Dissections
Overview
Over the course of three weeks, my class dissected many different animals from each animal phyla. The dissections helped us learn about the anatomy of each organism and how their bodies function. They also helped us visualize how different animal phyla are related through evolution. Below are my findings:
Sponge Lab (Porifera)-
There are three types of sponge skeletons: organic filaments, calcareous laminae, siliceous spicule, and calcareous spicule. Porifera are both asexual and sexual for reproduction, like Annelids, but they cannot reproduce alone. Also, they do most of the body's function through diffusion. Instead, their body's rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen. Diffusion also removes wastes. The shapes of their bodies are adapted to maximize the efficiency of the water flow, and that is why they do not have symmetry.
Different sub groups:
Porifera are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores to be able to circulate water to obtain food and oxygen and to dispose of waste. The major subphylums in this phyla are Calcarea, Hexactinellida, Demos, and Homoscleromorpha. Sponges are multicellular, and heterotrophic, and they lack cell walls. Most species in this phyla feed on bacteria. They can also feed on small crustaceans.
Ecology:
Sponges live mostly in salt water along reefs or other warm water areas Sponges can also survive in arctic waters. How much light a sponge gets determines its color as well as the type of sponge. Sponges reproduce by either being asexual and creating “Buds” or by releasing sperm into the water which is absorbed by another sponge. Sponges eat by pumping water through themselves and extracting the nutrients.
Jellyfish Lab (Cnidarian)-
In this lab, we focused more on investigating and observing the jelly fish that dissecting it. First, we looked at it with a naked eye. Then, we put the fish in a petri dish and looked at it through a microscope, so that we could see closer. It especially was really interesting how the jellyfish ate and killed it's prey. Because they have an extracellular digestive track, their mouth serves as both in and out for waste and food. Also, Cnidaria have radical symmetry, which makes them on the lower side of the complexity scale.
Different Subgroups:
Cnidarian is a phylum that is mostly found in aquatic and marine environments. The major subphylums are Medusozoa, Medusozoa, Cubozoa, Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, Staurozoa, Polypodiozoa. Sponges are most similar to the phylum Porifera, but Jellyfish are more complicated. Cnidarians have two main cell layers, and they have sensory organs, unlike sponges. Jellyfish have radial symmetry, and they have no brain or central nervous system.
Ecology:
Jellyfish are found in every ocean, from the surface to the deep sea. They have multiple species but they all fall into one species class, Cnidarian. Jellyfish are exclusively marine, but some do live in freshwater. Jellyfish have roamed the seas for 500 million years. They are the oldest living multi-organ animal. Jellyfish are carnivorous, feeding on plankton, crustaceans, fish eggs, small fish and other jellyfish, ingesting and voiding through the same hole in the middle of the bell.
Squid Lab (Mollusca)-
The phyla Mollusca are bilateral, like humans, and they have some of the first present day kidneys to filter out the toxins from the body. They are known as the largest marine phyla, and they include Aplacophora, Bivalvia, Cephalopoda, Polyplacophora, Gastropoda, Monoplacophora, Pleistomollusca, Polyplacophora, Rostroconchia, Scaphopoda, and Incertae Sedis. They have a significant cavity used for breathing and excretion, and a single muscle "foot" for holding onto surfaces.
Different groups in this phyla:
Squid are in the class cephalopoda(cephalopod). They have over 300 different species in their class. Like the others, squid have bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. they have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer tentacles that help them eat and catch food. The other animals in the class, octopus, cuttlefish, etc, have the same type of structure of the squid. Most aren’t as aggressive as the squid but they still have the same attitude. Their subclass is Coleoidea.
Ecology:
Squids are important to the oceanic food chain because lots of people fish for squid and whale and birds eat them to. Squids are multiplying very rapidly. This is thought to be from the dramatic decrease in fish. Squids are thought to live for only about five years and the females can sometimes produce thousands of eggs at a time.
Earthworm Lab (Annelids)-
The complexity of the worm compared to the jellyfish, squid, and the sponge is amazing. The earth worm has only several organs that do a minimum range of tasks, unlike the jellyfish. In the squid, they have a number of organs that is much harder to count, and their main body's structure are more complex. Also, the overall body plan of the sponge is more specific and complex, and it completes a larger number of tasks that the earth worm. However, the simple body plan of annelids helps to enable extraordinary efficiency in food transfer, where the other phyla is noticeably slower.
Different groups in this phyla:
The annelids are a large phyla including ragworms, Earthworms, and leeches. Animals in this group have bilateral symmetry, triploblastic, coelomate, and are invertebrate organisms. Many of the species have both male and female reproduction organs, letting them mate with any other animal in their species.
Ecology:
Earthworms can live in a couple of different ecosystems . The three main ones are compost (epigeic), topsoil (endogeic), and deep soil (anecic). Earthworms are very sensitive to the temperature and moisture of the soil around them so they change their depth and material according to the season. Earthworms can be decimated by chemicals in the soil so they are often killed off near farms.
Grasshopper Lab (Arthropoda)-
This lab was very interesting to me. As a kid, I loved insects, but I had never looked closely at one. This lab let me investigate the grasshopper, and learn much more about how insects' digestive system worked. It surprised me that the grasshopper has a complete system going straight down the body that looks so simple, and it works. It looked very similar to the earth worm's main set up because the both work down the line and it's really easy to follow. It's also a very interesting phyla, because the different species classified in it can have book lungs, gills, or spiracles.
Different groups in this phyla:
Grasshoppers are insects of the order Orthoptera, suborder Caelifera. In the class of insecta, the orthoptera class has two brackets, there are the grasshoppers (caelifera) and crickets (ensifera). The grasshopper branches off into many other sub-branches. Acrididae is the lowest part of the caelifera side of the branch. The kingdom is the one everyone can remember, animalia; meaning animal.
Ecology:
Grasshoppers lay their eggs in late summer and over winter they incubate in the soil. The grasshoppers prefer warm weather because it helps with their survival. Sometimes a bacterial disease is contracted when the weather is warm and humid this cause the grasshopper to climb to a high point and die.Grasshoppers eat leaves and only leaves. They are strict herbivores.
Perch Lab (Chordata)-
Questions
1. Describe the general body shape of the perch. In what way does the body show adaptions for life in the water?
The perch has a streamline body that helps it propel through the water, as well as segmented muscles that propel it side to side. All of these functions facilitate locomotion. The adaptations of the perch
2. What could be one function of the gill rakers?
The gill rakers are meant to filter out gunk going into the gills.
4. Describe the scales of the perch. Which direction do they face? What is the advantage of the gills?
The fins face toward the anus to be able to shoot through the water faster with as much resistance.
5. How many nostrils does the perch have? How are they different from your nostrils?
Perches have two nostrils, and they are different than ours because they sense without breathing in the water.
6. What characteristics can you observe in the gills that make them an efficient respiratory organ?
The characteristics in the gills that make them an efficient respiratory organ are that it is fairly small, to fit easily in the body, but make well so that they will continue to be effective.
7. Describe the lateral line. What is the function of the lateral line of the perch?
The lateral line on a perch allows it to detect vibrations caused by predators that threaten it and want to eat it, but also the food it wants to eat. It acts as a sensory organ that is very important for the perch's survival.
1. While many invertebrates have an exoskeleton, vertebrates such as fishes have an endoskeleton. Of what advantage is the exoskeleton to these animals?
The advantage of an endoskeleton is less weight for the fish to swim with, and the fact that this way, the skeleton can grow with the fish.
2. The perch fertilizes its eggs externally and leaves them exposed on rocks. The guppy fertilizes its eggs internally and gives birth to live young. Which fish produces fewer eggs? Compare the survival rate of these two species.
The perch would produce more eggs to ensure that enough eggs survive to continue the species, but the guppy giving live birth has a bigger percentage of survival rate.
3. The perch possesses a gas-filled structure called a swim bladder. What is the function of the swim bladder?
The swim bladder either inflates or deflates with gases to make the fish rise or sink in the water.
4. Certain fish that live deep in the ocean have chemicals in their skin that make the luminescent. What advantage is this characteristic to these fish?
The characteristic of luminescence makes the fish able to see better deep in the ocean, brightening things up, and letting the fish be able to detect predators faster.
Different groups within the phyla:
The phylum Chordata includes the subphyla Vertebrata, which has mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. About half of the phyla Chordata is made up of bony fish, and humans are apart of this phylum. Some subdivisions are Craniata, Tunicata, and Cephalochordata. Each phyla has bilateral symmetry, and the vertebrates display segmentation.
Ecology:
The perch live in water mostly small ponds and streams. They prefer areas with plenty of water vegetation for hiding. The perch often school together in deep water and at dawn and dusk come to shallow areas to feed. Perch mate and lay eggs in spring often attaching them to underwater vegetation or sticks. Young perch eat mostly algae and plankton when they grow they begin to eat aquatic insects and other small animals. Perches predators include pretty much anything bigger than them that is aquatic and carnivorous.
Frog Lab:
Different groups within each phylum:
Frogs are classified into the amphibians group. They go from tadpoles and throughout time they grow different limbs and grow in size, from about an inch to 3 inches in the largest state of tadpole living. They are classified into the family Chordate. Chordates are any animal that possesses a notochord, hollow dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, an endostyle, and a post-anal tail for at least some period of their life cycles. The phylum includes vertebrata, which has mammals, amphibians, fish, and reptiles. This includes humans. Chordates have bilateral symmetry and usually display segmentation.
Frog Ecology:
The frogs usually live near a stream or small river. They are able to go from aquatic to land animals whenever they want. However they lay their eggs in the water because the tadpoles need water around them to go from tadpole to baby frog.The frog's skin is able to absorb oxygen through it so that it can breathe underneath the water.
Pictures
Overview
Over the course of three weeks, my class dissected many different animals from each animal phyla. The dissections helped us learn about the anatomy of each organism and how their bodies function. They also helped us visualize how different animal phyla are related through evolution. Below are my findings:
Sponge Lab (Porifera)-
There are three types of sponge skeletons: organic filaments, calcareous laminae, siliceous spicule, and calcareous spicule. Porifera are both asexual and sexual for reproduction, like Annelids, but they cannot reproduce alone. Also, they do most of the body's function through diffusion. Instead, their body's rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen. Diffusion also removes wastes. The shapes of their bodies are adapted to maximize the efficiency of the water flow, and that is why they do not have symmetry.
Different sub groups:
Porifera are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores to be able to circulate water to obtain food and oxygen and to dispose of waste. The major subphylums in this phyla are Calcarea, Hexactinellida, Demos, and Homoscleromorpha. Sponges are multicellular, and heterotrophic, and they lack cell walls. Most species in this phyla feed on bacteria. They can also feed on small crustaceans.
Ecology:
Sponges live mostly in salt water along reefs or other warm water areas Sponges can also survive in arctic waters. How much light a sponge gets determines its color as well as the type of sponge. Sponges reproduce by either being asexual and creating “Buds” or by releasing sperm into the water which is absorbed by another sponge. Sponges eat by pumping water through themselves and extracting the nutrients.
Jellyfish Lab (Cnidarian)-
In this lab, we focused more on investigating and observing the jelly fish that dissecting it. First, we looked at it with a naked eye. Then, we put the fish in a petri dish and looked at it through a microscope, so that we could see closer. It especially was really interesting how the jellyfish ate and killed it's prey. Because they have an extracellular digestive track, their mouth serves as both in and out for waste and food. Also, Cnidaria have radical symmetry, which makes them on the lower side of the complexity scale.
Different Subgroups:
Cnidarian is a phylum that is mostly found in aquatic and marine environments. The major subphylums are Medusozoa, Medusozoa, Cubozoa, Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, Staurozoa, Polypodiozoa. Sponges are most similar to the phylum Porifera, but Jellyfish are more complicated. Cnidarians have two main cell layers, and they have sensory organs, unlike sponges. Jellyfish have radial symmetry, and they have no brain or central nervous system.
Ecology:
Jellyfish are found in every ocean, from the surface to the deep sea. They have multiple species but they all fall into one species class, Cnidarian. Jellyfish are exclusively marine, but some do live in freshwater. Jellyfish have roamed the seas for 500 million years. They are the oldest living multi-organ animal. Jellyfish are carnivorous, feeding on plankton, crustaceans, fish eggs, small fish and other jellyfish, ingesting and voiding through the same hole in the middle of the bell.
Squid Lab (Mollusca)-
The phyla Mollusca are bilateral, like humans, and they have some of the first present day kidneys to filter out the toxins from the body. They are known as the largest marine phyla, and they include Aplacophora, Bivalvia, Cephalopoda, Polyplacophora, Gastropoda, Monoplacophora, Pleistomollusca, Polyplacophora, Rostroconchia, Scaphopoda, and Incertae Sedis. They have a significant cavity used for breathing and excretion, and a single muscle "foot" for holding onto surfaces.
Different groups in this phyla:
Squid are in the class cephalopoda(cephalopod). They have over 300 different species in their class. Like the others, squid have bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. they have eight arms arranged in pairs and two, usually longer tentacles that help them eat and catch food. The other animals in the class, octopus, cuttlefish, etc, have the same type of structure of the squid. Most aren’t as aggressive as the squid but they still have the same attitude. Their subclass is Coleoidea.
Ecology:
Squids are important to the oceanic food chain because lots of people fish for squid and whale and birds eat them to. Squids are multiplying very rapidly. This is thought to be from the dramatic decrease in fish. Squids are thought to live for only about five years and the females can sometimes produce thousands of eggs at a time.
Earthworm Lab (Annelids)-
The complexity of the worm compared to the jellyfish, squid, and the sponge is amazing. The earth worm has only several organs that do a minimum range of tasks, unlike the jellyfish. In the squid, they have a number of organs that is much harder to count, and their main body's structure are more complex. Also, the overall body plan of the sponge is more specific and complex, and it completes a larger number of tasks that the earth worm. However, the simple body plan of annelids helps to enable extraordinary efficiency in food transfer, where the other phyla is noticeably slower.
Different groups in this phyla:
The annelids are a large phyla including ragworms, Earthworms, and leeches. Animals in this group have bilateral symmetry, triploblastic, coelomate, and are invertebrate organisms. Many of the species have both male and female reproduction organs, letting them mate with any other animal in their species.
Ecology:
Earthworms can live in a couple of different ecosystems . The three main ones are compost (epigeic), topsoil (endogeic), and deep soil (anecic). Earthworms are very sensitive to the temperature and moisture of the soil around them so they change their depth and material according to the season. Earthworms can be decimated by chemicals in the soil so they are often killed off near farms.
Grasshopper Lab (Arthropoda)-
This lab was very interesting to me. As a kid, I loved insects, but I had never looked closely at one. This lab let me investigate the grasshopper, and learn much more about how insects' digestive system worked. It surprised me that the grasshopper has a complete system going straight down the body that looks so simple, and it works. It looked very similar to the earth worm's main set up because the both work down the line and it's really easy to follow. It's also a very interesting phyla, because the different species classified in it can have book lungs, gills, or spiracles.
Different groups in this phyla:
Grasshoppers are insects of the order Orthoptera, suborder Caelifera. In the class of insecta, the orthoptera class has two brackets, there are the grasshoppers (caelifera) and crickets (ensifera). The grasshopper branches off into many other sub-branches. Acrididae is the lowest part of the caelifera side of the branch. The kingdom is the one everyone can remember, animalia; meaning animal.
Ecology:
Grasshoppers lay their eggs in late summer and over winter they incubate in the soil. The grasshoppers prefer warm weather because it helps with their survival. Sometimes a bacterial disease is contracted when the weather is warm and humid this cause the grasshopper to climb to a high point and die.Grasshoppers eat leaves and only leaves. They are strict herbivores.
Perch Lab (Chordata)-
Questions
1. Describe the general body shape of the perch. In what way does the body show adaptions for life in the water?
The perch has a streamline body that helps it propel through the water, as well as segmented muscles that propel it side to side. All of these functions facilitate locomotion. The adaptations of the perch
2. What could be one function of the gill rakers?
The gill rakers are meant to filter out gunk going into the gills.
4. Describe the scales of the perch. Which direction do they face? What is the advantage of the gills?
The fins face toward the anus to be able to shoot through the water faster with as much resistance.
5. How many nostrils does the perch have? How are they different from your nostrils?
Perches have two nostrils, and they are different than ours because they sense without breathing in the water.
6. What characteristics can you observe in the gills that make them an efficient respiratory organ?
The characteristics in the gills that make them an efficient respiratory organ are that it is fairly small, to fit easily in the body, but make well so that they will continue to be effective.
7. Describe the lateral line. What is the function of the lateral line of the perch?
The lateral line on a perch allows it to detect vibrations caused by predators that threaten it and want to eat it, but also the food it wants to eat. It acts as a sensory organ that is very important for the perch's survival.
1. While many invertebrates have an exoskeleton, vertebrates such as fishes have an endoskeleton. Of what advantage is the exoskeleton to these animals?
The advantage of an endoskeleton is less weight for the fish to swim with, and the fact that this way, the skeleton can grow with the fish.
2. The perch fertilizes its eggs externally and leaves them exposed on rocks. The guppy fertilizes its eggs internally and gives birth to live young. Which fish produces fewer eggs? Compare the survival rate of these two species.
The perch would produce more eggs to ensure that enough eggs survive to continue the species, but the guppy giving live birth has a bigger percentage of survival rate.
3. The perch possesses a gas-filled structure called a swim bladder. What is the function of the swim bladder?
The swim bladder either inflates or deflates with gases to make the fish rise or sink in the water.
4. Certain fish that live deep in the ocean have chemicals in their skin that make the luminescent. What advantage is this characteristic to these fish?
The characteristic of luminescence makes the fish able to see better deep in the ocean, brightening things up, and letting the fish be able to detect predators faster.
Different groups within the phyla:
The phylum Chordata includes the subphyla Vertebrata, which has mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. About half of the phyla Chordata is made up of bony fish, and humans are apart of this phylum. Some subdivisions are Craniata, Tunicata, and Cephalochordata. Each phyla has bilateral symmetry, and the vertebrates display segmentation.
Ecology:
The perch live in water mostly small ponds and streams. They prefer areas with plenty of water vegetation for hiding. The perch often school together in deep water and at dawn and dusk come to shallow areas to feed. Perch mate and lay eggs in spring often attaching them to underwater vegetation or sticks. Young perch eat mostly algae and plankton when they grow they begin to eat aquatic insects and other small animals. Perches predators include pretty much anything bigger than them that is aquatic and carnivorous.
Frog Lab:
Different groups within each phylum:
Frogs are classified into the amphibians group. They go from tadpoles and throughout time they grow different limbs and grow in size, from about an inch to 3 inches in the largest state of tadpole living. They are classified into the family Chordate. Chordates are any animal that possesses a notochord, hollow dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, an endostyle, and a post-anal tail for at least some period of their life cycles. The phylum includes vertebrata, which has mammals, amphibians, fish, and reptiles. This includes humans. Chordates have bilateral symmetry and usually display segmentation.
Frog Ecology:
The frogs usually live near a stream or small river. They are able to go from aquatic to land animals whenever they want. However they lay their eggs in the water because the tadpoles need water around them to go from tadpole to baby frog.The frog's skin is able to absorb oxygen through it so that it can breathe underneath the water.
Pictures