Blog 7: New Project!

I am very excited to be collaborating with Theresa in our dolphin research! In this project we will use evolutionary trees to study the evolution of this species while primarily focusing on their 'pods', or groups in which they live with others of the same species. This cladogram is helping us trace their ancestry based on mitochondrial DNA (mitochondria are the organelles in plant and animal cells that convert sugar into energy- the powerhouse of the cell!)-
 
We have learned many interesting facts about dolphin behavior thus far, including the following:

• Dolphins are agile and playful
• They live in social groups ranging from 5 to hundreds
• They use echolocation to find prey and often hunt together by surrounding a school of fish, trapping them and taking turns swimming through the school and catching fish
• Dolphins will also follow seabirds, other whales and fishing boats to feed opportunistically on the fish they scare up or discard
• Feeding usually takes place at dusk and dawn
• after birth a calf stays with its mother for around 3-6 years
• They interact with one another by carrying objects around, tossing seaweed to each other, vocalizing, etc

I most look forward to uncovering more facts about this amazing species because I think their interaction and lifestyle habits are very interesting. Here are some of the websites we have used for information so far if you would like to learn more and see where we got our facts: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/11/65/abstract

http://forwhattheywereweare.blogspot.com/2011/03/dolphin-mtdna-phylogeny.html

http://www.defenders.org/dolphin/basic-facts

http://www.dolphinresearch.org.au/bottlenose.php

http://seaworld.org/en/animal-info/animal-infobooks/bottlenose-dolphins/communication-and-echolocation/

Blog #6

Now that we have transitioned into our evolution unit, we are learning about tools that help scientists study evolution. Cladograms play a significant role in determining relationships among organisms. What distinguishes a cladogram from an evolutionary tree is that it does not directly show how descendants are related to their ancestors. If you look at the visuals below, you can see that the cladogram links shared characteristics between organisms as opposed to the heritage of the organisms as in the phylogenetic tree.

Evolutionary (phylogenetic) tree (source: Phylogenetic-classification. Digital image. Open Curriculum. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2014. <http://media.opencurriculum.org/articles_manual/ck12_biology/phylogenetic-classification/2.png>.)

Cladogram (source: Cladogram. Digital image. Biology Evolution. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Nov. 2014. )

Scientists can look at trees to study organisms as a means of researching certain anatomical traits, ancestry, and how organisms evolve. As an example, if you look at the Primates and Rodents & Rabbits categories of the cladogram you can see that the common trait between the two groups is hair because they're both mammals. The lines that extend leftward off of the main line indicate a group of organisms that has acquired that characteristic over time. For example, since Crocodiles are far along in the cladogram, it means that species possesses vertebrae, a bony skeleton, four limbs, amniotic egg, and eggs with shells.

Source:

Enzor, Laura. "Cladograms and Phylogenetic Trees- Evolution Classifications." Education Portal. N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2014.