Lab 10 - Biofuel

     For this lab the class made a trip to Dr. Rood's lab located at the Mercer Law School. After touring around the lab and examining all the various equipment there, we spent the remainder of our time there discussing biofuels. Biofuels are becoming an increasingly common alternative to petroleum products, whether by themselves or in a mixture with gasoline. Specifically, the biofuel that has received the most attention is ethanol. Ethanol is an alcohol and, when produced by fermentation of organic matter, is termed bioethanol. This is the ethanol that is currently being used in mixtures with gasoline. The organic materials that are often fermented to produce bioethanol are corn and sugarcane, but most any organic substance that is high in sugar or starch can be used. The fermentation process uses enzymes to release the sugars, and then the sugars are fermented and distilled. Recently, the top producers of ethanol globally are the U.S. and Brazil.
     Even though bioethanol is an appealing alternative to gasoline, it has its own complications. Even though bioethanol is a renewable energy source, at this point it still requires energy from nonrenewable sources in order to be manufactured. And in many cases, the net energy gain is not as large as could be hoped. Another issue is that, while adding ethanol to gasoline makes the mixture more efficient, ethanol alone does not produce as much energy per volume as gasoline. This means that it would take more ethanol to produce the same amount of work.
     Perhaps more important than both of these is the issue of the material being used to make ethanol. In the U.S., the main ingredient used in the production of bioethanol fuel is corn. This use of corn for fuel instead of food has caused an increase in the price of corn in the U.S. and in the countries it exports corn to. Not only has corn increased but the prices of other crops have as well, as more farmers are choosing to plant corn over other crops. However, several different alternatives to corn are being studied and developed (such as switchgrass), some with hopefully higher and more efficient energy gains, that are fast growing non-food plants. Below is a flow chart that shows the production of bioethanol from sugarcane (in metric units!)

Mitochondrial Eve

     Mitochondrial Eve is the name given in genetics to the common ancestor all humans share on their mother's side. This is because mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which is different from normal, genetic DNA, is passed down completely to offspring through the mother without changes or recombination. This means that, theoretically, all humans today share the same mtDNA from their maternal lines. Mitochondrial Eve is said to have lived around 200,000 years ago in eastern Africa, the area where a number of scientists believe the modern human race began to develop and spread from.
     Even though all humans share this common ancestor and have nearly identical genetic DNA, anyone can see that there is a wide range of appearances among people. This is because as people began to migrate into different areas, they would begin to adapt to the regions they settled in. Certain characteristics became more prominent depending on the temperature, elevation, and other environmental factors, but the genetic DNA within the human race still remains very similar on a global scale. This means that this DNA carries the possibilities for all of the different variations in the human race, but that certain genes have become more expressed for one group of people, while the same gene may be recessive or not as expressed in another group, all depending on the environment in which they live.

Lab 9 - Dog Park

     For this lab the plan was for the class to visit a dog park relatively near campus, take some soil samples from the park, and then return to campus to analyze and discuss the samples. However, my section of the class was unfortunately not quite able to make it to park, due to inclement weather. Dr. Rood did bring the samples collected by the first lab section to a regular class period, so my section was able to view some soil samples and what was used to analyze them. Based on what was done, there was a noticeably higher amount of bacteria present in the samples from the dog park than what would normally be found in a randomly chosen area.
     Another component of the lab that we discussed was the importance of dog parks as relates to communities. Dog parks are important to communities for multiple reasons, and have the ability to improve any area that they are found in. They provide a designated place where people can take their dogs for exercise and interaction with other dogs. Inevitably, the owners of the dogs will also be able to interact, allowing for people with common interests to meet and develop relationships around a central location. This is a great help in creating and sustaining a sense of community in the areas where dog parks are located. Below are a few pictures of the dog park in Macon.

Lab 8 - Burgess Shale

     The Burgess Shale is a rock formation located in Western Canada in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, and was discovered in 1909. It is composed of black shale and has become famous for the various, large numbers of excellently preserved fossils that it contains. Below is a satellite image of the Burgess Shale.

      The fossils found in the Burgess Shale are from what is called the Cambrian Era and have been dated to about 505 million years old. These fossils are also part of what is called the "Cambrian explosion", which refers to the relatively sudden increase in the diversity and complexity of the fossils present without any apparent close predecessors. By the end of this event (which was first identified in the mid-19th century), fossil evidence shows that a large number of the phyla that exist today were represented then. Because of the rapid appearance of new, more complex types of organisms without any developmental history, this event was seen as one of the main bodies of evidence against the theory of evolution by its author Charles Darwin.
     To this day the Cambrian explosion continues to serve in that same capacity, having caused (and still causing) much debate within the scientific community, since the theory of evolution has been widely accepted as the explanation of life's origins on earth. However, there is much that remains uncertain about this even due to incomplete fossil records and other difficulties. Hopefully, continued work in the Burgess Shale and in similar formations around the world will continue to provide more details. Below, digital reconstructions of two organisms found fossilized in the Burgess Shale are shown: Opabinia (L) and Wiwaxia (R).

Amphioxus

     The creature amphioxus, also known as a lancelet, is a member of Phylum Chordata and is important to the evolutionary view of the development of vertebrates. It lives in the sands of shallow, temperate to tropical waters where it feeds on material in the water. Amphioxus is seen to be the most basic animal that possesses a nerve cord along the length of their back, a defining feature for vertebrates. They also have the same muscle grouping as vertebrates. However, the amphioxus has no true skeleton, brain, or comparable sensory organs; even though it has gills, they are not used for breathing at all but rather for eating (breathing is done through the skin). Though this small, semi-transparent creature also has many characteristics not common to other vertebrates (like its simpler notochord), current genetic work seems to show that the common ancestor of all chordates had a genetic code very similar to that of amphioxus. A labeled figure of amphioxus can be seen below.

Lab 7 - Hitchiti Experimtental Forest

     For this lab we visited Hitchiti Experimental Forest and did some hiking along the Ernst Brender Trail (the two names are also often reversed). A Google Earth image of the forest is shown below.

     The "experiments" that give the forest its name are done in certain parts of the forest, where periodic controlled burns are done so that the recovery of the ecosystem can be observed and studied. The rich organic soil that is found in much of the forest supports a large variety of trees, mosses, and plants. Two plants in particular that our group took notice of were wild ginger and sassafras. Wild ginger is a stringy, low-growing plant that prefers shady environments and thus thrived in the portions of the forest where there were many large trees (mainly oak and pine) towering over everything else. The leaves, when broken, have a distinct licorice-like smell. A picture of a representative wild ginger is below.

     The other plant that we found was actually a tree, sassafras. Although the specimens we examined were small, sassafras can actually grow to be a medium-sized tree. This tree has had multiple uses for many years, including being used for flavoring, fragrance, (even furniture) and its oil was used once used as a dental antiseptic and pain reliever. But what our group was most interested in was the plant's leaf structure. Up to three different leaf shapes can be commonly found on sassafras, and all three can even be found on the same specimen. The three common types are: an elliptical leaf, and two- and three-lobed leaves. Leaves with more than three lobes occur, but are rare. Pictures of the common leaf shapes can be seen below.

 

And here, all three leaf types can be seen growing on the same specimen:

Lab 6 - Jackson Springs Park

     For this lab the class made a trip to Jackson Springs Park, located in one of Macon's three oldest suburbs. The park was originally part of a larger tract of land (known as Baconsfield Park) that had once also contained a zoo, but much of the land was put up for commercial development. The main purpose of this trip was to be able to find and observe some common rocks and minerals. Items that we brought to aid in this were a magnifying lens and a rock hammer. The hammer was used to break open rocks so that the rocks and the minerals that composed them could be more easily identified. The lens was used to observe (to a degree) the individual mineral crystals and their structure. We were able to find several common rocks such as granite, slate, sandstone and gneiss; we were also able to look at quartz, mica, and hornblende crystals.

Lake Nicaragua

     Lake Nicaragua is the 19th largest lake in the world, the largest in Central America. Formed from tectonic activity, the lake is connnected to the Carribean Sea through the San Juan River, even though the lake is much closer to the Pacific Ocean distance-wise. Because of its connection to the Carribean (and therefore the Atlantic), the city of Granada has been an important port. Between the 17th and 19th centuries, Granada was repeatedly attacked by pirates, of which a more detailed account is given here. Though it is a freshwater body, Lake Nicaragua is home to some fish that are usually found in saltwater environments, such as tarpon, sawfish, and even Bull sharks. The sharks in particular will move back and forth between the lake and the Carribean Sea via the San Juan River. A non-native fish, a species of tilapia, has also been introduced into the lake, which could potentially threaten the other, native species of fish already present.
     Lake Nicaragua has also been the site of volcanic activity, which created two main features in the lake. The first feature is the island Ometepe, the largest volcanic island within a freshwater lake in the world. There are still two volcanoes on this island: Maderas and Concepción. Maderas is inactive and is the smaller of the two, while Concepción is still active (last eruption ending as recent as 3/12/11). The second feature is the Solentiname Islands. This is a group of about 35 volcanic islands towards the southern end of Lake Nicaragua. These islands are home to archeological sites, a national monument, and a wildlife refuge; they are also becoming an increasingly popular tourist destination.
    
     The Google image below shows Lake Nicaragua with the main features highlighted.

Lab 5 - Ocmulgee Nat'l Monument

     For this lab the class visited Ocmulgee National Monument. We spent some time in the visitor center, walked through some of the surrounding park, and visited the mounds that are monument's main feature. In the visitor center we learned that the main reason Native Americans first settled in the area was because of Macon's location on the Fall Line. The Fall Line is a geographical feature that separates two different landscapes in the Eastern U.S.: the Piedmont and the Atlantic Coastal Plain. The Piedmont is characterized by rolling hills that begin the transition into the Appalachian Mts, which differs noticeably from the flat, lower land of the Coastal Plain. Living along the Fall Line meant that Native Americans would be able to reap the benefits of living in both geographical areas, specifically that they would be able to gather food from the different sources in each environment. Later, as cities began to emerge, Macon was founded because of its location on the Fall Line. A characteristic of the Fall Line is that most rivers that cross it are only navigable on the east side of Fall Line. Because of this fact, Macon became an important river port since it was the farthest point inland that could be navigated to on the Ocmulgee River.
     As part of out time in the park area (which was woods with trails), Dr. Rood took the class to a creek that was off the trail. Though it was at a low point, this creek had been able to carve out an impressive amount of material overtime. By viewing the opposite bank, we were able to see the different layers the composed the ground in the park area. The top layer, directly underneath the grass, was an organic soil formed from the decomposition of leaves, branches, etc. Underneath that, there was a mixture of soil, sand, and clay, with the amount of clay increasing the further you went down. This layer gave away to the underlying material composed of almost 100 percent clay, which made up the majority of the ravine walls as well as the creekbed itself. The clay was in a few different colors (light gray, yellow-orange, and red) because of different minerals in the clay, and there were several shallow depressions where pockets of non-clay material had been eroded away. These two things combined to give the creek a colorfully interesting appearance.

Blood Sugar and Negative Feedback

A negative feedback loop is a system that works to resist change within the system in order to stay at a steady state known as homeostasis. One of the examples of a negative feedback loop is the human body's regulation of blood sugar. When blood sugar levels rise, the hormone insulin is released. Insulin forces cells to absorb the glucose from the bloodstream and also causes glucose to be converted to a different compound. Both of these things cause the glucose level in the blood to fall back to its normal, steady state (homeostasis). Also, in the event that the blood sugar level should below the steady state, other hormones are released that cause the glucose level to rise back to homeostasis. Below is a graph that shows the body's response to a dramatic increase in the blood's glucose level.

Lab 4 Part 2 - Soil Orders of the World

The different soils of the world are classified into twelve types, or orders, which are:

• Gelisols
• Histosols
• Spodosols
• Andisols
• Oxisols
• Vertisols
• Aridisols
• Ultisols
• Alfisols
• Inceptisols
• Entisols

Besides the soil order discussed below, more information on all of these soil orders can be found at: Soil Taxonomy

Andisols -
Andisols are formed from volcanic material (mainly ash), and contain a large quantity of glassy material (also volcanic). Because they form only in volcanic environments, andisols are not very common. The photo below shows the worldwide distribution of andisols.

Andisols are usually young, very fertile soils that have unique physical properties including the capacity to hold a large of amount of water. Another interesting property is the andisols ability to retain more phosphorous than usual in the soil, making it unavaible to plants. Andisols are further divided up into eight sub-orders, which are listed and briefly described here. Because of their fertility, andisols often support intensive farming for crops such as coffee, tea, and fruit. A profile of an andisol is shown below with measurements.

Lab 4 Part 1 - Community Garden

For this last lab the class visited a community garden located behind Centenary United Methodist Church. We used a variety of things to analyze the soil including a split-spoon corer, sieves, and a soil composition chart with an associated dichotomous key. We also discussed various issues that arise with urban gardens, mainly relating to soil contamination from elements like lead. The split-spoon corer was used to obtain vertical samples of the soil to see the arrangement of the different layers. The dichotomous key for the general soil categories was used to analyze the topsoil layer, and then the soil composition chart was used to determine what percentage of the soil was clay, how much was sand, and how much was silt. A shovel-full of the soil, containing multiple layers, was also put into the sieves. Each sieve had a different grade mesh, and the sieves were stacked on top of each other in order with coarsest one on top and the finest on the bottom. The soil was poured into the top sieve and the stack was sealed and then shaken. When we opened the lid on the top sieve, it was discovered that the larger particles had stayed on top and smaller ones had continued to fall through the sieves until they could go no further. With the exception of some particles that stuck together because of moisture, this allowed us to separate the materials in the soil by size. A photo of sieves stacked up is shown below.

Lab 3 - 5 Trees

1.) Carya illinoinensis (Pecan) - This large decidous tree is a species of hickory native to North America and can live for over three hundred years.

2.) Cornus florida (Flowering Dogwood) - A small decidous tree native to eastern North America usually with small flowers and a hard, dense wood.

3.) Ginkgo Biloba (Ginkgo) - An ancient tree that has been widely cultivated and used for medicinal purposes. It is the only living member in its class.

4.) Magnolia grandiflora (Southern Magnolia) - A medium to large evergreen tree with a heavy, hard wood that is native to the SE United States.

5.) Quercus hemisphaerica (Laurel Oak) - A medium sized tree that is in the red oak section of the genus Quercus. Native to the southeastern portion of the U.S. and prefers sandy soils.

Lab 3 - 5 Shrubs

1.) Ligustrum japonicum (Japanese privet) - An evergreen sometimes grown as an ornamental shrub, the fruit of which has been used in herbal medicine.

2.) Ilex Opaca (American Holly) - A medium sized evergreen with sharp, pointed leaves that is native to the eastern U.S.

3.) Rhododendron atlanticum (Dwarf azalea) - One of many species of azaleas, this one is a decidous shrub native to the eastern United States.

4.) Camellia japonica (Japanese Camellia) - A shrub native to Japan but is also the state flower of Alabama.

5.) Ligustrum vulgare (Ligustrum) - Also called the Common Privet, this shrub is one of many species in the Ligustrum family. Its berries are poisonous to humans but are usually eaten by birds.

Lab 3 - 5 Plants

1.) Aloe vera (Aloe) - Widely grown as an ornamental plant, grows best in arid climates.

2.) Allium hollandicum (Onion) - One of many species in the onion family, the one pictured is similar (I believe) to the ones seen during lab.

3.) Ophiopogon japonicus (Monkey grass) - is a perennial plant native to Japan and grown for ornamental purposes.

4.) Lantana camara (Lantana) - An ornamental plant that is also considered an invasive species in some tropical areas.

5.) Hosta (Hosta) - A genus of many lily-like plants with broad leaves that vary in size. The picture is a representative one that resembled the one seen during lab.

Lab 2

In this lab the class took a trip to the Ocmulgee River and gathered data in two different areas. The first area was the number of clams found in different places across the width of the river. In the photo below, the number on each marker indicates the number of clams found in each sand sample that was taken. The filled dots represent zero clams.

Also note that since the imagery from Google Earth is not current, so this is an approximation. A white shape has also been added to represent an additional sand bank that otherwise does not appear in the image.

The other area in which data was collected was the height of the riverbed. Measurements were made from one side of the river to the other, with the initial riverbank height set as zero elevation. In the picture below, the number by each marker gives how many feet below the initial height each point was measured to be. The markers are placed to be in approximately 50 foot intervals.

The actual measurements were made in 10 foot increments, however, and so a graph (shown below) was created by Dr. Rood using all the measurements to help give a more accurate feel for the elevation changes across the river's width.

Lab 1 Part 3 - Happy Place(s)

I chose two spots for my happy place. Both of them are in Nicaragua, where I had a missional internship for a month this summer. Both places are shown below in relation to each other and Managua (the resolution isn't great for Third-World Latin America, apparently).

The first, Imagine Ministry (below), is where I spent a lot of time; more than any other place I went to. I spent time at the school and worked on houses in the surrounding community.

The second place, the school at Los Cedros, is where I stayed for several days during my internship. I stayed on the school compound in the community (below), spending time with the youth there. I also ended up getting my camera stolen and climbed a small mountain :D.

Lab 1 Part 2 - 3 Maps

This is a choropleth map. It uses different colors to help quickly visualize general data trends over larger areas (in this case counties). Choropleth maps may contain contrasting colors, a color scale, or a monochromatic scale.

Dot-density maps, like the one above, use a predetermined shape, color, and scale (in this map, 1 dot for every 100,000 people). This map uses concentration to show data trends over an area. The more data (in this case the higher the population) there is in an area, more corresponding dots there will be in that area.

This last map is called a proportional symbol map. It uses a fixed shape of a fixed color, but the size changes in proportion to the amount of data. Thus, the more data there is in an area, the larger the shape in that area will be. In this case, the more the forest industry in a country produces, the larger the dot for that country.

Lab 1 Part 1 - Isarithmic Map of GA Precipitation

Komodo Dragon!

The Komodo dragon is a large species of monitor lizard that inhabits several Indonesian islands. Also known as the "land crocodile" by natives, the Komodo dragon can grow to be up to 10 feet long and can weigh up to 300 pounds. They were first documented by Europeans in 1910, and can live anywhere from 30-50 years.

The Komodo dragon is a carnivore and eats mainly mammals, though it will also eat birds and sometimes younger dragons. It has also, on occasion, been reported to have attacked humans. Though it is a large creature it can run at up to 12 mph for short distances, and younger dragons will often climb trees to seek shelter and safety. The Komodo dragon's deadly bite, which was once thought to be caused because of the bacteria in its mouth, has been also been recently shown to contain toxic proteins.

The Komodo dragon is also on the endangered species list. Many factors have contributed to their decline, including loss of habitat and poaching of not only the dragons themselves, but also of some their prey as well. Several wildlife preserves have been created on the islands to help preserve their numbers, and their are numerous Komodo dragons in captivity. They are also officially under the protection of the Indonesian government, and it has been recently estimated that there are up to 5,000 Komodo dragons still in the wild.