Rat Dissection

On January 17 and 18, our Bio class did a two part rat dissection which was like any other dissection but with a little bit more guts. Once we got back from winter break we began to learn about vertebrates from reptiles, amphibians, birds etc. When we finally saw all the rats in the tub, I was expecting an odor of some sort and fresh looking rats but what we saw was faaar from being fresh because it was preserved and looked like 'Asian' rats. Any who,  at first everyone was squirming around as usual but being around it for a while got us warmed up and very hands on, it turned into a four person job instead of just two which got very messy, Nick got rat juice got into his eye that maybe goggles should be worn, well at least for Nick. The tools we used was a razor blade, pins, our hands, and some tweezers, but before we could do anything we answered simple questions and labelled the diagrams. First we looked at the external anatomy of the rat, poked around and have a closer look then we began to cut open the rat to see the internal anatomy. It was like looking into a little human but less complicated, but it was fun because we never know what we're going to get while dissecting. Like any other dissection, here are some questions we were to answer and pictures Milika took! 

Why are your hands the best tools for dissection?

Your hands are the best tools for dissection because we used them on a daily basis and know how to pull and poke around with easier.

What is the purpose of having all the different labels and titles for the dissection?
The purpose of having all the labels is for us to have a better understanding of whatever we're looking at, and the titles is what helps to identify which is which.

In what way does the tail differ from the rest of the body? 
The tail differs from the rest of the body because it doesn't do much besides stabilize balance for when they climb though they already have 4 legs to walk on.

What purpose is served by the vibrissae?
The purpose of the vibrissae is to navigate and feel vibrations and air speeds/current. It helps to avoid most of danger.

 Your specimen is Bilaterally Symmetrical. What does this mean?
Bilaterally symmetrical means having both sides of the body will have the same features, but in opposite directions. 

The sphincter is described as a circular muscle. Why is it this shape and what does it do?
The sphincter helps the release and entrance of liquids throughout the body, also to help give out maximum efficiency.

Why is there a difference in size between the small and large intestine?
Small intestine helps with digestion and absorption of food. The large intestine helps in re-absorption of food and eliminates waste.

The liver is the largest organ in the body. What are its function?
The liver helps to clear the blood of drugs and other substances, it creates bile, deoxifies and purifies the oxygen.

How did the duodenum get it's name?
The duodenum was given its name in latin because it is usually 12 finger breadths long and about 25 cm.

What is the purpose of the appendix in animals who retained this as a functional organ?
The appendix has a lot of digestive enzymes in it, and helps with the breaking down of tough-to-digest foods that animals eat. 

In each of the cavities, there is a membrane that cover both the wall of the cavity and the organ it contains. What is the function of the membrane?
helps to keep all the fluids inside, working efficiently, and makes sure that the fluids don't accidenlty leave the cavity somehow.

What us the function of the spleen?
The spleen removes old red blood cells from the blood, supplies and stores white blood cells, which produce anitbodies.

What is the function of the diaphragm?
The diaphragm controls the flow of air into the lungsl, helps the respiration system. Without it we can't breathe for it contracts, moves down to  inhale and goes upward and expands to exhale.

What distinguishes the atria from the ventricles?
The atria are smaller than the ventricles. Atria consists of thinner muscle tissue than the lower positioned ventricles and  pumps blood to the ventricles. The ventricles distribute blood around the entire body.

Why is the wall of the left ventricle thicker than that of the right?
The left ventricle is thicker than the right because it needs to pump blood through the entire body while the right ventricle pumps to the lungs to oxygenate the blood. 


What similarities exist between the male and female reproductive system?
The anatomy of the vulva is related to the anatomy of the male genitalia and the clitoral glans are also homologous to the glans penis in males.

What do the kidneys do?
Kidneys filter out wastes to be excreted in the urine, but their main purpose is to separate mineral salts, toxins, and other waste products from the blood, also conserves water, salts, and electrolytes.

In the dissection, you located the thyroid, the thymus, and the adrenal glands. To which system do they belong, and what do they do ?
The thyroid, thymus and adrenal glands are a part of the lymphatic and endocrine organ system. The role of the thyroid is to stimulate metabolism, and control the body’s circulating calcium levels. The Thymus gland is to chemically identify specific foreign invaders. The Adrenal Glands are responsible for producing cortisol and aldosterone.

squid dissection

It seems to be on Fridays we do all the fun things but I don't mind, last Friday we got to dissect squids! Its really enjoyable and helpful to have a visual in front of me whenever we learn new units on bio. Last time when we did the earthworm dissection I was "Dr. Marissa" but this time it was Liz doing all the work while I was answering the questions. I learned/saw things I wouldn't think I was gong to find in a squid such as the beak, all the small organs or that they both had tentacles and arms! Although taking pictures of the squids organs was hard to tell what was what because everything was smushed together even having a clear picture beside us was kind of a challenge to point things out. When we found the pen I wasn't quite sure what it was because it really looked like plastic until I touched it it, thinking it would be flimsy I found out it was firm. Knowing we could write with the pen hense the name with the ink sac was pretty cool even though it broke right away. I learned squids have three hearts and they move tail first instead of head first in water. Here are some pictures i took and facts that I learned! (:

-How many arms does your squid have? How many tentacles?:
Our squid had 2 arms and 8 tentacles.
-Describe how tentacles and arms purpose differs. Describe the direction water comes out of the funnel and the direction the squid moves:
Arms are used to grab prey and hold on to it, the suckers on the tentacles aid to feed and grasp if the prey or object tries to escape. The squid moves opposite to the direction the jet is propelled from while the funnel collects water into the mantle cavity.
-Name two external features that are adaptions for the squids predatory life. How do these adaptations help the squid?:
1. They have a sharp beak that works as a shredder for food.
2. They either have small hooks or rings of teeth around their suckers.
-Name two traits that the squid shares with other mollusks:
Squids and mollusks both have a true coelom and bilateral symmetry.

-How many pairs of gills does the squid have?
Our squid had 2 gills in total.

-Where does the ink sac empty into and what is its function?:
The ink empties into the water to hide them selves, and surprise predators trying to eat it.

-What is the function of the pen? What would happen if the squid didn't have a pen?:
The pen is the squids bone structure which helps it keep stable to swim around, if the squid didn't have it its body would flop around and collapse on its self.
-How do you think wastes exit the squid?:
I think the squids waste would enter through the anus.

DR. Liz!

Earthworm Dissection Questions

On Friday my bio class got to dissect annelids which is a round worm like animal that has a segmented body, such as an earthworm. When I was in elementary I had always wondered why earthworms came out on rainy days, always stopped to pick them up, feel their slimy bodies and see their reactions or how they moved around a lot in the hot sun because they were literally being fried. At first knowing that we had to cut from its mouth to its anus, got me feeling iffy about it because I'm not really into cutting flesh, I find it weird and disturbing. Cutting their little bodies up was a no-no for me, I wanted my partner Liz to do all the work but she was squirming around when I pushed the scalpel in or poked it, saying how I should be a doctor which would never happen. Anyways when we opened up the earthworm, it was hard to tell where things were because everything was covered up in the black watery ooze which was the soil, although some thought it was poop. We got to learn that they are hermaphrodites which I wouldn't have guessed, thinking the females look different than males like any other animal. That they have a mouth AND an anus, unlike Cnidarians they have one way of getting things in and out! There wasn't much to see, Liz and I were far from done with dissecting the worm plus my camera phone didn't take very good pictures so we ended up giving it to the group beside us to observe it because they had cut too deep. It was a good experience and a good time even though I wouldn't do it again, I would just observe from afar knowing we have more dissecting projects to come. Here are some pictures that I took of that I was not able to label and some that I had borrowed from the internet.

Trace the digestive tract which food passes:
The digestive tract goes straight through the middle.
How can you find out whether an earthworm eats soil or not?:
All the black marks are from the scalpel touching the worms digestive tract from where the soil travels.

Which part of the earthworm serves as a brain? How are these parts connected to the rest of the  body?:
The brain is above the pharynx and is connected to the first ventral ganglion, which the brain is made up of many nerves all through cephalization. 
What is the name of the pumping organs of the earthworm?:
The pumping organ is called the Aortic Arches.

Which parts of the worm body that you saw included the excretory system?:
My picture isn't very clear but this was the closest I could get from not having a blurry picture.

Among the earthworms structural adaptations are its setae. How do you think the earthworms setae make it well adapted to its habitat?:
The setae provides traction for movement which helps anchor and controls the worm when moving around in the soil.

How is the earthworms digestive system relatively adapted for extracting relatively small amounts from large amounts of ingested soil?:
Once the soil is ingested it goes through the digestive tract, to the esophagus where it reaches the crop (stores the soil) and to the gizzard (grinds it up into smaller pieces.) 

Your dissection of the worm did not go beyond segment 32. What will you observe if you dissect the remainder of the worm to its posterior end?:
If we had continued the dissection we would have just seen more of the digestive tract, ventral nerve cord, the anus and a lot of soil. 

During mating, 2 earthworms exchange sperm. Fertilization is external and cocoons are produced from which the young eventually emerge.  
When reproduction occurs, the earthworms attach to each other where they give off sperm. Then are stored in special sacs until they are ready to be fertilized. When both the eggs and sperm are ready the clitellum secretes a sticky ring where they fertilize. 

Zoology Webquest



Phylum: Platyhelminthes
Species: Bifurcus
Genus: Pseudoceros
Found in the Pacific Tropics

Phylum: Platyhelminthes
Species: P. dimidiatus
Genus: Pseudoceros
Bright colours tell predators to not eat him, also cold blooded.

Phylum: Platyhelminthes
Species: Bedfordi
Genus: Pseudobiceros
This specie is hermaphroditic 

Phylum: Cnidaria
Species: Anthozoa
Genus: Metridium
They have corals that build in tropical water, also have a long fossil record.

Phylum: Cnidaria
Species: Ctenophora
Have two long tentacles, known as comb jellies and move in a flapping motion.

Phylum: Cnidaria
Species: Sivickisi
Genus: Carybdea
Have two stages, Polyp where they attach to the ground and Medusa stage  where they float freely.

Phylum: Porifera
Species: Calyptus
Genus: Stauro
Glass Sponge

Phylum: Porifera
Species: Calcarea
Genus: Leucosolenia
Found in shallow waters and are only sponges

Phylum: Porifera
Species: Demospongia
Skeletons composed of spongin fibers 

Aquariuuum

Last Thursday, my bio class went to the Vancouver Aquarium where we learned and saw numerous sea animals and critters. The last time I had visited the aquarium I believe was in grade one, not quite sure but it was a long time ago. Anyway, the bus ride there wasn't so bad but trying to take a nap before we arrived was a struggle, I wanted to gain some energy from waking up late and rushing to get to the school on time. When we got there, we were split into our blocks 3 and 4 to do separate assignments, our class got to go in and explore the different zones while the other class got to do the lab. Not sure what to expect I was getting a bit too excited because they had renovated almost everything in the aquarium and it wasn't what I had remembered except the belugas. I had learned things that I wouldn't have known or came to mind, with the little side notes beside the tanks, and the touch screens that tell about how each sea creature without it being too boring. We also had to do a scavenger hunt, although I don't find scavenger hunts to be exciting or fun I wanted the questions to be in order so we wouldn't have to go all over the place but then again that defeats the purpose of a hunt. When we had finished taking pictures, attempted to do the hunt and look at everything, we wanted to check out the Polar Express 4D movie which started at 12:15 but when Ms.Iannone found us we ended up going to the lab. It wasn't as bad as i thought it would be, because when we first got there it felt like being in a classroom with a very perky teacher named Dana, and a helper named Dejan B, not sure if Dejan is his first name or last name.. At first we were experimenting with snails, learning which food item they will eat and must I say was kind of boring watching a snail move to either side for about 5 minutes each but once we entered the wet lab I was very hands on which was amazing for I love to learn new things by being able to touch things. Everyone was able to touch and see all different kinds of  anemones, starfish/sea stars, sea cucumbers, crabs, seaweed, oysters etc. and it seemed as if 5 minutes wasn't enough! After the lab we went straight to the bus and went home, the bus ride back was awful, the boys from block 4 were or should I say is annoying and ended up giving me a massive headache.. All in all this field trip was the best field trip out of the ones I've been to so far out of my high school years, besides going to the pne (science field trips are reaaaally fun!) 

Here is some information we had to find from the scavenger hunt!: 

(My Picture) Japanese Sea Nettle:
This jellyfish is my favourite marine invertebrate because it is able to throw powdered sea nettle on attackers faces, making them sneeze!

(My Picture) Moon Jellies:
These Moon Jellies move slowly, and when they feed they kill prey by stinging them.

(My Picture) Clown Anemone Fish:
The Clown Fishes eggs depend on sea anemones for protection from predators, and in return the fish cleans the anemone. (symbiotic relationship)

(My Picture) Shark:
Sharks don't have bones instead they have a skeleton made up of cartilage. 

(My Picture) Caiman Crocodile:
This guy comes from Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay but mostly from South America. It camouflages with its neutral coloured skin making it easier to ambush prey.

(My Picture) Sea Otter:
They spend a lot of time cleaning their coats for it's better for trapping oxygen. In 1900 you could find them near Amchitlea Island, Alaska, California and Monterey, they were reintroduced in Canada from 1969 to 1970.
Sadly I wasn't able to see the Stellar Sea Lions and only saw the one in my picture, but the Sea Lion eats fish and squid, where they would hunt in groups/packs.

(My Picture) Beluga Whale:
The Beluga's scientific name is Delphinapterus Leucas, and there are only two of them at the Aquarium.

(My Picture) Sea Turtle:
This was another animal found in the shark tank also its name is Chelona Mydas.

(My Picture) Sea Cucumber:
The Sea Cucumber really reminds me of an intestine! s:

(Online Picture)
I didnt take a picture while we were at the tank but this was the Sea Anemone beside the Sea Otter tank.

(Online Picture) Piranhas:
Piranhas are only a big threat when taking a fishing hook out of their mouths.

(Online Picture) PotBelly Seahorse:
The aquarium took the seahorses out but they did have plenty of pictures of them hanging around. 

(Online Picture) Archerfish:
I don't remember if I saw these guys at the Aquarium because I didn't take a picture of any of them ): but they feed from water on the surface, leaping for insects!

(Online Picture) Starry Flounder:
I must have missed this flounder because I didn't really stop at every single tank  plus they're really good at camouflages, they look dead at the bottom of the ocean which is an advantage because they can ambush their prey.

(Online Picture) Pacific Octopus:
I never got the chance to see this octopus, must have been too shy to come out!  The Pacific Octopus's suction cups grab prey as they swim by, they are also known as natures best predators because they are hard to sport and great at hiding!

(Online Picture) Giant Red Sea Urchin:
I saw a lot of urchins but felt I took way too many pictures of them and didn't think to take a picture of these ones.  Their scientific name is strongylocentrouts Franciscanus, they have spiky needles that surrounds their body which defends them from predators.

Fungus

The one day I wasn't able to attend my bio class due to feeling ill, everyone went on a nature walk to see the different types of fungi and so instead of showing my own pictures I was supposed to take, I'm going to have to show borrowed ones. To get an idea of what my classmates found I did a quick check on what they saw, realizing the things I picked at when I was younger wasn't just another green plant as to what I thought but was lichens and fungi. Being able to see what we have in our near by forest is actually pretty amazing, for some odd reason I didn't think we would have them living anywhere because the thought of it never really crossed my mind. I had always thought all mushrooms that grew in my backyard were poisonous and if I touched or poked one with a stick I would die within a few days also assuming all green things were apart of grass.. something crazy like that. Anyways with what I heard, it was quite the trip to get around decaying logs and the  damp wet leaves to find plenty of basidiomycota/club fungi, lichen, ascomycota/sac fungi, and zygomycota/common molds. Its different than when we went to pick different flowers with Mrs. Morin, since all the flowers were of course in the Fleetwood Garden it wasn't so much of an exciting trip as this one was but was easier and quicker to get things done and over with. I wish I wasn't sick on Friday 'cause it would have been a bit easier to do this assignment, plus it seemed like fun going on a nature walk although I could have gone on my own but for me it's kind of lame and I would look awkward if I went into the forest squatting around trying to find fungi. Any who here are some pictures I found online to what some of my classmates found.

Basidiomycota/Club Fungi

Shelf Fungi

Basidiomycota/Club Fungi

Jelly Fungi

Ascomycota/Sac Fungi

Lichen

Fungi

Thought I'd just upload this labelled diagram done by google (: