Jen and Human Biology

Friday, July 25, 2008

Thank You!!

I would just like to take a moment to say "Thank You" for an amazing class. I hope you all did well, and I wish you the best in your future indevours, whatever they may be. Mr. Frolich, thank you so much for helping me see that Biology isn't just another science class, it's Fun!! I hope to see you guys around town or perhaps in other classes, but until then, stay safe and keep up the good work. And again, "Thank You!!!"

Unit 4 Self/ Unit Evaluation

REGARDING YOUR OWN PERFORMANCE

1. What were the three aspects of the assignments I've submitted that I am most proud of?
My formatting, my pictures, and my citing.

2. What two aspects of my submitted assignments do I believe could have used some improvement?
Timeliness of postings, and more thorough research.

3. What do I believe my overall grade should be for this unit?
I would have to say about 90 or 95%. I'm confident in my work.

4. How could I perform better in the next unit?
I can't, because the class is over.

REGARDING THE UNIT (adapted from Stephen Brookfield, University of St. Thomas "Critical Incident Questionnaire")

1. At what moment during this unit did you feel most engaged with the course?
I would have to say Fetal Development. As a mother, I find it all very intriguing.

2. At what moment in the unit did you feel most distanced from the course?
If I absolutely had to pick something, it would be Deep Time Evolutionary History. History is not my best subject. LOL.

3. What action that anyone (teacher or student) took during this unit did you find most affirming and helpful?
I most enjoyed the response time on our network forum. I always got an answer within 24 hours or less.

4. What action that anyone (teacher or student) took during this unit did you find most puzzling or confusing?
I honestly cannot think of one single thing. This section was a piece of cake.

5. What about this unit surprised you the most? (This could be something about your own reactions to the course, something that someone did, or anything else that occurs to you.)

My knowledge of most of the content in this section. I honestly thought this unit was going to be the toughest yet, but it wasn't.

Ethical Issue Essay 4- Who Should Reproduce?

In a world of increasing population, but low birthrates and fertility, who should reproduce? Should we set a limit or even stop producing all together? What is the answer to our problem? In this essay, I will give you two points of view on the situation, as well as my own.

According to http://www.vhemt.org/demography.htm, “Birth rates have dropped to nearly half of what they were in 1950: from an average of 5 offspring to 2.6. Our growth rate has also fallen significantly. Annual population increase likewise has improved from a high of 87 million in 1989 to around 74 million in 2005. Although couples are creating fewer of us, there are more couples creating those new people, which makes more of us. For example, China has one of the lowest birth rates in the world, and yet their natural increase is 10 million per year. This serves as an ominous warning. If cutting fertility rates in half hasn't stopped our increase, what will it take? How much better can we expect birth rates to get? Many regions have reached a plateau and aren't likely to go any lower unless conditions change. Campaigns to improve birth rates have succeeded somewhat and are worthy of additional support. "Stop at two" may have been a radical proclamation when Zero Population Growth* was founded in 1968, but it was barely adequate even then. So-called replacement level fertility of 2.1 offspring per couple wouldn't bring about true zero population growth until the middle of this century, due to momentum. Today the message is only slightly revised: "Consider having none or one, and be sure to stop after two." The notion that producing two descendants simply replaces a couple and creates no increased impact is specious. We aren't salmon - we don't spawn and die. Most of us will be around to see our progeny beget, and those begotten beget to boot. When a couple of us "replaces" ourselves, our environmental impact doubles - assuming our offsprings' lifestyles are as environmentally friendly as ours, and that they won't reproduce themselves. The "stop at two" message actually encourages reproduction by "qualified" couples. Although a wanted child is better than unwanted, intelligent (whatever that is) better than stupid, and well-cared-for better than neglected, each of us in the over-industrialized world has a huge impact on Nature, regardless of these factors. For example, in terms of energy consumption, when a North American couple stops at two it's about the same as an average East Indian couple stopping at 60, or an Ethiopian couple stopping at more than 600. Two is better than four, and one is twice as good as two, but to purposely set out to create even one more of us today is the moral equivalent of selling berths on a sinking ship. Regardless of how many progeny we have or haven't produced, rather than stop at two, we must stop at once.” A very good point with a lot to ponder, but are there other things that contribute to the problem?

According to Moses and Brown, "Although humans are highly unusual organisms in many respects, most characteristics of human physiology are predictable from scaling relationships observed in other mammals, particularly primates. For example, human metabolic rate can be predicted by allometric equations... the metabolic rate of a 60-kilogram human is 120 watts or 2500 calories per day. However, humans differ from other organisms in their social organization and ecology. The exploitation of supplemental energy sources has fueled 10 000 years of exponential human population growth (Cipolla 1972), the development of modern industrial–technological societies, and the rise of Homo sapiens to become the dominant species on earth, with major impacts on global biodiversity, biogeochemical cycles and climate (Vitousek et al. 1986, 1997). Biological metabolism is a small fraction of the total energy consumed by modern humans who utilize vast distribution networks to extract and deliver oil, gas, coal, electricity and other resources. Per capita consumption of this extra-metabolic energy varies from a few hundred watts in the poorest nations, to many thousands of watts in more industrial countries, which rely predominantly on fossil fuels (World Resources Institute 2000). The per capita energyconsumption rate in the United States is 11 000 W (World Resources Institute 2000) which is approximately 100 times the rate of biological metabolism and... is the estimated rate of energy consumption of a 30,000-kg primate." How’s that for something to think about? The energy consumption in the US alone is the same as the energy consumption of a 66,138.68 pound primate.

I have mixed feelings about the whole issue. On one hand, I feel that no one should be told whether they should be allowed or not allowed to have babies. There are already people who are unable to have children, which kind of helps with the problem. But on the other hand, I think it’s a huge issue that needs at least a happy medium solution. Maybe if they made adoption a little easier, people might go that route before having some of their own… that might help a bit. I also believe that if the world continues on the same path it’s traveling on now, that we will run out of natural resources and eventually trash the planet, causing Mother Nature to revolt and probably kill us all and start over from scratch. One thing I strongly believe is that things are meant to happen a certain way, and nothing we do can stop it. If we are meant to over populate, then we are. If we are meant to fix the problem, then we will. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

So, who should reproduce? And what is the ultimate answer to this world wide problem?

Picture- http://embryology.med.unsw.edu.au/Movies/historic/HumanRep1947.jpg

Opinion 1- http://www.vhemt.org/demography.htm

Opinion 2- Moses and Brown (2003). Allometry of human fertility and energy use. Ecology Letters 6: 295-300.

Opinion 3- Self (jennifer.green_1985@yahoo.com)

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Unit 4 Offline Lab Pictures

Tumbleweeds

Sterling Silver Rose

Desert Willow Tree

Wolf Spider

Bull or Gopher Snake

Western Honey Bee

Oldwife Underwing Moth

Texas Cichlid

Ball Python

Arizona Toad

Tumbleweed http://www.thirstyrock.com/Tumbleweed/tumbleweed2.jpg
Rose http://farm1.static.flickr.com/225/455952056_d31defee3b.jpg?v=0
Desert Willow http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b0/Chilopsis_linearis_foliage.jpg/632px-Chilopsis_linearis_foliage.jpg
Wolf Spider http://magickcanoe.com/spiders/wolf-spider-beige-regular.jpg
Gopher Snake http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Bull_snake.jpg/800px-Bull_snake.jpg
Western Honey Bee http://lh6.ggpht.com/__Le_vMi7wPE/RoNAo5ILh9I/AAAAAAAABac/w5s37JPAcfE/Honeybee_landing_on_milkthistle02.jpg
Oldwife Underwing Moth http://mariewin.server304.com/marieblog/uploaded_images/OLDWIFE-757154.jpg
Texas Cichlid http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/img/Herichthys_cyanoguttatus_4.jpg
Ball Python http://z.about.com/d/exoticpets/1/0/s/j/artiebp26.JPG
Arizona Toad http://www.reptilesofaz.com/Graphics/Turtles-Amphibians/herp-b-microscaphus-rb-03.jpg

Unit 4 Offline Lab- List of Species

The purpose of this lab was to make a list of 20 species that we interact with over the period of a day. We are to give a common name, scientific name, describe our interactions according to ecological principles, and tell whether we think it is domesticated. Here is my list:
1. Chicken- Gallus domesticas- Commensal- Domesticated and Wild
2. Horse- Equus caballus- Mutualistic- Domesticated and Wild
3. Fire Ant- Solenopsis geminata- Parasitic- Wild
4. Tumbleweed- Amaranthus albus- Commensal- Wild *
5. Rose- Rosa ‘Sterling Silver’- Mutualistic- Domesticated and Wild *
6. Onion- Allium cepa- Parasitic/ Predator/Prey- Domesticated and Wild
7. Desert Willow- Chilopsis linearis- Commensal- Domesticated and Wild *
8. House Fly- Musca domestica- Commensal- Domesticated and Wild
9. Southern House Mosquito- Culex quinquefasciatus- Parasitic- Wild
10. Plaque- Fusobacterium nucleatum- Parasitic- Wild
11. Wolf Spider- Rhabidosa rabida- Mutualistic- Wild *
12. Bull or Gopher Snake- Pituophis melancoleucus- Mutualistic- Domesticated and Wild *
13. Western Honey Bee- Apis mellifera- Mutualistic- Wild *
14. Oldwife Underwing Moth- Catocala neogama- Commensal- Domesticated and Wild *
15. Texas Cichlid- Herichthys cyanoguttatus- Commensal- Domesticated and Wild *
16. Betta- Betta splenderis- Commensal- Domesticated and Wild
17. Bearded Dragon- Pogona vitticeps- Commensal- Domesticated and Wild
18. Long Haired Chihuahua- Canis familiaris- Mutualistic- Domesticated and Wild
19. Ball Python- Python regius- Commensal- Domesticated and Wild *
20. House Cat- Felis catus- Mutualistic- Domesticated
21. Arizona Toad- Bufo microscaphus- Mutualistic- Wild *
22. Human- Homo sapien- Symbiotic- Domesticated
*= see photo
I think that humans have been co-evolving with these species and/or their ancestors for millions of years. We may not like some or even all of them, but we learn to live together.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Unit 4 Online Lab 2- Demographics

Low Fertility

High Fertility

1. What was your high fertility rate country and what was its fertility rate?

My high fertility rate country was Africa, with a fertility rate of 5.90.

2. What was your low fertility rate country and what was its fertility rate?

My low fertility country was Europe, with a fertility rate of 1.60.

3. The initial demographic "shape" of your high fertility rate country should have been a pyramid, with high population in young age groups. Explain why high fertility rate results in a high percentage of young people in the population. How does this affect future population growth?

More women are entering the reproductive years then older women leaving them, resulting in a higher population of younger people. Unfortunately, this results in a very high population in the future.

4. Your low fertility rate country might have had a more oval-shaped curve with high population in middle age groups. This is especially exaggerated if the fertility rate is below 2.00. Explain why low fertility rate leads to lots of middle-aged people.

If not as many people are having kids, there are lower amounts of younger people, resulting in more middle aged people.

5. Write ten adjectives or descriptive phrases for what you might expect life, people's attitudes, conditions on the streets, etc. will be like in each of those situations. Imagine a situation with lots of middle-aged and older people in the population and write ten quick "brain-storm" descriptors for you think it would be like (Prescott, Arizona?). Then do the same for a situation with lots of children in the population.

low fertilization high fertilization

1. strict 1. crazy
2. lazy 2. fast paced
3. nice 3. mean
4. laid back 4. uptight
5. slow paced 5. urban
6. suburban 6. messy
7. movie like 7. helpless
8. peaceful 8. overload
9. beautiful 9. obese
10. helping 10. loud