Virtual Ecology

Population genetics
There are many factors that affect the genetics of a population. Some factors include selection, migration, mutation, mating, genotype frequencies, and the environment. In the simulation with fish, mutation caused more diversity within the population. Population genetics is also affected by the carrying capacity, birth rates, and death rates of the population.

Population ecology
The most important thing about population is population size. This is most useful when dealing with endangered species. Finding the exact number of a population is extremely difficult, so scientists estimate the amount. Population grows logistically.

Community ecology
There is often competition in an ecosystem. In the Barnacle simulation, one type of barnacle could grow in a wider range in depth but could be outcompeted. Another type of barnacle was limited to only a specific water depth, yet they were strong competitors. In the other simulation, I saw how different species could survive better depending on predators, the environment, etc.

Behavioral ecology
Animals behave differently depending on their environment. In Bee Foraging, environmental conditions were modified to see how the bees would react to it. It affected total nectar collected and the rate of nectar collection. Predators of a species also affects the prey's hunting/foraging schedule.

Conservation ecology
Pesticides are indirectly affecting animals that associate with those pests. It kills food for the animal's survival and can cause the animals to have defects. Individuals exploiting a common resource will lead to the overexploitation of that material. By having a species over the carrying capacity, it affects the environment and economic systems.

Biodiversity
Biodiversity depends on the environment, island size, distance from mainland, habitat type, and species type. Biodiversity also comes from mutations and natural selection. In the simulation, when the fish went down the stream, they were separated. This spreads a species to other parts of the world.

Evoblog Ch. 17

     The land will come together again. The environment will cause many animals to evolve to be able to survive in the environment better. The middle of the giant stretch of land will be a desert. Many of the animals will become bigger in size, the the turtle. The fish will be able to go out of the water. The squid will be able to swing from the trees. Also, scientists predict that snails will be able to hop to move, instead of crawl.

Ch. 16 Blog

How does natural selection work on polygenic traits?

Natural selection depends on the bell curve when working with polygenic traits. It relies on directional selection, disruptive selection, and stabilizing selection. Individuals at the higher part of the bell curve have a higher chance of surviving, growing, and reproducing. Thus, they are the ones who pass on their superior fitness and traits.

Evolution Weblab: Phylogeny

Life is related by common ancestors. Species may not look the same. That is because over millions of years, evolution occurs. Throughout the years, characteristics of a species can appear or disappear. For example, I may not look like my ancestors 100 generations ago.

In this weblab I learned about how life is related. The relationship of organisms can be shown by using a cladogram. There were files that explained to me how it worked.

Rating: 8/10. I already learned everything that was mentioned. It was not very captivating.

Evolution Weblab: Dating

Carbon dating is when scientists use the decay of carbon-14 to find out how materials are. It was a technique developed by Willard F. Libby. In this weblab I learned about radioactive decay. I learned about how scientists can use the decay of carbon-14 to date artifacts. I learned this by answering questions in the weblab.

Rating: 6/10. It was educational but it was extremely boring. There was a lot to read and a lot of multiple choice questions.

Evolution Weblab: Geologic Time

4,600 mya: Earth forms --> 545 mya: hard shell mollusks appear --> ~360mya: Pangaea was created --> 300 mya: Earliest reptiles --> 248 mya: mass extinction --> 240 mya: dinosaurs appear --> ~225 mya: Pangaea breaks up --> 200 mya: mammals appear --> 150 mya: birds start to fly --> 65 mya: dinosaurs go extinct --> 1.8 mya: Ice age --> 190,000 years ago: first humans

     In this activity, I learned about the history of the Earth and the organisms that inhabit it. The Earth is 4,600 million years old. There were many animals in the past that evolved into the animals that live today. I learned this by looking at a timeline of the events on Earth millions of years ago.

Rating: 10/10. It was informative and there were nice pictures.

Evolution Weblab: Sex and the Single Guppy

       In this lab I learned about how guppies are able to reproduce. Even though they are very bright and attract predators, they also attract mates. There was a simulation that demonstrated what would happen under certain circumstances. The population depended on the color of the guppies, how many there were, how many predators there were, and the environment. There is a good and a bad side to male guppies being very colorful.

Rating: 9/10. The weblab was informative. It did what it was supposed to do and educated me on the evolution of guppies.

Evolution Weblab: Geologic Time

Lucy: Lucy had long, strong, dangling arms for climbing trees. Her iliac blades curved to form a pelvis basin. It supported her internal organs and upperbody, which allowed her to walk upright. She had a small birth canal, but large pelvis. She was about 3.5 feet tall. She lived 3.2 million years ago.

Hadar skull: The organism has a heavy brow ridge and a forward-jutting face. It has large canine teeth. Lucy and the first family are similar since they have similar jaws, teeth, and braincases. This organism lived 3 million years ago.

 

Laetoli footprints: It moved on two feet. The weight was first on the heel, then the outside foot, and then the ball and toe. This organism lived 3.6 years ago.

 

 

First family: The first family has toe bones that don't curve toward the heel. The males were much bigger than the females. There was a wide range in height and heft. They had canines and large front teeth. They had big toes. There was an arch between the ball and heel in the foot. Lucy and the Hadar skull could be similar. They lived 3.2 years ago.

 

All of these bones/artifacts are most likely similar species.

 

     I learned about the fossils and artifacts found. According to the traits of them, scientists concluded that they are all related in some way.

 

Rating: 8/10. Although this was educational, it was very plain and boring. I was tired of just reading it. It should have some interactive activities, not just reading.

 

 

 

Evolution Weblab: Biology in Motion

      In this weblab, I learned about natural selection. 20 blue creatures were used to demonstrate natural selection. First, the site gave me some insight on the basics of natural selection. Natural selection occurs because of the struggle for existence, individual variation in the phenotype, inheritance, the fact that some phenotypes are better adapted, and the fact that adaptations evolve. Then I proceeded to the little experiment. The creatures with longer hands were more capable of catching the food, reproducing, and surviving. At the end of the simulation, those with longer hands on their hands dominated the population.

Rating: 10/10. This weblab answered all of my questions about natural selection. The simulation was also clever. It allowed me to understand the concept easily.

Diamante Poem

Evolution WebLab: Exploring Evolution

      In this Weblab, I explored how people can find the ancestors of another animal. I studied fossils, bone structure, and DNA. I compared how a whale's bone structure, fossil, and DNA compared to other types of animals. Then I solved the mystery of what kind of animal whales evolved from. I learned that people can find the ancestors of animals. They can do this through studying and comparing DNA, bone structure, and fossils. For example, whales have similar DNA to artiodactyls.

Rating: 10/10. The Weblab was informative and it helped me to stay active. It wasn't all just boring reading and clicking. I had to solve the mystery for myself. It was easy to follow.

Evolution WebLab: Natural Selection

       In the blog, I was able to play around with the species' traits and the population. Then, the weblab would give me an estimate on what would happen to the population and its traits over a few months or years. With the flutter bugs, I learned that the color can increase survivability. If a predator is more attracted to bright colors, overtime the species will change to another color. Also, the population depends on the predator. Finches' beak sizes are dependent on how much precipitation there is. Overtime, animals will blend into their surroundings to increase their survivability, like the mice. When the barnyard was painted yellow, many of them were born with yellow fur.

Rating: 9.5/10. This WebLab was very informative. However, I'm not sure if it is the app or the computer, but it was very laggy. It took very long to go on to the next page.

Evoblog: Conversation between Mendel, Darwin, and Lamarck

Mendel: Did you guys know that the trait of an offspring is determined by its parents' alleles?

Darwin: Yes, however I noticed that throughout the ages, there have been changes in the offspring of species.

Lamarck: That is because over time, species change because of the environment.

Mendel: How does the environment affect traits?

Lamarck: Organisms might have to inherit specific traits to survive in a certain environment. For example, a carnivorous bird will need a sharp, curved beak to tear raw meat while a bird with a sharp, pointed beak can catch insects.

Darwin: This is related to natural selection. If an organism is in an environment where they don't need a certain trait, the trait will gradually fade away.

Mendel: It must take a long time for dominant traits to fade away, since when offspring inherit traits, they have a higher chance of taking the dominant allele from both parents.

Lamarck: Well, the trait doesn't always have to come from ancestors. Any traits that an organism picks up during its lifetime will be passed down.

Darwin: This is how new traits form!

Evoblog: Extinction

If extinction is a natural event should we try to save endangered species?

Yes, we should try to save the endangered species. Most species are endangered because of us, so it is not exactly natural. Also, we could benefit from saving species. They could help to increase our knowledge. The species could also be useful to the environment. They could be responsible for doing something and when extinct, the world will not be at equilibrium. I think the main cause of many species becoming extinct is because we are destroying their habitat, so instead of trying to kill them we must save them.

Evoblog: Creationism in schools

Should creationism be taught in schools?

Yes, creationism should be taught in schools. Even though it opposes science, it can make people more open-minded. The children learning about creationism shouldn't be forced to believe or accept it. They should just be aware of all the theories and possibilities of how the world was created. Then, the children will have a choice to believe in either science or creationism.

Evoblog: Paleontologist

Paleontologists

Paleontologists find the fossils of animals or other organisms and identify facts about the fossils using scientific technology. They sometimes also study evolutionary biology.

Education and training: Typically, you need a Ph.D. in paleontology. You need a strong educational background in natural sciences, geology, and biology. You also need skills in statistical analysis and computers. Voluntary or paid fieldwork is suggested to gain experience.

Average salary: In Canada, the average salary of a paleontologist is $66,900. In the U.S., the average salary is $82,500.

References: http://www.academicinvest.com/science-careers/geology-careers/how-to-become-a-paleontologist

Blog 9: Letter to News Editor

Write a letter from you to the editor of a newspaper about why you do or do not support bioengineering. Pick something specific like GMOs and support your position.

Dear News Editor, 

       I support bioengineering. Bioengineering is used to produce many goods, like crops. It gives foods traits that ultimately benefit our society. A few examples would be making food more nutritious, making crops grow faster, and making the food resistant to disease, pest, and the weather. Many countries do not consider GMOs as safe, and ban them. However, the U.S. government allows GMOs to be sold based on studies. Without bioengineering, food might not be as plentiful. Bioengineering makes our lives easier. 

                                                                                        Sincerely,
                                                                                                Cynthia Au

Blog 8: Letter to Mendel

Write a letter from you to Gregor Mendel explaining how the structure of DNA explains his genetic discoveries of "factors" and P1 and F1.

Dear Gregor Mendel,

The structure of DNA explains your discoveries of factors and P1 and F1. DNA is in the form of a double-helix. Each nucleotide pairs with its partner nucleotide: A with T, and C with G. Both strands of the DNA carry the same genetic information because of this. DNA replication duplicates the genetic information by having the strand split into two and then copying each strand. The genes are carried in the chromosomes. When two parents produce an offspring, the offspring genetic information is a combination of both parents'.

Sincerely,
Cynthia Au

Blog 7

Write about a genetic disease that runs in your family.

Type 2 Diabetes runs in my family.

Symptoms:
Tiredness, increased urination, thirst, weight loss, blurred vision, frequent infections, slow wound healing, asymptomatic

Treatment:
Sometimes gastric surgery, lifestyle/medication treatment for remission, physical exercise, healthy weight loss, diet control

Genetics:
You can inherit a predisposition to the disease. Usually something in the environment will trigger it. Obesity tends to run in the family and they have similar eating/exercising habits.

Reference:
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Type_1_Diabetes_vs_Type_2_Diabetes
http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/genetics-of-diabetes.html

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Blog 6

Write an explanation of dominant and recessive alleles.

     The alleles determine what trait the organism has. A gene typically has 2 alleles. They are categorized into dominant and recessive alleles.
     The dominant allele is represented with a capital letter, for example, B. It produces the same phenotype whether its paired allele is identical or different. For example, if the phenotype of an organism is BB or Bb, it will have the trait of the dominant allele.
     The recessive allele is represented with a lower case letter, for example, b. It produces the same phenotype only when it is paired with another recessive allele. If an organism has phenotype bb, it will have the trait of the recessive allele.

Blog 5

If animals were capable of regeneration, how would it affect the ecosystem?

If animals were able to regenerate, the ecosystem would not be at equilibrium. There would be too many animals in the world if they couldn't die easily. The world would be overrun by animals. When there are too many animals, there wouldn't be enough food and resources to feed them all. This would lead to no more plants and starvation for every species, except for those who are carnivorous. They would have plentiful of food. There would be more prey than predators, rather than an equal amount.

Gattaca

Do you think a community like Gattaca is good or bad? Why?

        A community like Gattaca is bad because it is discrimination. Although someone's genes can predict diseases that are at high risk, genes usually do not prevent people from doing what "normal" people do. Someone with "bad" genes has as much potential as someone with "good" genes. It is a matter of effort, not genes! Genetic discrimination is as unethical as any other type of discrimination and racism. Just like with racism, even though the colored people were looked down upon, they have proven in society that they have the ability to do what white people can do. With genes, it should not matter if someone has an increased risk of a type of disease.

Ch. 10: Reproduction

Define reproduction.

        The formal definition of reproduction is the process of producing again. In science, reproduction is when a male's sperm fertilizes a female's egg to make a baby. Two haploid cells join together to make a zygote. The nuclei of both cells fuse and join both of the parents' genetic information. This creates genetic diversity. The baby's traits depend on both parents. There could be many possibilities because there could be many genes that affect one trait. In a gene, there is a dominant and recessive allele. Usually, a Punnett square is used to predict the outcome of the trait in the baby.

Should we be able to know our genomes?

Should we be able to know our genomes?

        We should be able to know our genomes because it could help with finding problems in our body. When we know our genomes, we could easily detect any problems or disease that we have. Knowledge about our genomes could also be used to predict any diseases that we might have in the future, along with medication that we should not take. Genomes could also allow us to find out about our ancestry. In the long term, genome sequencing could assist us in understanding how mutations cause or influence disease.

Career: Genetic Counseling

 Genetic Counseling

Education and Training:

To become a genetic counselor, you must obtain a Master's degree in Genetic Counseling from an ACGC Accredited program. After all the requirements are met, you must apply for the Certification Exam. Then you have to apply to get into a training program. Training involves coursework, clinical experiences, research opportunities, and internships.

Salary:

Genetic counselors typically earn $49,038-$92,349 annually.

1-4 years experience: $48,778 - $71,789

5+ years experience:  $48,892 and $79,182

References:

http://education-portal.com/articles/Genetic_Counseling_Jobs_Salaries_Duties_and_Requirements.html

http://genetics.emory.edu/gc_training/

http://www.abgc.net/Certification/become_a_genetic_counselor.asp