Found a new frog

How is your summer going?

This time of year I am constantly finding tiny frogs in my yard. They are everywhere. As I was mowing my yard yesterday I found a frog that I have never seen before. Check out the pictures-
I went to Google and typed in "identify a frog" I found the Leaping Pad, a site with tons of frog information and then I clicked on NY frogs, The Cortland Herpetology Connection.
I scrolled down the page and found my frog. It is Rana sylvativa, the wood frog. I thought it was Pseudacris triseriate, the western chorus frog but after comparing photos it is a wood frog.
Do you remember classification? Notice the genus and species names are not similar at all. Even though these frogs look similar they are in different families. Uh oh, you do remember KPCOFGS right? (kingdom, phylum,class, order, family, genus, species)
Have you seen anything unusual this summer? How about any bears?! I have heard reports they are in the area and I am on the look out.

Summer by the seashore

We took a trip to the seashore, Fire Island National Seashore. It was amazing. There are no cars so we took a ferry and walked to a campsite in the dunes. It was great hearing the ocean waves crash as I lay in the tent. We walked the beach and found lots of interesting things. This was a dead crab with small shells that had already attached to him. Even when the crab is dead he provides an environment for the small clams to live.





This next picture is algae that had washed up on shore. Can you see the round structures on the algae? Those are the air bladders. Remember those from our Algae unit? What do air bladders do?

Tell me what you have done this summer?

Bird watching- part 2

It took me a while and I missed her many times but this is the best video of the mom feeding her babies. All day she flew in to feed them and then off to find more food. It must be very exhausting being a mother bird!



check here every week. I will post you stories and pictures of my summer.
Tell me about yours. You can even send me pictures and I will post them.
My email address is sclimenhaga@albionk12.org

Have a wonderful July 4th.
Mrs. Climenhaga

Bird Watching part 1

Here at our house, just off the porch is a gourd nest. Every spring a bird lays her eggs. This year I had the camera ready to get movies.


Have you seen any bird activity? Post me a note and tell me.

Technology and Biology

Starfish Dissection

The afterschool starfish disssection was interesting. The digestive system of the starfish is unique with the mouth in the center, on the underside and then the food is delivered to each of the rays. Below are some photos.
(Click on the above paragraph for a great live video)

17 Year Cicadas

In the AMS classes this week we watched the
award winning video
Return of the 17 YEAR CICADAS
by Roger Hangarter, University of Indiana.

I thought you might like to share the video with someone. You could even tell them about the type of metamorphosis that the cicada goes through! I just know they would be interested. Go ahead, show off your science knowledge!

Here is the link for the video-
17 Year Cicadas


After you watch it check out this video from the BBC featuring
David Attenborough talking about the -

Life Cycle of the Cicada

This summer as you relax, camp, ride your bike, play ball, mow or pull weeds be on the lookout for insects. They are really everywhere! Remember insecta is the largest class of arthropods on earth (second largest? the arachnids!) Post me a note and tell me what you found and some observations you made.

An Extreme Sport and Your Body

We have read and talked about our body systems and our lifestyles, what we eat and the bad habit we should stay away from. Scientist are always looking at activities and evaluating the effects on the body. I found this article on mountain climbing and thought you would be interested. Read the short article and post me the reasons why this extreme sport can be hazardous to our bodies and what system it affects.

Mountain Climbing

Coming soon to the blog page- your dissection pictures!

Human Body Systems

These are some great sites for you to explore on the human body and the incredible systems that keep us going. This site is from the American Medical Association. Great information.

www.ama-assn.org/ana/pub/physician-resources/patient-education-materials/atlas-of-the-body.shtm

This Health score site has great visuals for each system
www.innerbody.com/htm/body.htm

How about a game? Connect the missing organs to the system

www.sciencenetlinks.com


Know your systems!! The next exam is 75% body systems.

Time to Dissect!

2008 WAS THE YEAR OF THE FROG

You have been waiting patiently and working hard to get ready for the first dissection.
This Thursday we will be examining the body systems of an amphibian. For those who are not going to do a actual dissection,

you will log onto this site for your lab. It is an excellent site that will give you real pictures of a dissection without the hands on experience.

Web based dissection courtesy of Osseo-Fairchild School District, Wisconsin

ofsd.k12.wi.us/science/frogdiss.htm


I do have other organisms to dissect. Give me your feedback on the lab,
actual or web based. I would like to know what you think.
Did you have enough time? Were the instructions clear? Did you partner or work alone?
What surprised you? Was it what you thought it would be?
Who wants to be a surgeon? a veterinarian?

MORE GENETICS

Many of you are really interested in Genetics. In the middle school we do the basics but in high school and college you will get deeper into this amazing area of science.

I have posted some sites here that you can explore that will give you answers to your questions and give you information that will make you ask more questions.

This is a good thing! A scienctist always has questions.

Never stop asking.

Genetics Learning Center

Check out the two movies, What is DNA? and What is a Gene?

You can also build a strand of DNA.

All this is on the left side of the page. Want to know more?

Check out the other titles or go to the home page. This is a great site.

DNA Learning Center

This site is dedicated to Watson and Crick.

Click on the tabs at the top to learn more about the DNA code.

Let me know what you are thinking. Post me a comment.

Genetics

If you would like to test yourself on the Punnett Squares, dominant and recessive crosses, you can click on one of the links below.
You must read carefully! Have fun.

http://www.athro.com/evo/gen/punexam.html



Genetics Practice


Let me know what you think about our genetics Chapter. What are the muddiest points for you?
(these are the things that just are not very clear)
Post me a comment!

Sailing Ships and Whales

AS more and more people are loving the oceans it is not always smooth sailing. We forget the waters are home to thousands of biotic factors and when we invade this ecosystem, we can come into contact with anyone of the community in the ecosystem. A population can be affected and an individual organism can be harmed. (did you notice all the vocab words??!!)

Sailing through the whales

Noise damages dolphins

Anoxic waters (no oxygen) This site will teach you something new. We know animals need oxygen, even those in the water. [This is the importance of algae, all the oxygen released from photosynthesis] Click on the FAQ tab and read a short interview about anoxic waters.

OK...one more. Oceans Pollution This is easy to read and interesting.

Would you be interested in studying
how we- humans- affect the worlds oceans?
Post me a comment and tell me what
you would study and why.

Talking about animals.....

We are done with ecology (sort of) and move to

Kingdom Animalia. Are you ready??

Our world is amazing and we still don't know the

real depths of its beauty.

Scientist are still discovering more species that are

too fantastic, more suited to a fantasy book of imaginary creatures.

Take a look at these organisms. Post me a few sentences about

The most amazing animal you

have ever seen...actually seen.

Flying Lemur in Malasyia

New Jelly Fish

Transparent Fish

video from scientist on youtube

This page has 5 most unusual new species

What is the most amazing thing I have ever seen? Our beloved dog Anne, gave birth to puppies in our pantry. They were tiny, black, wet fur balls that were a testimony to life that endures through reproduction and the power of chromosomes that exist in each cell. This is what I remember as I sit here. There are many other memories of animals I have seen that have amazed me. But I want to hear about your memories.

Food Web

Are you having trouble with the food web? Not sure how to put it together?
Here is a great interactive site to help you. Read through the page and when you get to the bottom click on "create a food web".
This will open a new window and you can practice making a web. Notice the different ecosystems at the bottom. You can click on these to see an example of a web in this particular ecosystem.

Have fun. Create_ a_ web

BIOMES

As we work on our NSP prestentation this week you might need more information on the biome you are researching. This site was created by 9th graders in Springfield Oregon. It links you to sites that describe the different biomes. click on the word below to access the page.

Biomes

If you need extra help researching your area of the United States there is a sheet posted in class and on my edline page for your class.

Have you thought about what 3D object you will use in your presentation?

Post me some ideas that could be used. I know others will appreciate the ideas.

Nitrogen Cycle

Did you ever want to create a video about a science topic? Here are two videos from students that did just that. Both used the nitrogen cycle. We have been studying the cycle in class but mostly the nitrogen in the soil. Did you know that it also happens in the water? Guess what the most important part of the cycle is underwater???????????? You guessed it.. BACTERIA.

Watch both of these and then post me a science idea you would like to video.

I have access to a camera and I think it would be

awesome if someone got creative and made a

video of a favorite science topic

Video #1 is a group of biology students from college.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdY4I-EaqJA

Video #2 is a group of high school boys teacing the nitrogen cycle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHTD7CneBLA

CO2 and Coral Reefs

We have talked about the cycles of nature in class, especially the carbon-oxygen cycle.
A carbon sink if a natural or man-made reservoir that accumulates and stores carbon for long periods of time. The ocean is a carbon sink.
Click the link below to see how this is affecting the coral reefs.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/weather/2009/03/study-worlds-co.html

Read the article and post me suggestions for reducing the carbon in the environment.

If you need help remembering the carbon-oxygen cycle, click here.

Fungus and the tree man

This week in class we discussed several types of fungi that affect humans. Athletes foot is an infection caused by tinea fungus, which is a parasitic fungus. Click on the link near the foot to learn about this fungal infection. Many of you play school sports. What can you do to protect yourself from this fungus? Post me an answer.

Athlete's Foot



Many of you thought the abnormal growth of warts on the man from Indonesia, known as the tree man, was caused by fungus. I did some research and found it is not caused by a fungus. It is actually HPV, human papillomavirus. Notice the "virus" in the name.
What do you remember about a virus?
In order to understand Dede Koswara's condition, click on the health link below and read the article.

CNN Health link

The Protist Plasmodium and Malaria

This past week we learned about animal like protists. One group is the sporozoans. This group of parasitic protists are responsible for deadly diseases like malaria. Malaria is a disease that affects 40 million people each year, killing 2 million in Africa alone. The life cycle of plasmodium, a unicellular protist, uses the mosquito, a common pest in many parts of the world.

The disease arises when an infected mosquito bites a person and transfers plasmodium into the blood stream of the human. From there it travels to the liver.

Click on the mosquito picture on this page and learn about malaria from the Why Files.


What can be done to stop this deadly protist? Some scientists are working to change the DNA of the protist. Others are working on a treatment that would help the body fight the parasite once it enters the body. Remember learning about vaccines and the body making memory cells? Click on the link below and watch as a scientist describes what is happening in his lab with this new idea.

Breeding Mosquitoes

Post me a comment and tell me why everyone in the video are wearing suits and masks.
They were also working with microscopes to do their work. Tell me what you think about using the microscope. What is your favorite part of lab work?

The Class Protist Lab-Euglena

This past week we looked at Euglena and Paramecium in science class. It was fun and challenging to look at live organisms under the microscope. They didn't always stay still and focusing was tricky. We took pictures and some video of the microorganisms. Good job to all the students. These are Euglena, a unicellular and autotrophic organism. They are extremely small even under the microscope. Video (40x) and picture (10x) from Ashley's microscope. Well done Ashley P.!

Great Protista Videos

There are just too many to show in class. I have collected some good ones here. Just click on the link to view the clip. Post me a comment and tell me which is your favorite and why.

amoeba engulfing dinner

euglena with visible eye spot

stentor bouncing an amoeba
The stentor doe not eat the amoeba but notice the other food being sucked up!

stentor getting rid of waste

Did you find any good protist videos online? Post me a comment and give me the link.

Bacteria Dance

If you can't get the bacteria dance out of your head here is the link that will take you there

Check it out and even show it to someone at home.

Bacteria Song

These stuffed microbes were in the video. Click this link to learn more about them. Stuffed Microbes- a crazy idea that sells!

Kingdom Protista

Yes, this slime mold is a protista!

This week starts our next chapter on Protista. This is how website Windows to the Universe describes protista:

Members of the Kingdom Protista are the simplest of the eukaryotes.
Protists are an unusual group of organisms that were put together
because they don't really seem to belong to any other group. Some
protists perform photosynthesis like plants while others move around
and act like animals, but protists are neither plants nor animals.
They're not fungi either - even though some might like to "think" they are!
In some ways, the Kingdom Protista is home for the "leftover" organisms
that couldn't be classified elsewhere. You might not think a tiny one-celled
amoeba has much in common with a giant sea kelp,
but they're both members of this kingdom.

http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/life/protista.html

Check out the Microbe Zoo, a science site from Montana University.

Microbe Zoo

Click on the zoo icon on the site (looks just like the one here) and read about microbes for hours and hours! Ok, you might not want to read for hours but at least check out one microbe and post me a note about it. An extra surprise in class if you do :)
Remember more information is better than the minimum.