Dallas World Aquarium

Going to the Dallas World Aquarium was so much fun. My partner (Delaney Neubauer) and I had so much fun going around and taking pictures with all the animals. The most exciting part was seeing the sharks swimming all around us. It was actually kind of trippy after you looked at the tank for too long. My eyes started to cross, and that just made it so much more interesting. I also had a fun time getting to feed the toucan. It was cool to feel its beak just nibble the food right out of my hand. The DWA met my expectations and even exceeded them. I loved getting to spend the day away from school. Also it was very cool for myself to be able to identify many of the fish that were there. This was a great field trip and i hope someday i will get the chance to go back to the DWA(:

Invasive Weeds

All about Invasive Weeds

Scientific Name: Alternanthera philaxeroides

Common Name: Alligatorweed

Description: Emergent shoreline plant, aggressive, mat-forming perennial

Reproduction: Spreads from seed or plant fragments

Problems Caused: can impede navigation and displace native vegetation

Scientific Name: Myriophyllum spicatum

Common Name: Eurasian Watermilfoil

Description: Submerged, stems and red when actively growing

Reproduction: Spreads by seeds, fragments and stolens

Problems Caused: Can impede navigation and shade out native vegetation

Scientific Name: Slavinia molesta

Common Name: Giant Salvinia

Description: Free floating aquatic fern, forms dense mats, root hairs on the leaves resemble "egg beaters" structure. Known to grow 3 feet above the surface of the lake.

Reproduction: Spreads rapidly by buds

Problems Caused: reduces oxygen exchange and negatively effects water quality and habitat. Once established it is almost impossible to eradicate.

Scientific Name: Hydrilla verticuillata

Common Name: Hydrilla

Description: submerged perennial aquatic plant, used mainly for aquarium habitats.

Reproduction: Spreads through tubers, turions, stolons, and fragments. NO SEEDS

Problems Caused: Shades out desirable native vegetation, impedes navigation, and can also grow more than one inch a day.

Scientific Name: Lythrum salicaria

Common Name: Purple Loosestrife

Description: invasive wetland plant, added to wetlands for color.

Reproduction: each plant can produce 2-3 million seeds

Problems Caused: Clogs irrigation canals, causes problems in all 50 states except Florida, replaces native vegetation.

Scientific Name: Eichhornia crassipes

Common Name: Water Hyacinth

Description: "worlds worst weed", one of the fastest growing plants known.

Reproduction: daughter plans and forms thousands of seeds

Problems Caused: uptakes nutrients in the water and releases H ions which acidify the water, and dense mats reduce oxygen levels and block waterways.


Scientific Name: Pistia stratiotes
Common Name: Water Lettuce
Description: looks like lettuce, rosette of grey-green leaves.
Reproduction: daughter plants
Problems Caused: large mats than affect habitat and impede navigation

PREVENTION FOR ALL INVASIVE WEEDS

1. NEVER put aquarium plants in lakes, rivers or wetlands.

2. Please check boat trailers and props when leaving a lake.

3. Don't transport harmful aquatic plants. 

Amphibians

Amphibians 

Difference between Toads and Frogs

                           Toads:

                            walk

                  keep mostly on land                                       

                lay eggs in long chains

                 skin is dry and bumpy

                 eyes do not bulge out

            (Poison gland behind the eye)

                          no teeth                                             

                                                 Frogs:

jump (jump up to 36X their own length)

keep mostly on water                                                       

(go down when the sun shines)

lay eggs in clusters

skin is moist and smooth

eyes bulge out

vomerine teeth in upper jaw

Why are amphibians considered to be an indicator of the health of our ecosystems?

Bioindicators, they have permeable skin that can easily absorb toxic chemicals. They indicate the health of the biosphere. Amphibians are also used to assist in medical research.

Why has their been a decrease in their population?

Many reasons including pollution, infectious diseases, habitat loss, invasive species, climate change and over-harvesting greatly affect the population of Amphibians. 

What could be done to prevent it?

Numerous things can be done to prevent a drastic decrease in the Amphibian population. 

Do not use pesticides, these toxic chemicals are very dangerous to the species.

Don't eat frog legs. The harvesting of Amphibians for the food trade is often unregulated, which results in a primary contributor to Amphibian declines.

Do not purchase wild caught Amphibians.

Don't set your pet frog loose into the wild.

Drink tap water instead of bottled water.

Last but not least Reduce, Re-Use, Recycle!!

How to Assess a Pond

Steps to Assessing a Pond

1. Observe

- dead fish, oil, oily film, plants, algae blooms

2. Observe the Algae

- specifically observe the algae found in your pond, and also can observe different algae samples underneath a microscope

3. Observe Insects under the microscope.

4. Test for Nitrite, Ammonia and Nitrate.

5. Locating the actual problem. Now it is time for the chemical panel. 

- Identifying mercury, chemical pollution, gas leaks, oil, chlorine and soapy/foamy waters. 

Watersheds

What is a watershed?

An area or ridge of land that separates waters flowing to different rivers, basins or streams. 

What lotic systems make up the watershed you live in?

I live in the Elm Fork watershed of the Trinity River. 

Why is it important to monitor the water quality of a water shed?
Monitoring the water quality of water sheds is beneficial to the environment. Monitoring the water includes making sure the water is not contaminated with toxins. Water from watersheds can end up in reservoirs where used for water resources. Those resources must be clean in order to maintain a healthy environment. 

What are benefits our community gets from watersheds?
Benefits provided by healthy watersheds include reduced vulnerability to invasive species, climate change, and future land use changes. Watersheds with natural land cover and soil resources provide carbon storage capabilities. They provide habitats for fish, amphibians, birds and insects. Aside from reduced costs of restoring impaired waters, there are many other economic benefits to conserving healthy watersheds. They preserve recreation activities such as fishing and water related recreation. 

Algae Search Lab

Observations

-We observed little daphnia swimming rapidly throughout the small amount of water we placed on our petri dish.

- We also observed a scud in the pond water.

- We noticed many larva traveling throughout the pond water, under the microscope.

- We found a snail which enjoyed moving around our petri dish when trying to take pictures. The snail left reminiscent from its slime as it traveled.

- The water appeared to have a blood worn which soon came into contact with the snail.

- In the pond water we also observed a baby snail whose shell had not yet been produced to its maturity.

- After setting the snails in our petri dish, they began to engage in sexual activity. 

- Two adult snails became attached while in effort to reproduce.

- The blood worm often moved rapidly throughout the petri dish, striking the snails on a regular basis.

- Our pond water observation lab was very successful. We found many daphnia, scuds, larva, snails and a blood worm.

   

When we added the snails to our tank, our mino did not do anything. Our mino has stayed in the corner of our tank since it first was set in there. Till this day our snails are still alive, and have attached themselves to the side of the tank.  

Freshwater Careers

Aquatic Botanists

Concerned with the fundamental studies on structure, function, dynamics and classification of plant-dominated aquatic communities. 

I chose the Botanists because i really do enjoy all the different types of plants and flowers there are in this world. 

 

Wildlife Biologist

Study behaviors of various water life animals.

I chose this career because of my love for marine animals. Marine animals vary in size, shape, color and uniqueness. It is a beautiful wonder to see how many different species of animals you can find in the marine wildlife. 

Restoration Workers

Design and build aquatic ecosystems.

I chose this career because i enjoy design and architecture. I love the different ways people come up with to design and operate aquatic ecosystems.