Cemetery

For this lab we traveled to the Riverside Cemetery and talked about some historical dates in Macon's history. We discussed people dying in 1918 due to the Spanish Flu. This was remarkable because this flu hit mostly adults around our age group rather than affecting the extremely old and young like most flus do.  It turns out that this flu hit this age group because soldiers coming back from the war had this bacteria and would spread it when they would "go out" on the weekends.
That being said, we looked for people in the cemetery who died in the year 1918. We also looked for people who died in the years 1900 and 2000 to compile data for population tables.

Biodiesel

Biodiesel refers to a vegetable oil- or animal fat-based diesel fuel consisting of long-chain alkyl (methyl, propyl or ethyl) esters. Biodiesel is typically made by chemically reacting lipids (e.g., vegetable oil, animal fat (tallow)) with an alcohol.
Biodiesel is meant to be used in standard diesel engines and is thus distinct from the vegetable and waste oils used to fuel converted diesel engines. Biodiesel can be used alone, or blended with petrodiesel. Biodiesel can also be used as a low carbon alternative to heating oil. We also discussed bioethanol which can be used in making "moonshine" using special equipment.

Mitochondrial Eve

In the field of human genetics, Mitochondrial Eve refers to the matrilineal "MRCA" (most recent common ancestor). In other words, she was the woman from whom all living humans today descend, on their mother's side, and through the mothers of those mothers and so on, back until all lines converge on one person. Because all mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is generally passed from mother to offspring without recombination, all mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in every living person is directly descended from hers by definition. Mitochondrial Eve is the female counterpart of Y-chromosomal Adam, the patrilineal most recent common ancestor, although they lived thousands of years apart.
It's very incredible to hear that everyone in the world can be traced back somehow to this one person. It really helps give a better sense of inter-connectedness to your fellow man/woman.

Amphioxus (Lancelet)

The Amphioxus, is also known as a Lancelet. These tiny creatures are found in sand in shallow temperate and tropical waters and in Asia they are actually harvested to eat. These animals are extremely important in terms of evolution and zoology, because it gives us a window into the past to see about the origins of vertebrates in animals. Lancelets also prove to be quite useful for evolution because it helps scientists theorize about how vertebrates have used old genes to perform new functions.

Macon Dog Park

For this lab we walked to the Macon Dog Park which is only a few blocks away from campus. Here we took samples of the water from the river that will eventually flow into the Ocumulgee. We are seeing how much fecal matter there is by putting it into a machine that keeps it at 44.5 degrees Celsius, which is the same temperature as your stomach/intestines. We also discussed some of the positives and negatives that come with a dog park.
Personally, I think it's a good thing to have a dog park in a community. It allows for people with a common interest to meet new people, as well as give their animal some much needed exercise in most cases. It also is something that can be aesthetically pleasing to a community. If there is just a barren field or possibly something that wasn't very good, a dog park could be a good way to spruce up the area surrounding a community. Overall, the positives far outweigh the possible negatives that dog parks bring to a community as a whole.

Darwin's Dilemma

For this lab we watched a movie called "Darwin's Dilemma" which was discussing evolution and Charles Darwin. This video is the greatest refutation of Darwin's theory that evolution is a gradual process over millions of years. Darwin hoped that future scientists would be able to piece together his theory and make it stronger, provided that there was evidence.
What this video shows, however, is the "explosion" of complex organisms which later became known as the "cambrian explosion" in the scientific community. What this was, was that in an extremely short time (in terms of the earth), hundreds of new and complex organisms appeared on the Earth that weren't there before. One thing that I found interesting was the analogy of a clock used to describe this rapid growth. If the whole planet was determined in a 24 hour period, the first 18 hours would still be simple, one-celled organisms. Within TWO minutes, all the organisms, complex and simple, would be created. That is how rapid this "cambrian explosion" was. This movie was dry at times, but overall pretty interesting because this was a part of evolution and science that I had never heard before.

Hitchiti Experimental Forest

For this lab we traveled to Hitchiti Experimental Forest for a (long) hike. We stopped a few times to look at some rocks and plants and eventually found our way to our end point at the river. We discussed there that because of the rocks and shallow water, it is nearly impossible for boats to travel this far south on the river. It was a nice hike considering I haven't been on a nature walk in a very long time, but I'm not gonna lie, it was quite long. We found a snake near one of the rivers as well.

Megaflood

For this lab we watched a video discussing the history of the "Megaflood" that occurred in the scablands of America's West thousands of years ago. This flood happened when an extremely dense and tall glacier acted as somewhat of a dam for a body of water. This theory was first brought up in the 1930's, but was immediately dismissed as being a ludicrous idea. As more and more evidence piled up, it seemed that not only did this megaflood occur, but there were multiple floods of this magnitude. This picture shows some of the rock structures that are found in the scablands that help support this theory of a "megaflood". By the erosion of these rocks, scientists are able to detect the ferocity and volume of water that was able to do this.  I found this video to be quite interesting because I had never heard of something like this before, if you don't include the stories found in Genesis.

Trip to Jackson Springs/Baconsfield

For this lab we went to Jackson Springs park near the Baconsfield apartments. We walked through the park, looking at different rocks that we found right near the river, and under/near the bridge. We talked about how in the mid 90's the river flooded and destroyed a handful of homes that were too low for the water line at that point.
When we were finished with the hike and made it back to our original spot, we discussed the history of Baconsfield. I didn't know that at one point there was a zoo there or about the history of the neighborhoods themselves. I knew about how the park was left to the "white women and children of Macon" and the obvious problems that that had caused.

Lake Michigan

Lake Michigan is one of the five great lakes and is the second largest of those five. It harbors two major cities in the Midwest in Milwaukee and Chicago, with nearly two million people living along the shores of this lake. It is sometimes referred to as the US's "third coast" because of how many beaches there are along its shore. During the summer time, my friends and I love to go to downtown Chicago for the day and go eat along the beach and hang out there. Lots of people go during the summer, I feel like it would be just as crowded at more popular beaches like ones in California. Another place are the Dunes in Michigan and Indiana, which is also along Lake Michigan. This has great big sand hills where you can go hike, or sometimes find a mud pit to have fun in.

Ocumulgee National Park

On Wednesday we went to visit the Ocumulgee National Park a few minutes from Mercer. Here we were able to see some incredible things in nature that have been in a transformation for tens of thousands of years. Erosion of creek beds helped show us some different soil layers, as well as seeing some original Native American pieces. The most interesting thing I found on this trip was the hut where the floor was carbon dated to over ten thousand years old! It's pretty amazing to see something that old, even if it's just something general like a floor. I have posted a picture of the entrance to the Indian Mound hut. It was also interesting to learn that these mounds were not ultimately found until fairly recently. The way they were actually discovered was human bones were sticking out.

Blood Sugar

Blood sugar and the insulin response are a negative feedback loop, which means that it wants to resist change as much as possible. This loop wants to keep the body in homeostasis and when there are dips or spikes in blood sugar, return it back to normal levels. The hypothalamus has neurons that are used to detect glucose, and when your blood sugar spikes, insulin is produced. Insulin then changes the glucose into glycogen which decreases your blood sugar level. Insulin production is then stopped once this is complete, which is the negative feedback loop aspect. 

Soil Lab

In this lab, we visited community gardens. This is basically a garden that many people contribute to and can utilize the products of the garden. These gardens are fairly new, only 30-50 years ago there were houses that rested on the same property where these gardens are now. That being said, the levels of lead in the soil are potentially concerning.

The way we deciphered what type of soil it was, was by using a soil dichotomous key. We used sieves to sift through the soil, where finer particles such as clay would fall through the sieve and thicker particles would stay on top.

Soil Types

Soil Orders

Here is a link to the twelve different types of soil. One type that I found interesting was andisol, which is soil that is formed by volcanic ash. Globally this is the most rare type of soil, which accounts for around 1.7% of all the US soil. One trait of andisol soil is that it has a high-water holding capacity.

Andisol

This map shows the sub-orders of andisol soil and where they are prevalent. It's clear that andisol soil is seen almost exclusively in the Northwestern part of the United States.

Tree/Plant/Shrub Lab

Willow Oak tree- very distinct type of Oak tree due to the unique shape of its leaves.

Crape Myrtl tree- distinct because of its long branches and colorful flowers.

Sycamore tree- has sticky buds that grow at the end of its leaves.

Paper Birch tree- the bark is the identifying factor when looking at this tree, by the way the bark peels you can tell its a Paper Birch.

Ginkgo Bailoba tree- this tree is unique because there are male and female sexes of this tree. It requires sexual reproduction to spread seed, unlike most plants which are asexual.

Monkey Grass- normal plant found all over. Native to Japan.

Juniper plant- little buds at the end of needle-like leaves.

Poison Ivy- produces urushiol which is the sap that makes poison ivy so irritating to nearly everyone that comes into contact with it.

Mexican Petunia- evergreen with trumpet shaped flowers. You like these right Dr. Rood???

Elephant Ear plant- very, very large leaves. Some species can be even eaten.

Chinese Fringe- native to the far east such as Japan and China. Thin pink/white petals.

Angel's Trumpet- has hallucinogenic qualities, but is also HIGHLY TOXIC! Long, peach petals that resemble trumpets (obviously).

Ocumulgee River Lab

The above picture shows the depth of the Ocumulgee at various spots throughout the river. We used two sticks with a string attached to either end and measured the depth every ten feet approximately.

This last picture shows the various spots throughout the river where we sifted sand and looked for clams. The number in the circles represents the number of clams that were found at each spot.

This lab was a great experience because it allowed us to get out of the classroom and explore parts of Macon that I personally have never been to. Being out in the river was a lot of fun as well because it's not something you do everyday and it was a great day to enjoy nature.

Georgia Rainfall

For the scale I used different colors to represent different ranges of rainfall. Red represents 44 inches-50.99 in. Green represents 51 in.-55.99 in. Blue represents 56 in.-59.99 in. Pink represents 60 in.-65.99 in. Lastly, yellow represents 70 in.-75 in. I didn't use a color for the range of 66-69.99 in. because no amount fell within that range.

This is my happy place because at night I would walk from my house to this field where it's always dark and quiet. I could be alone with my thoughts or sometimes I would bring my iPod along with me. This place always helps me relax no matter how stressed I am. I've been going here to think and ponder since I was a kid and even now when I'm home from school.

Favorite Animal/Interested in learning about

My favorite animal is definitely the black panther. In actuality however, it's really just a melanistic color variant from many species of large cat. This can include cougars, leopards or jaguars. I've always loved this animal and would love to learn something this year about them if possible.

3 Map Types

This first map is an isarithmic map showing the average annual temperatures of the United States. Isarithmic maps are used a lot as weather maps to show temperature, rainfall etc.

This next map is a choropleth map showing all the hay grown in the United States in the year 2002. Choropleth maps are used mostly to show density such as in population and per-capita income.

The final map here is a dot density map showing the statewise population of the United States in 1999. Dot density maps use circles or "dots" to show the presence of something, either a feature or population.