...ALLIGATORS- Organism Physiology Jennifer Ayoub http://www.daufuskieislandconservancy.org/index.php?page=american-alligator The organism that I am going to discuss in this paper is the Alligator. The name "alligator" is an anglicized form of el lagarto, the Spanish term for "the lizard", which early Spanish explorers and settlers in Florida called the alligator. The alligator The alligator is from the crocodilia family and is found normally in the north and even the south. Alligators can grow as big as 14ft and 970 lbs. The largest alligator is in Lousiana and is 72 yrs old. When the alligators reproduce their populations they are found as far in the north as 35 degrees latitude in the freshwater marshes and rivers of coastal North Carolina, and they are also found in the far south as 25 degrees latitude in the Florida Keys. Some of the alligators live in the ocean and they are known as “Salties”. They can't live in the salt water because they dont have the saltwater glands. These different areas are exposed to very different annual thermal cycles. Alligators stop eating when the water temperature drops below 16 degrees C. This anorexia lasts for about 6 months at 35 degrees latitude. In southwest, Louisiana alligators stop feeding in October and they do not resume feeding until the late March or early April. The only time that the alligators grow is in the warmer months, this is their growing season, because they are constantly feeding during this...
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...Florida Alligators…… Are They Really That Scary????? By: Krista Source: Me with the help of Florida and some alligators My First Time What would you do if you walked into a store and saw three alligators lying on the floor? Well that is exactly what happened to me, and like every other human being, I freaked out at first. At this store you were able to hold an alligator for five dollars. After watching my mom and best friend hold one I thought that I couldn’t miss this opportunity, and I’m glad I didn’t. About Alligators! How many teeth do you have? Well, alligators have 80 teeth. Their jaws are very special. You probably think that they are stronger than anything. But you’re wrong an alligators jaw is strong enough to close on something big, but if something is holding it together it is not strong enough to open. Alligators have many special facts about them. The black bumps around an alligator’s mouth are called nerves. Therefore an alligator can feel every single touch. Alligators are very sensitive because they spend a lot of their time underwater. If a gust of wind came and the alligator’s mouth was open the wind would act its senses and the jaw would automatically snap shut. Alligators have two sets of eyes. One set is for under water and the other is for above water. An alligator can stay under water for approximately 40 minutes to 2 hours if needed. When they are under water there heart rate slows down to 3 to 5 beats per minute. Everglade Ride ...
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...THE ALLIGATOR RIVER STORY As most stories begin: Once upon a time, there was a river that was practically overflowing with alligators. As you may have guessed, it was called the Alligator River. A girl named Aurora lived on the bank of this river, and on the opposite bank lived Greg. Aurora and Greg were much in love with each other, and wanted very much to see each other. But there was one slight complication: No boat, and an alligator-filled river stood between them. Aurora decided to seek help so that she could see her friend Greg. So she approached Bong, who owned a boat. Now this was very fortunate for Aurora, because Bong’s boat was what exactly she needed to get across the river. She explained her situation to Bong, who then replied: “Sure you can borrow my boat, but only under one condition. The condition is that you sleep with me tonight. Now this startled Aurora, because she didn’t want to sleep with Bong. She just wanted to borrow his boat so she could see Greg. After Aurora had told Bong “Nothing doing”, she wandered down the road until she came upon Henry. Aurora explained her predicament (her desire to see Greg and Bong’s response) to Henry. He replied: “That’s not my concern I’ve got other things to do. Leave me alone”. A despondent Aurora, her options exhausted, finally decided to go back to Bong. She slept with him that night. The next morning, Bong, true to his word, loaned his boat to...
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...Scientific Name: Alligator mississippiensis Introduction to the Species: Basically describe your species in several sentences. Write as if you only had one paragraph to describe your species. The American alligator has survived extinction for over one hundred fifty million years. It is a reptile that prefers to live in calm waters. It hatches eggs on land and protects its young for a few years after they hatch. They can eat a wide variety of animals as they are tertiary consumers of their habitats. They are aggressive and pack a mean punch, their jaw can kill a deer in one bite. They have been known to attack humans but only a few people die as a result of their attacks. Physical Description: The formation of skin on their body are called osteoderms or scutes, embedded bony plates. They are a dark green and grey color and the scutes resemble a soldier’s armor. Their snout have two nostrils on both sides that face upward, to allow them to breathe while their body is submerged underwater. The American alligator has four short and stout legs, the front two feet have five toes and four toes on each of the back feet. Alligators have anywhere from seventy to eighty teeth in their mouth at one time, as teeth get warm out, they are replaced....
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...The American alligator is native to many states that are in the south in the United States. Alligators like to live in the southern states where it is warmer even during the winter for example; Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, and Texas. The water is much warmer in the south since is closer to the equator. Not only do they like to live in warm water but also in freshwater. They create burrows that go as deep as 20 feet on the bottom. Alligators live in rivers lakes and other small bodies of water. All Alligators and every other animal have to start somewhere there are 4 different life stages of the American Alligator. To begin the Alligators life it starts in the egg stage. Like any other living organism it needs to be able to go and develop enough inside its mother to survive growing all the necessary organs to live. The second stage is the juvenile stage. This stage is when the Alligator hatches from the egg and starts its life living in the world. As soon as they come out of the egg the mother brings them straight to the water there they start their hunting life even though they are small. Moving along in their life is the stage called adulthood. Adulthood is when they are now old enough to produce their own eggs be on their own and breed with other Alligators. In addition to the life stages of the Alligator is how long the Alligator will live its life for. Alligators depending on the condition Alligators can live anywhere from...
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..."American Alligator or Alligator Mississippiensis" The American Alligator is one of the scariest looking types of animals, Class: Reptilia, Family: Alligatoridae and Kingdom: Animalia. An interesting fact about this reptile is that it can be capable of not eating for 5 to 6 months once they reach a cold body temperature. Their physical characteristics consist of a very dry shielded appearance in the outside along with a plane long tail; which details the young ones with yellow stripes while the mature ones have dark stripes. They are reptiles with two anterior legs and five toes, while in the posterior two other legs they only have four toes (para.1). Alligators are slightly different from other reptiles in their respiratory system due to them...
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...and muscle. Then they swim off, into mucky, filthy water and yet they still do not get any kind of major infection. Humans exposed to the same type of battles and the same disgusting water they would have a devastating outcome, possibly death. This gave him and others ideas to check into their blood to see if they had something humans lacked. In 1998, Dr. Merchant found that American Alligators have a powerful antibiotic in their blood. Dr. Merchant demonstrated the “unscientific” evidence suggesting that reptile are resistant to bacterial infection. He identified reasons these creatures were immune to infection. Like humans, they have a natural defense system against invading bacteria, viruses, and fungi, which involves a group of proteins called the complement system. So Dr. Merchant tested his theory by exposing the alligator blood to pathogens such as HIV, West Nile Virus, and E Coli. His results- it started to kill the bacteria. As it turned out the alligator complement system is much more effective than that of humans. The problem: no possibility of isolating the crocodile or alligator cell(s) that could be given to...
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...rabbit from there a new species comes on to eat the snake which would be a hawk. And then from there a hawk gets hunted down by humans which then humans eat the wild bird. The second reason why we should care for the Everglades more for is because of its wild life that it has growing on it. Many things live in the Everglades such as many fish like piranha, snapper, and many more. The Everglades is also home to many birds such as vultures, bald eagle, and herons. Many snakes live in the Everglades also such as anacondas, pythons, and the most common one out there the boa constrictors. Other types of creatures live in the Everglades as well such as crocodiles, alligators, many lizards, and many other species out there. The Everglades is said to be the only place in the world where the American Crocodile and the American Alligator co-exist in the wild. So why would anyone would want to throw this away? Well most people that never really thought about the environment in the Everglades would want to build other thing such as highways, roads, house, and buildings and may even sell the skin of these creatures to make clothing. The final reason why we should cherish the Everglades is because of its wetlands. A wetland is where water and land are combined together to form a sort of muddy beach. Most people refer to the wetlands as wastelands because they have nothing good in them only gross bacteria and harmful diseases. Well that is not true because the wetlands is where most new life...
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...Evolution of the Alligator Evolution of the Alligator One of the most highly evolved animals on the Earth today is the alligator. Found mainly in the swamps and warmer climates of the earth, these predators are one of the few animals left that existed when the dinosaurs roamed the planet. Over the millennia, they have evolved into one of the most feared and interesting creatures today. However, the modern alligator is a far cry from its ancestral roots. Today, by looking at the anatomy of the alligator there are many similarities between alligators and humans. (Jones, 2011) Most of their internal organs are located in roughly the same place as a human. The liver and spleen are just above the stomach while the intestines are below, and their spine runs down the middle of their back. The most interesting feature of the alligator is the mouth. The most noted feature often is the long nose and mouth. The nose and mouth is long for two reasons. First, it allows for the alligator to breathe while the rest of his body is underwater, and second to handle the force load of its powerful jaws when it closes. The bite of an alligator has been measures at over 2,100 pounds. That’s the equivalent of a car landing on top of a human. (Viegas, 2003) The mouth has evolved of the centuries to handle the pressure exerted. It is believed that alligators were first primarily land creatures that ranged in size from cats to bears. At the time, there were also some species that lives...
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...Noah Crawford 2/17/11 Pr. 3 Africa Essay There are many great rivers in the world, but one out-shines them all. That river is the Nile River. It is the longest river in the entire world, stretching from the very top of Egypt, all the way to the bottom of Uganda where it drains into Lake Victoria. The Nile River greatly affects the people who live along it. The land all along the Nile is very fertile and good for growing crops. Every year, the Nile overflows and sends minerals called silt onto the land. The silt makes the land more fertile for people to grow crops to eat and sell. The Nile also helps with transportation. Since it’s a river, people can from place to place by boat. The Nile, additionally, can be used for drinking water or for irrigating. Africa must be careful to keep its economy well-balanced. If there is not diversity in what in being manufactured, other parts in the economy will fall apart. For example, if Africa spent most of its time towards the mineral industry and were mostly just mining for precious minerals, all of the farmers who grow and sell cash crops will not be able to sell them. Then, they will lose income, not have a job, and not be able to support their family. Also, if Africa spent most of its time to the farming industry, the same thing will happen to miners. On top of all of that, if Africa spent its time too much on either industry, other counties that want to import certain goods from Africa might not be able to because of the...
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..................1 Aswan High Dam…………………………………………..2 Bangladesh…………………………………………………..3 Colorado River Basin…………………………………….4 James Bay, Canada….......................................5 Ogallala Aquifer……………………………………………6 Three Gorges Dam………………………………………..7 Florida Everglades…………………………………………8 Florida Everglades The Florida Everglades is one of the three largest national parks in the US. It also contains an ecosystem not found anywhere else in the world. A huge reservoir called the Floridan Aquifer lies around 1000 ft. below. 8 The Florida Everglades is one of the three largest national parks in the US. It also contains an ecosystem not found anywhere else in the world. A huge reservoir called the Floridan Aquifer lies around 1000 ft. below. 8 Three Gorges Dam The Three Gorges Dam increased the quantity reservoirs hydroelectric stations, abundantly. It also cause 1.2 million people to relocate. 7 The Three Gorges Dam increased the quantity reservoirs hydroelectric stations, abundantly. It also cause 1.2 million people to relocate. 7 Ogallala Aquifer It is used to hold more freshwater than all freshwater lakes, streams and rivers on earth. Due to pumping of this groundwater, many locations are experiencing water shortages. 6 It is used to hold more freshwater than all freshwater lakes, streams and rivers on earth. Due to pumping of this groundwater, many locations are...
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...In July of 2005 an angler reported a fish kill on the river Tolka at Clonee to the ERFB The ERFB sent out fisheries environmental officers. On site inspection reviled a discharge pipe leading from a abattoir close by. The area around this pipe was chemically burned and the water was discolored The area was absent of flora and fauna downstream from this point. This was a point source pollution event. (1) Upstream approx 5M there was small fish alive but were absent downstream They proceeded to take samples of water in a standard method During this process it was noticed that a smell of noxious gases was increasing A shortness of breath and a skin /eye irrigation by the officers accursed The discharge pipe expelled a fluid 5 m into the river with a high flow rate Photos were taken by the EFOs This contained for approx 5 mins This point source smelling of ammonia and the visual impact on the downstream area would give rise to the opinon that this was the pollutant. (3) Samples were collected from pipe directly the river and various positions downstream and upstream Then all the samples were collected and labeled Then EFO s then visited the factory an abattoir owned by KEPAK MEATS Ltd They insisted that guarantees be given to stop this effluent discharge immediately Senior staff gave this guarantee This was the best effort taken by the EFOs to contain the pollution (2) Upon further inspection and a elecrofishing survey completed it was found that a...
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...Comparison of establishment of Cottonwood and Saltcedar Cottonwood (Populus spp.) is native to several temperate and boreal regions of North America where decrease in floodwaters exposes minerals in the soil surfaces. Cottonwoods are ecologically important to arid regions of western and southwestern North America because of the absence of other native tree species as their replacements (Rood and Mahoney, 1990; Cooper et al. 1999). Cottonwoods are prone to high invasion in riparian ecosystems as a result of large amount of hydrological disturbance in such areas (Tabacchi 1995). Cottonwood trees can be either male or female both of which contain flowers clustered in catkins (Braatne et al. 1996). Seeds produced by both flowers are reported to be greater than twenty five millions per tree annually (Schreiner 1974). Since the seed viability is very less lasting for 1-2 weeks under natural conditions and 2-3 days under wet conditions germination of seeds must occur in short period of time. Cottonwoods can also reproduce asexually through crown breakage and tree fall during wind storms and flooding events. The broken branches after being buried in sediment sprout and develop strong shoots. Species, climatic condition and drainage basin of the area determines whether the seedlings are established more from sexual reproduction or asexual propagules may outdo seedlings in growth and competition (Braatne et al. 1996). Cottonwood seedlings are poor competitors and their establishment...
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...rock structure of the Himalayas comprising shale and siltstone is extremely pliable and construction of structures close to the rivers is a precursor for disaster Several Himalayan geologists have repeatedly expressed apprehension against the massive road and dam-building construction activity taking place in Uttarakhand which had resulted in the hillsides “crumbling. States oppose Model Flood Bill Even as floods play havoc in Uttarakhand, several states have opposed the provisions of a 38-year-old Model Flood Bill aimed at minimising losses to life and property in the natural calamity. The CWC had circulated the model bill to all the states to help the state governments enact the legislation. Except for Manipur and Rajasthan, no state legislature has enacted the 'Model Bill on Flood Plain Zoning'. Human hand behind flood disaster Ecologists point out that the huge expansion of hydro-power projects and construction of roads to cope with the lakhs of tourists in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh has compounded the scale of the disaster. There are of course links between climate change and extreme weather events as has happened with the torrential rain in Uttarakhand. But this has been exacerbated by the reckless construction of buildings, dams and roads in a fragile environment. Many of the settlements have been built right next to the rivers in blatant violation of environmental laws. The expansion of roads has proved a major destabilising factor combined as it is with...
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...cooling. For many decades we have come to the conclusion of the more pollution, the more the world’s temperature increases but this is all about to change. Global cooling is caused by Global Warming heating up the world and melting the ice caps. The ice caps then release fresh water, which now dilutes into the Arctic waters making it less salty. This means the Gulf Stream will no longer sink to the ocean floor and will not make its return journey to the Gulf of Mexico. As soon as the Gulf Stream switches off there is no warm air reaching the Artic. In result the temperature drops so that ice ends up covering large parts of Europe and North America. Global cooling also increases the rainfall in places like Russia. In Russia the three great rivers now empty huge amounts of freshwater into the ocean due to the unexpected heavier rainfall. Global cooling will have an immense effect on living and non-living organisms all because of the pollution exposed into the earth’s atmosphere. Yet, many people argue that global warming and global cooling is a natural issue that has nothing to do with human activity despite all of the scientific evidence to prove so. Other people believe global cooling is happening and at a very fast rate and humans are going to have to adapt to these Artic like conditions. It is very likely global cooling will take action is the world doesn’t change its ways and fast. There are lots of ways in which you alone can change the fate of the earth, such as turning...
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