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.