The Asiatic Clam

The Asiatic Clam is officially called the Corbicula fluminea and is a species of freshwater clam. It is an aquatic bivalve mollusk . This species originated in Asia, but it has been introduced in many parts of the world like Europe and North America.

These clams feed primarily on phytoplankton (algae), which they filter from the muddy bottom of streams, lakes, and canals. They prefer to live in sand or gravel substances, in areas with running water.

Asiatic clams a hermaphroditic, which means that one clam produces both eggs and sperm. Thus, they are capable of self-fertilization. Yet they can also release sperm into the water that can be captured by other clams for the fertilization of eggs. One clam can produce as many as 70,000 larvae per year.

These clams, due to their invasiveness, can cause biofouling. Biofouling is the impairment of something as a result of the growth of a living organism or living organisms. Too many clams in one area can result in the clogging of pipes and canals, which damages power plants of water treatment centers.

This species is known as an invasive species. This means they multiply in numbers very quickly, and can grow to dominant a habitat.

Spanish Flu 1918

The 1918 flu pandemic, also known as the Spanish flu, spread around the world was an severe influenza pandemic that spread around the world. Unlike in most flu outbreaks, most of the victims of the Spanish flu were healthy young adults (like me!?). In normal flu pandemics, victims are usually the young, the weak, or the elderly. This pandemic resulted in the deaths of 50-100 million people and remains one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history. 10 to 20 percent of the people infected died from the disease.

World War 1 is credited with helping the flu spread. Close quarters and troop movements quickened in speed and increased in number its transmission.

The Tree Hugger

We went to the Hitchiti Experimental Forest two weeks ago. We hiked through the woods learning about different trees and various plants. At one point a group of us even stopped and took a dip in a river. We discussed the Southern Pine Beetle, which is is the most destructive insect to pines in the Southern US. It was a great experience and I had a fun time!

Ocmulgee National Monument - Earth Lodge

One of the first things you see when you visit the Ocmulgee National Monument is the Earth Mound. The Earth Lodge is a reconstructed council chamber of the Mississippian people that incorporates and protects the original 1,000-year old floor. A circle of seats and the symbolic bird effigy bring to life this building that had both political and spiritual significance. This is the largest of eight earth lodges discovered on the Macon Plateau.

Other sites at the Ocmulee National Monument include the Lesser Temple Mound and the Greater Temple Mound. These mounds were constructed around 900 to 950 AD. The purpose of these mounds is not certain, but their existence indicates that priests were greatly honored at their death.

I enjoyed my visit to this site, especially since I had never been there before.

Freddie - The Tomato on the Windowsill

Freddie is a tomato plant. He has been alive for almost two months. The following pictures are of Freddie when he was just a young sprout, barely above the dirt. I guess you could call them his baby pictures.

Hopefully, if he keeps growing he will be big and strong like this.

Around Campus (25 things)

Soil Erosion on the Mercer University Campus: (Pictures Coming Soon!)

Rocks on Mercer University Campus: (Pictures Coming Soon!)

Plants Galore:

(Note:) This picture also contains another species of tree that isn't covered in the below section. Plants in this picture include the grass and those very thick bushes.

Look at the different species of bushes all lounging in the same plant bed.

Very beautiful!

Animals Around Campus:

Stray cats, stray dogs, squirrels, mice, and birds are all animals you might catch a glimpse of as you take a stroll through campus.

How many species of trees do you see?

There were a variety of trees to be found all around campus. I do not know how to identify the trees. One tree, the one that is used for the tree lighting around winter break, is clearly a young tree. Both the pine tree and several other species were clearly planted, instead of natural growing in a certain spot.

Cambrian Explosion

The fossil record shows that 600 million years ago in the Precambian period life began to evolve rapidly. Then, about 570 to 530 million years ago there was another burst of diversification that is responsible for the appearance of many lineages of species that are still present today. This burst of life is known as "the Cambrian Explosion." Some of the species that appeared during this period are:

Marella

Waptia

Opabinia

Hallucigenia

Wiwaxia

Anomalocaris

Do you want to see these long gone critters in action? Check out the link below for an animation video of these species. See what scientists theorize they look like and what their environment may have looked like.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZTYjLFIhQDM&feature=related

The Burgess Shale

The Burgess Shale is an area found in the Canadian Rocky Mountains known as the Burgess Pass. It is located in British Columbia's Yoho National Park. The area is one of the most well-preserved fossil localities in the world. It contains the best existing record of Cambrian animal fossils.

The Burgess Shale was discovered in 1909 by Charles D. Walcott of the Smithsonian Institution. Decades of work on the site has revealed that the Burgess Shale included multiple fossil bearing layers of about 2 meters thick stacked 150 meters high and over 60,000 unique fossils have been found. Anthropods are by far the dominant fossils found, but other fossils found include worms, crinoids, sea cucumbers, chordates, and other organisms with no mineralized shell. Most fossils were found in underwater banks known as the phyllopod beds. The Burgess fauna contains many fossils of soft bodied animals as well as those with hard parts. This is a tremendous opportunity for researchers because the soft bodied fossils are rarely found anywhere else -- such organisms are usually destroyed before they can be preserved as fossils.

For a more comprehensive history of the Burgess Shale, please follow this link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jr126K8kDfQ&feature=player_detailpage

The Water Cycle

For a quick, fun summary of the water cycle:

http://teacher.scholastic.com/activities/studyjams/water_cycle/

Components of the Water Cycle:

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) has identified 16 components of the water cycle:

• Water Storage in Oceans
• Evaporation
• Sublimation
• Evapotranspiration
• Water in the atmosphere
• Condensation
• Precipitation
• Water storage in ice and snow
• Snowmelt runoff to streams
• Surface runoff
• Streamflow
• Freshwater storage
• Infiltration
• Groundwater storage
• Groundwater discharge
• Springs

Global Water Distribution:

As you can see, 97% of the Earth's water is salt water, while only 3% is freshwater. In total, there is currently about 332.6 million cubic miles of water in the world (Fun Fact!). Fresh surface-water sources, such as rivers and lakes, only make up about 22,300 cubic miles (93,100 cubic kilometers), which is only about 0.0067 percent of the world's total water supply. Yet, rivers and lakes are the sources of most of the water people use everyday.

Picture of the Water Cycle

Types of Soil

Just like plants and animals, soils are classified into different orders and suborders. There are 12 main orders of soil:

-Alfisols

-Andisols

-Aridisols

-Entisols

-Gelisols

-Histosols

-Inceptisols

-Mollisols

-Oxisols

-Spodosols

-Ultisols

-Vertisols

The image to the right is a soil texture triangle. The soil texture triangle shows the 12 major soil texture classes and what percent of each type of soil makes them up.

http://http://soils.usda.gov/technical/soil_orders/

Rocks

There are three different types of rocks: igneous rocks, sedimentary rocks, and metamorphic rocks.

Igneous Rocks: Igneous rocks are the oldest types of rocks. They form when magma pushes up towards the earth's surface and begins to cool. However, not all igneous rocks cool the same way. Thus, they can all look very differently drom each other. They can also either be intrusive or extrusive. If they are intrusive then they cool deep under the earth's surface and if they are extrusive they cool on the earth's surface.

Characteristics of Igneous Rocks:

-Classified by texture and composition

-Rarely reacts with acids

-Normally contains no fossils
-May be light or dark colored
-May be fine grained or glassy

Types of Igneous Rocks:

Granite: Pink/Grey Color; Intrusive

Obsidian: Usually dark colored; Extrusive

Sedimentary Rocks:

The earth's surface is constantly being eroded. Weathering agents like wind, ice, and water cause rocks to be broken up into smaller rocks. Rocks turn into pebbles, clay, sand, or gravel. They travel through streams and eventually settle into new places. The sediments form flat layers and over time become so pressed together that they form new rocks known as sedimentary rocks. Most sedimentary rocks are under water and many have fossils.

Characteristics of Sedimentary Rocks:

-Classified by texture and composition

-May be rich with fossils.

-May react with acid

-Often have layers

-Great color variety

-Particle size may be the same or vary

Examples of Sedimentary Rocks:

-Sandstone

-Limestone

-Shale

Metamorphic Rocks:

Metamorphic rocks form deep in the earth where high temperature, pressure, and chemical reactions cause one for of rock to "morph" into another form of rock. They begin to form at 12-16 kilometers below the earth's surface and begin changing at 100 to 800 degrees Celsius.

How do metamorphic rocks change? ---

Characteristics of Major Metamorphic Rocks:

-Classified by texture and Composition
-Rarely have fossils
-May react with acid
-May have alternate bands of light and dark minerals
-May be composed of only one mineral
-May have layers of visible crystals
-Rarely have pores or openings
-May have bent or curved foliation.

Types of Metamorphic Rocks:

-Gneiss
-Marble
-Quartzite
-Slate

Geocaching

Geocahing is an outdoor activity where the participants are required to use a Global Positioning System (GPS) to reach a specific coordinate to find a "treasure." The treasures are generally small waterproof containers that are called "geocaches" and have a logbook hidden instead of them. The Geocacher must record that date and time they found the geocache inside the logbook.

Right now, there are over 1.3 million active geocaches found in over 100 countries. There are also currently 5 million Geocachers in the world.

While I have never been Geochaching outside of class in my life, I did grow up letterboxing. Letterboxing is similar to Geocaching. One of the main differences is that in letterboxing you use clues and references found in stories to find your prize, instead of a GPS device.

Geo-caching Lab

Geocaching Locations

1) Black container with a rolled piece of paper.

2) White container with black eyed peas.

3) Red container with a log.

4) Pill bottle with baby Tabasco sauce.

5). Pill bottle with soda tabs.

6) White bottle with chalk.

7) Clear container with a battery.

8) Pill bottle with magnet and a little car.

Hedgehogs

I love hedgehogs. One day I want to own one as a pet. (http://hedgehogcentral.com/). Hedgehogs are spiny mammals indigenous to Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. They are nocturnal and insectivorous. In recent years many people have started domesticating hedgehogs.

Luray Caverns

Luray Caverns is located in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. It is currently the most popular cave in eastern America and the site of my cousin's upcoming wedding. This underground cave system is filled with stalagmites, stalactites, and mirrored pools. Its most famous feature is a Great Stalacpipe Organ. This is a very important natural landmark in Virginia.

First Landing State Park

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/state_parks/fir.shtml

I chose this park because I grew up in Northern Virginia and I was able to visit this park when I was in elementary school. This park has plenty of history - it is the site where the colonists who went on to found Jamestown first landed! This is the most visited park in the state of Virginia.

The Vero Beach Marine Laboratory (VBML)

The Vero Beach Marine Laboratory is located in Vero Beach, Florida. This laboratory provides access to various subtropical habitats like an open coast sand beach, subtidal sand bottom habitats, and coquina reefs. The research at VBML is concentrated on aquaculture, marine biology, and the ecological/physical processes of the coastal zone. VBML is affiliated with Florida Technical Institute. I chose this laboratory because my family vacations in Vero Beach, Florida.

Population Density of the Caucasus Region

This dot density map represents the population density of the Caucasus region, which includes Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. I will be traveling to this region in August for Mercer on Mission.

Bathymetric Map of Armenia

This is a bathymetric map of Armenia, an Eastern European country. This map interests me because I will be traveling to Armenia this summer for Mercer on Mission. I looked this map up to discover what type of terrain I will have to survive in for a month.

Google Maps

The is a view of the south end of Skaneateles Lake in upstate New York. Skaneateles Lake is one of the Finger Lakes and it is noted for its fresh water. The red marking represents The Glen Haven, the restaurant that my aunt runs. The yellow pinpoint marks the spot where my family held its big reunion several years ago. The two green paths mark the two ways to get from the Glen Haven to my family's cottage.