Adaptations of Steam Organisms

Jessica Rodriguez
1) For the organism you investigated, what are 5 facts you learned and found interesting?

1. The crayfish eggs stay under the mother's tail (swimmerets) until the eggs become independent juveniles
2. The crayfish was one of the main animals used in discovering plate tectonics because they are located on many continents
3. The female's eggs are not fertilized until they hatch.
4. Crayfish are very tolerant to pollution
5. The time that juveniles depart from their mother's tail depends on temperature, dissolved oxygen, predators, population, and food supply.

2) Choose three other organisms; for each, list two facts that you learned during the presentation.

1. Flat Worm- The flat worm is expected to live for ten years and it can reproduce asexually or sexually.
2. Crane Fly- The crane fly is eaten by birds, bats, and yellow jackets, and it's the bug that looks like a mosquito on steroids.
3. Stone Fly- The stone fly does "pushups" to move oxygen through its gills and is eaten by the crayfish.

3)What did you enjoy about this project?





My favorite part of the project was presentation day, because each group did so well presenting. I was so intrigued by the facts they displayed, and it was awesome how so many groups made their normally bland macroinvertibrate facts colorful and interesting. Also, I got to practice speaking in front of a group of people, and it's always good to get as much practice with that as possible.





4)What was the most challenging aspect of this project? Do you feel you successfully overcame this challenge? If not, how would you overcome this challenge in the future?

My biggest challenge personally was finding time to work on the project, and finding time to come up with a plan with my group. It was hard to balance out working with collaboration during class, and outside of class it's difficult to collaborate. I believe our group overcame this obstacle, because our presentation went smoothly and we were all comfortable with how we did and the work we got done.

Adaptations of Stream Organisms

My group chose to research the totally awesome Riffle Beetle. At first, I didn't think that the Beetle was very interesting, but I was quickly proved wrong. I learned many things. The main thing I learned was that the Riffle Beetle needs a ton of dissolved oxygen and is therefore an indicator of great water quality. I also learned that the beetle has a complete life cycle with egg, larva, pupa, and adult stages. One thing I found cool was that the Riffle Beetle can use it's exoskeleton as an air bubble so it can breathe underwater. I also found that the talons that the beetle has help it latch on to rocks in the fast moving water that it requires. Lastly, I found out that there aren't many threats to the Riffle Beetle other than humans. Anything we do that negatively effects the dissolved oxygen of the stream can be detrimental to the Riffle Beetle.

Here's some things I learned...

Black Fly-

• Have a complete metamorphosis cycle
• Prefer riffle areas
• When in need of more oxygen, it uses a small thread to float downstream

Mayfly-

• Only get to live 1 day and use it to reproduce only
• Is the oldest flying insect fossil
• Incomplete metamorphosis cycle

Cranefly-

• Break down dead plant material for food
• Their bodies are completely water-proof
• Thousands of hairs all over them help them float on the water

I really enjoyed the relaxed attitude of the project. In the past, many projects I've worked on have been very specific and I really enjoyed the whole "do whatever you want" aspect. It really let us get creative and I loved that.

One of the challenges my group had to face was finding accurate information on the Riffle Beetle. Due to the fact that there are so many different species of beetles, it was hard to find information that was specific to our species of Beetle. But we did overcome this. We found a specific article that discussed multiple species including ours. Overall, I really enjoyed the project and the people I got to work with.

Adaptations of Stream Organisms

     5 Facts that I found interesting:
1.Crane flies have thousands of tiny hairs that prevent water penetration
2. The main purpose of adult crane flies is to procreate then die.
3. Crane flies have complete life cycle.
4. Crane flies are the largest family of flies. (14000 subspecies)
5. There are 1,400 species in North America.

     Facts about other organisms:
1.-Crayfish have been around since Pangea
   - Female crayfish lay lots of eggs under their tails
2.-Clubtail Dragonflies have an incomplete life cycle
   -Sometimes conceal themselves in the trees to hide from predators
3.-Most Stoneflies craw on the bottom of the river
   -Their gills are located on their abdomen
   
     I enjoyed the freedom you gave us in this project. I liked having to research an organism on my own rather than you telling us all the facts about the organisms. I feel like I learn more when I have to do the research myself. I also liked learning from all my classmates and their presentations.

     The most challenging part of this project to me was finding some of the information about the crane flies. They don't have too many specific adaptations and eating habits. I do think I successfully overcame this challenge by working with my partner to find information about the crane flies.

Response: Adaptations of Stream Organisms

1) For the organism you investigated, what are 5 facts you learned and found interesting?

1. Water Pennies evolve to be Water Beetles. Who knew?

 

2.Water Pennies have their own Family in the world of Taxonomy, which means that scientists just threw all Water Penny Beetles in the same family. There are many genus's and species, but they are all Water Penny Beetles, so they just have a Family.

 

3. Water Pennies are nocturnal. I've never thought of nocturnal bugs, other than fireflies.

 

4. Water Pennies are detritivorus, which means that they eat dead things.

 

5. They are also carnivores- they eat periphyton (or small algae and even smaller organisms on rocks)

 

2)Choose three other organisms; for each, list two facts that you learned during the presentation.

1. Black Fly-

• There are over 250 species of Black Flies
• They are attracted to animals because of the carbon dioxide animals produce

2. Mayfly-

• There are over 200 species of Mayflies
• They use anywhere between 15 and 45 molts to get from the imago stage to the subimago stage

 

3. Crane Fly-

• Larval Crane flies are predatory
• They break down dead plant material

3)What did you enjoy about this project?

I really enjoyed collecting the stream organisms. I also enjoyed the opportunity to research more about the organisms I collected.

 

4)What was the most challenging aspect of this project? Do you feel you successfully overcame this challenge? If not, how would you overcome this challenge in the future?

The most challenging part of this project was presenting. I hate to present. I try to get out of my comfort zone more often and share with the class, but it just makes me nervous. I do not feel that I have successfully overcome this challenge. I stuttered and said 'um' a lot during my portion of the presentation. I think that this presentation went better than others that I have done, but I think I will continue to work on my stage fright and try to become a better public speaker.

Adaptations of Stream Organisms

1) For the organism you investigated, what are 5 facts you learned and found interesting?

1. Turns out crane flies aren't actually giant mosquitoes that are looking to suck every liter of blood out of my body.
2. I thought that is was neat that crane flies are rarely found eating as an adult and this is because their primary purpose is to reproduce.
3. Crane flies are called "Daddy Long Legs" in Europe and this is because their six long legs much like our spider version.
4. Crane flies are the largest family over flies with over 14,000 subspecies. 
5. Crane fly larvae are not only found in river, but also in muddy river banks, ponds, and sometimes even in moist soil in the middle of a forest.

2) Choose 3 other organisms; for each, list 2 facts you learned during the presentations.

1. Dobson Fly
1. It has hooks on it's belly so it can attach itself to the bottom of the river without getting swept away by the current
2. The dobson fly has an incomplete life cycle.
2. Crayfish
1. Female crayfish lay about 700 eggs that stay underneath her tail until hatched.
2. Crayfish have been dated back to  million years ago.
3. Water Penny
1. The water penny can not control it's own body temperature
2. They are very pollution sensitive and need lots of dissolved oxygen.

3) What did you enjoy about this project?
     
I enjoyed this project because we had a lot of freedom to do what we pleased. I liked that instead of learning about every organism before hand you gave us the responsibility to learn all about organism. Then we got to learn from our classmates and we depended on them for our notes and relied on our peers for our education.

4) What was the most challenging aspect of this project? Do you feel you successfully overcame this challenge? If not, how would you overcome this challenge in the future?
     
The most challenging part of this project was the fact that I was working with someone who I don't go to school with, because of this I felt very pressured to finish it all in school. I was worried the first day, but after we got to work the next day and almost finished our project I felt much less pressured and was able to relax the last day. Yes, I do feel like a successfully overcame this challenge with the help of my partner for this project, he was a big help, unlike a lot of the people I'm used to working with back at my home school. 

Adaptations of Stream Organisms

1). Jonathan and myself researched the leech, a creature whose name usually makes most people shudder. However, though leeches in other countries can reach staggering sizes, those found in the Sheandoah are barely the size of a fingernail. They are born with the same physical structure as an adult, only smaller in size.They can live up to several years but their lifecycle only lasts a couple months. Leeches hunt their prey by using their sense of smell and touch because they cannot see of hear, which I thought was fairly interesting. Leeches are feared as being solely bloddsuckers though they eat small invertebrates as well. In order to avoid predators, they swim away quickly, play dead, or curl into a ball and sink to the bottom of the water they accompany.
2). Riffle Beetle- can make an air bubble and keep it in its exoskeleton and molts 6-8 times in order to reach maturity.
    Water Penny- they are nocturnal and lay their eggs in a plant stem to hatch.
     Caddis Fly- its eggs are laid in a gelatanous mass and they mate during flight producing around 800 eggs. 3). I enjoyed getting to work with both Jonanthan as well as Play-Doh, and the fantastic color we created. I also liked the uniqueness of each group's presentation.
4). I tend to stutter and turn red when addressing a group, so getting over the fear of speaking to more person than usual was slightly nerveracking but fortunately it went better than expected.  

Adaptations of Stream Organisms

     Our group investigated Crayfish and I learned a lot of interesting facts about this particular organism. First of all, they are omnivores and they would eat just about any organism that won't eat it first. They have three stages of life, but do not go through metamorphis because they are fish, not insects. I learned that Crayfish were one of the species that inspired Charles Darwin and other scientists to study plate tectonics because different species are found scattered around the world. Crayfish hatch as juvenile crayfish and do not go through larval stage, and they hatch from 2-20 weeks after the eggs are fertilized.
     Blackfly: 255 species and require blood to create eggs
     Gilled Snail: fertilization occurs internally and spend entire life span underwater
     Caddisfly: long body with 2 sets of wings and they help control algae population

     I loved the presentations. When I first found out about spending a day on presentations, I wasn't too excited. But the material was fascinating and the presentations were so interesting. The fact that we didn't know what to expect was the biggest challenge. I already know how to research, but I didn't know exactly what the teachers were looking for. To remedy this, we just did our best to provide as much information for our teachers and audience as we could and tried to cover the topic thouroughly. This project was a good experience for future reference and our hard work set the stage for other projects.
   
   

Adaptations of Stream Organisms

For this project, Grace, Kylie and I researched the water beetle, more commonly known as the water penny. An interesting fact about this bottom dweller is that after fertilization, the female slices open the stem of a plant and injects the egg into the hollow internal tube for protection. Also, the water penny does complete metamorphosis. It grows from egg, to larvae, to pupa, to adult. This bottom dweller needs a lot of dissolved oxygen, so it lives in high-riffle areas with fast moving water. Finally, the water penny is pollution-sensitive—therefore, if you find a lot in your stream, you have good water quality.

Caddis fly:

During the more vulnerable stage of its life, a caddisfly makes a casing out of pebbles, silt, leaves, and other substances to protect its body. Caddisflies are herbivores, and tend to consume algae. Because of this, they help control the algae population. Also, a female caddisfly can lay up to 800 eggs.

Crane fly:

Crane flies are mostly nocturnal, and feed during the night or twilight hours. They can’t be very well observed at this time, so they are believed to eat flower nectar. A crane fly’s body is completely water proof—its legs and wings have tiny hairs that are water repellant.

Flatworm:

Flatworms are bottom feeders, and like caddis flies, help regulate algae. They tend to live in still or stagnant water where algae and other plants can grow, and don’t need much dissolved oxygen. Flatworms can live produce sexually or asexually. In sexual reproduction, the eggs are laid in a gelatin on the lake or river bed.

My favorite part about this project was watching everybody else’s! All of the groups had such interesting things to say about their bottom dwellers, and each group was unique in the way they presented their project. For instance, Rachel and Jill’s—they made a news cast, which was hilarious, engaging and informing.

The most challenging part of this project, for me, was finding an interesting way to present the project. I originally wasn’t aware of what other people were doing in their presentation, but when I saw some of the particularly unique presentations, I started to get nervous because ours wasn’t that original. I felt that we still overcame this, though, because we passed around labeled pictures of the water penny. In the future, I think that I might go a step further and make a model of whatever it is I’m presenting, or even try something different like a prezi.

Maria Leckey

Adaptations of Stream Organisms

I really learned a lot about crayfish during this project. Our group divided the tasks among the three of us and I got the task of researching the adaptations of crayfish.  I learned that crayfish have eyes on movable stalks that allow them to see in different directions. They also can eject chemical signals that allow them to identify one another and signal mating. Crayfish can also change color to blend in with their surroundings. The study of crayfish actually led to the theory of plate tectonics, because crayfish are found virtually everywhere. They originated for a marine ancestor when the earth was the super continent of Pangaea.

Dobsonfly

• They have hooks under their bellies that allow them to  hang on to rocks.
• They have very strong jaws.

The Gilled Snail

• They can live in still or quiet areas.
• Their shell has a trap door that allows them to protect their selves.

Dragonfly

• They grow up to 1.5 to 3 inches in length
• They flap their wings 30 times per second.

I really enjoyed the information that I found out about crayfish. It was really interesting to find out that the study of crayfish actually led to the study of plate tectonics. I never saw crayfish as that big of a deal before, but they are. I also really enjoyed working with my group and enjoyed the information that they found out also.

The most challenging thing about this project was finding enough  information. I found it difficult to find information about how crayfish have changed since they originated. I overcame this by not giving up. I just kept researching and searching websites until I found enough information. By continuing to search I also found some websites that really added to the project. Overall it was a really great and fun project!

Adaptations of Stream Organisms

My group and I researched the Water Penny, which is surprisingly interesting for an organism that literally looks like a penny. Some very neat adaptations include ones for protection. The female lays up to 600 eggs inside the stem of a plant in order to keep her offspring from harm. Also, their shape is part of their adaptation. The fact that they can flatten themselves to hide on the rocks they cling onto keeps the water pennies safe from predators. Though water pennies have some very beneficial adaptations, they are heterothermic, meaning they have little to no control over their body temperatures. This makes them very susceptible to drastic climate change. These are very pollution sensitive creatures so they indicate good water quality. Water pennies always live in areas with lots of dissolved oxygen, like riffle areas.

Black Fly-
Attracted to mammals because of the CO2 and sweat.
Black flies have a silk-like thread to float to more oxygen

Dobsonfly-
They molt 10-12 times throughout their lifetime. 
Dobsonflies don't eat as adults

Crayfish-
Crayfish can emit chemicals for communication.
Some types of crayfish can change color.

I enjoyed thinking of ways to present that would be interesting, regardless of whether or not we could put each idea into effect. Watching other presentations definitely got me thinking about next time and what I could change to make my presentation more compelling. 

As a person with zero artistic talent, I always find it difficult to pull together a visual. After brainstorming something creative, I try it, fail miserably, and end up with a poster. Our poster definitely was not the worst I've ever done, but it could have been better. Next time I hope to find some other way of using a visual without trying something too artistic for my abilities. 

Adaptations of Stream Organisms

I helped to investigate the Riffle Beetle along with the rest of my group. The Riffle Beetle is a pretty complex and very interesting macroinvertebrate that can be found in many rivers, including the Shenandoah River. One aspect of this organism that I found interesting is that it is classified as a Class 1 organism. This means that it needs a habitat of good water quality in order to survive and is therefore a good indicator of a water source with minimal pollution. I also learned that the Riffle Beetle larvae breath by plastron, a group of tightly packed hairs. The females lay an average of nine eggs in small crevices on the bottom of rivers or streams. Some Riffle Beetles have functioning wings, but some have vestigial wings, depending on the species of beetle. Also, the whole life cycle of this organism is relatively long compared to that of many macroinvertebrates at 3 to 4 years.

Mayfly
-The average Mayfly survives as an adult for only one day.
-Mayfly raise their tail up in self-defense when confronted.

Gilled Snail
-Some gilled snails have both sexes.
-The tissue that connects this snail's body to its shell hold oxygen.

Water Penny
-Water Pennies are nocturnal.
-They lay their eggs in plant stems which help to protect them from predators.

I really enjoyed the freedom we were given with this project. I loved how we could choose our partners and mode of presentation. I felt that I learned a lot because I was able to have control over these aspects of the project.

The most challenging aspect of this project was delegating which member of the group would do which job, while keeping these tasks equal to each person. I believe that through good communication and with each person being willing and able to do their job, we overcame this obstacle.

Introduction

Hi everyone, my name is Robert Van Wyck and I attend Luray High School. Luray is a solid 25-30 minutes away from Gov. school but I actually don't mind the ride because Forest Goebel, Trisha Lal and I carpool every morning. I play football, basketball and soccer for Luray which occupies almost all of my time. Basketball in Luray is more of an occupation than a sport and is all year round, every week.  I like to play guitar and piano in my free time. I also like to hang out with my friends and occasionally play video games. As far as learning about and using new technology goes, as embarrassing as it is I honestly don't know how to use Microsoft Excel. Excel is so popular and a necessity in math but I really just can't figure it out. Also, if you're asking about what types of technology I would like to use in school, then I think it would be awesome to use ipads. We use them in our home school and they're very beneficial and fun.

Adaptations of Stream Organisms

I discovered many things that I didn't know about the clubtail dragonfly by doing this project. First, I learned that they have a long, straw-like tail to help them breathe. They go through an incomplete metamorphosis, with only three stages. They usually stay fairly close to their breeding sites as they mature into the adult stage. The female dragonflies can lay up to 5,000 eggs. Lastly, their lifespan can be anywhere from six months to two years.

Dobsonfly

• Stays underwater for most of its life
• Has a lifespan of only three to ten days 

Mayfly

Goes through an incomplete life cycle composed of three stages

Live in rough, running waters because they require a high amount of dissolved oxygen

Damselfly

• Metabolism changes based on environment
• Have claws to help them stay on the rocks in the water

I really enjoyed working with a group on this project! I feel that working with others and talking about what we have discovered allows me to learn and obtain information much more efficiently than working alone. The visual aspects of the project made it a lot more fun as well.

It was challenging to decide what kind of visual aid we were going to use, because there are so many choices and pros and cons to each of them. When we decided on creating a prezi, it was frustrating at times when the computer wasn't working correctly. However, we asked for help and by using Mrs. Bates' computer, we overcame our difficulties. 

Overall, I enjoyed working on this project and hope we can do more group activities like this in the future!