Mealworms

Stage 1: Exploration and Discovery
Description:

Sight Color Size Shape	Light brown Smooth and Hard Cylindrical
Touch (Texture)	Hard and Smooth
Smell	No smell was detected
Sound	No sound was detected

Stage 2: Testing Ideas

Do mealworms prefer black or white surfaces?

Apparatus and materials used:
- Spoons
- Mealworms - Black and white paper


Hypothesis: They would towards the black surface.
Reason: Our initial idea was that they would move towards the black surface as we thought that they preferred dark area. 

Black	White
1	6

Conclusion:  The mealworms preferred the white surface as compared to the black.
Reason: This could be due to the fact that white absorbs less heat, and they prefer cooler places.
(Also, they moved off the black and white paper and onto the marble table. The possible reasons could be that they either wanted to escape desperately, or they wanted to go on the cool marble table.)      

Stage 3: Preliminary Experiment

Do the mealworms react to light?

Hypothesis: The mealworms would move away from the light.
Reason: Our initial idea was that they would move away from the light as we thought that they preferred a dark area.

Conclusion: They are more sluggish in the dark, and more active when light is introduced. When light is introduced, they would move rapidly away from the light.
This therefore shows that they prefer the dark as they seem more comfortable within it. Therefore, in their natural habitat, they would move away from the light source to presumably find a darker spot to rest in.

Invasive Species

What is an invasive species? 

Invasive species are defined as species that are non-native to the ecosystem under consideration and whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic harm, environmental harm, or harm to human health. Invasive species can be plants, animals, or other organisms (e.g., microbes). Introductions of invasive species are primarily caused by human actions. 

Examples of Invasive Species:

- Asian Carp

Cane Toads

Burmese Python

Kudzu

Killer Bees

Gray Squirrel

Zebra Mussels

Common Name: Zebra Mussel
Scientific Name: Driessenia polymorpha
Classification:

Phylum or Division: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia/Heteroconchia
Order: Veneroida
Family: Dreissenidae
Subfamily: Dreisseninae

Identification: Zebra mussels are found attached to submerged objects such as boat bottoms, dams, and power equipment.  They are the only fresh water mussel found clustered like this.  Adults are about 1 inch long and can reach 2 inches.  They have alternating wavy dark and light bands of green/black/brown and yellow/cream/white respectively.
Original Distribution: Native to the Caspian Sea and Eastern Europe, by the 1830's the zebra mussel had expanded through shipping canals to most of Europe and Britain.

Current Distribution: Throughout the Great Lakes and Ontario and Quebec, Canada.  Down through the Missisippi and all major tributaries like the Ohio and Arkansas Rivers.  Eastward to Minnesota and westward to the Hudson.  Throughout the upper midwest.

Site and Date of Introduction: Introduced in 1985 to the Great Lakes region.

Mode(s) of Introduction: Released by ocean-going ships in infested ballast water.

Reason(s) Why it has Become Established: Zebra mussels thrive in the plankton-rich areas of Lake Erie and St. Clair.  They also are abundant reproducers, with females laying up to 1 million eggs per season, and reaching maturity at about 1 year.

Ecological Role: Zebra mussels filter up to 1 liter of water per day, clearing it of plankton.  They disrupt food chains and crowd out native mussels.

Benefit(s): The water purity is greatly improved.  The clarity in Lake Erie improved from 6-10 feet deep in the 80's to 10-17 feet in the 90's.

Threat(s): Ecological: The mussels severely disrupt food chains.  They remove the phytoplankton, starving the zooplankton which feed larval, juvenile, and other forage fish.  The prospects for fisheries in these areas are not good.  The filtering can have a down side - they bio-accumulate substances such as PCB's that can enter the food chain in dangerous levels.  Industrial: They clog water treatment and intake systems, causing slow-downs and stoppages.  Recreation: they affect docks and boat engines, sometimes causing overheating, and their sharp edges make beaches less desirable.

Control Level Diagnosis: This is probably a 'medium priority' closing in on 'high priority'.  Its affects are widely felt but not yet critical.  But, the speed with which its affects have been felt should be a cause of concern.

Control Method: Some predators exist, including the diving duck, and the scaup, canvasbacks, and old squaws.  Unfortunately, the duck has a migrating, transitory affect on the population, and the others are in low supply.  There is no know chemical agnet for control that won't damage other aquatic life.  They are susceptible to high temperatures and industry is experimenting with hot water outflows to control the population.  The most important control method is probably controlling the spread, by carefully cleaning boats and other recreational items before transporting.  Dry boating for a period of days and hot water are safe methods.  Chlorine has been tried, but is not suggested anymore since it's toxic.

Reference  Italian Society of Natural Sciences Center website: www.ospiti.cilea.itZebra mussel factsheet (DEP, PA); 'Zebra mussels in North America' (Ohio Sea Grant College Program)

Walking Predation: Bush Environment Activity

WALKINGSTICK PREDATION: BUSH ENVIRONMENT ACTIVITY
Try the simulated population of walkingstcks that exhibit colour variation to investigate the impact of predation
on the insects in 3 different environments.


Conduct predation interactions over 5 generations, collect population statistics, and graph the numbers of individuals with colour trait in each generation.

You should be able to see that the ratio of individuals with specific colour traits varies, depending on the colour of the environment in which they live.

Record the data of your findings in your journal.
You are a predator. You prey on walkingsticks. This is what the walkingstick looks like.
a. Open the walkingstick multimedia program to Level 1—Eat Insects.
b. Select the 30 Clicks to Eat Insects button.
c. Use your 30 clicks to eat as many as you can.
d. Then click the Results button.
e. Record your results in the table shown below in your journal.
f. Click Start Over and select 30 Seconds to Eat Insects. Eat as many insects as you can in 30 seconds.
g. Record your results in the table below in your journal.

1. Which color of walkingstick was easiest to find? Which was hardest? Why do you think that was the case?

The brown walkingstick was the easiest to find. While the green-brown as well as the green walkingstick were the hardest to find.

The brown walkingstick was mostly found on the green leaves. Therefore, its brown colour is contrasting to the green leaves. Allowing it to be the easiest to find.

The green brown and the green walkingstick were mostly found on the green leaves. Therefore their colours blend in with the green leaves. preventing them from being found easlily.

2. Which color of walkingstick survived best when there was a time limit on feeding? Why do you think that color survived best?

The green brown insect survived the best.

The reason being, its green brown colour allows it to blend in with the environment. (branches and leaves) Also, as there was a time limit given, those walkingsticks that stand out from the environment would be easier to find as they are more attractive.

3. Discuss the results of the walkingstick predation in terms of adaptations.

The walkingstick having a brown, green and green-brown blend in with their natural habitat, which is green leaves and brown branches. This then aids in their adaptaions from getting czught by predators.

Is It Alive

Magnification Ranges of Devices used

Magnification Tool	Magnification Range
Hand Lens	2X, 4X
Stereoscope	20X, 50X
Light Microscope	20X, 40X

Apparatus and Materials used in the experiment

- Substance A, B, C, D and E
- Glucose solution
- Wash bottle 
- 2 measuring cylinders (1ml)
- 2 glass rod
- 6 clean tubes and a rack
- Stereomicroscope
- Petri dish with 3 sectors 
- Cotton wool
- Labels and masking tape
- Hand-lens
- Stopwatch

What is Life

Group 4 (Jenny C, Phaedra, Vanessa, Cherie, Joy) http://goo.gl/ybBgO

S/n	Criteria	How would you test this criteria?	Challenges?
1	Respire	Collect the air sample that the organism has been in for a period of time to test for co2
2	Respond to stimuli	Put it in an environment with extreme conditions e.g. strong light, smelly place, very damp,	Some organisms do not respond to stimuli immediately because they think or move slowly
3	Grow	Measure and record the size and weight of the organism for a period of time	They’re growth might be slow
4	Reproduce	put multiple samples of the organism in the same place for a period of time and observe any change or increase in the amount of organisms	We do not know if they are of different gender or whether there are special requirements for them to reproduce
5	die	kill it and see whether there is any change in it’s appearance (e.g. -insert all the methods to kill people- )	it’s hard to kill some organisms
6	needs water	put a dish of water near the organism (also record the amount of water that evaporated within this period of time) and record the decrease in the water level in the dish	organisms like plants might not be able to retrieve water by themselves

Substance A	Substance B	Substance C	Substance D	Substance E

Sight and Touch Observations of the Substances

Substance Characteristics	A	B	C	D	E
Color	Beige brown	Beige	Transparent	Purple-black	Golden-brown
Texture	Rough	Smooth	Smooth	Smooth	Smooth
Size	Varies, but small	Small	2mm	1mm	Small
Shape	Unevenly Shaped	Cylinder	Circular	Circular	Circular

Experiment with Distilled Water
- 5ml of distilled water was used for each individual cotton bud. 
- One spoonful of each substance is placed on each cotton bud.

	Claim	Evidence	Observation
A	It would become moist		It became moist and it turned into a darker shade of brown.
B	It would dissolve		It reacted with the water and dissolved and a pungent smell was produced
C	It would increase in size		It Increased in size. Swelled up.
D	Nothing would happen		Nothing happened.
E	Nothing would happen		Nothing happened.

Substances A,B,C,D and E after dilute water is added.

Substance A,B and C  Substance D and E

Experiment with Glucose

-1.5ml of glucose was used for each individual cotton bud. 

- One spoonful of each substance is placed on each cotton bud.

	Claim	Evidence	Observation
A	It would become moist		It became moist and it turned into a darker shade of brown.
B	It would dissolve		It floated at first then sank as a white mushy substance.  It also increased in size.
C	It would increase in size		It Increased in size. Swelled up.
D	Nothing would happen		Nothing happened.
E	Nothing would happen		Nothing happened.

Substances A,B,C,D and E after glucose solution is added

Substance A Substance B Substance C Substance D Substance E

Substance	Is It Alive? Yes	Is it Alive? No	Evidence for Living or Non-Living
A		No	Substance A did not portray and characteristics of a living thing.
B	Yes		Substance B increased in size (grew)
C		No	Substance C did not portray and characteristics of a living thing.
D	Yes		- Substance D were seed and seedlings sprouted after a period of time (contained and supported a living organism) - Substance D needs water to grow (the seedlings sprouted after a few days, after water was added to them)
E	Yes		- Substance E were eggs which hatched upon having salt water added to them. (contained and supported a living organism) - Substance E responded to simuli (responded to the salt water)