangliae)
Whale, right ( Balaena glacialis)
Woodpecker, red-cockaded ( Picoides borealis)
Woodrat, Key Largo ( Neotoma floridana smalli)

Thursday, September 11, 2008

Mini project #2




The Carbon Cycle is defined as the biochemical cycle in which carbon is exchanged through the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere of the Earth. Above is a simplified diagram of how the carbon is exchanged and how the carbon cycle works as a whole.Carbon is abundant in ocean and sedimentary rock. As soon as the carbon reaches the water, it precipitates and forms calcium carbonate. Through this process corals and algae build up limestone reefs. The built up reefs give creatures a suitable environment for which they live in. Also this gives way for future respiration allowing future exchanges for carbon.Through photosynthesis, plants convert carbon dioxide into carbohydrates which either liberated into the atmosphere or is consumed by animals or decomposed into the soil for future exchanges.The impact that humans have on the carbon cycle is that humans simply just throw off the entire cycle. By burning fossil fuels, humans release far more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere then the environment naturally releases. This means more demand for plants to convert through photosynthesis. When the demand is not satisfied, there is excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which allows more energy from the sun to reach Earth, but a reduction in how much is released back into space, thus causing global warming.