Meeting with group mates!, 7/8/12-10/8/12

We had a pre-discussion on the 8th of August where all of us clarified our doubts on creating our organism and listed out the possible abiotic factors. Then, we did the final preparations before meeting at Natasha's house to do our video on 10th August. We settled our script and assembled our "props" before we filmed the video in phases. After which, Zi Fang, who is good with editing videos, edited and compiled all the phases in her computer and produced our very own documentary! :)

Here is our 1st discussion on the 8th August. The key points discussed are here.

Sumana: Where do we include the specifications for the 5 abiotic factors
Zi Fang: we can say like
Yi Wai: non-living chemical and physical factors in the environment
Natasha T.: so one abiotic factor is temperature
Zi Fang: "The pond habitat has many abiotic factors. -lists out- . What animals can live here? Let's find out -List all animals etc-
Swathi: water
Yi Wai: okay
so temperature
Sumana: And can an adaptation that fulfils my role in the food chain be an adaptation that helps me creature survive in habitats?
Zi Fang: ABIOTIC FACTORS.
Natasha T.:oxygen
Zi Fang: 1.Temperature
Yi Wai: - oxygen
Swathi: water
Swathi: light
Natasha T.: so we have 3 already
Sumana: Light – Affects many living organisms, not just plants Temperature – Affects physiological activities of all living organisms Water – Essential for life – Organisms may have specially adapted features for survival in places with a lot of or very little water.
Natasha T.: temperature, oxygen and water (salinity)
Natasha T.: so.. what else
Natasha T.: Light.
Zi Fang: brb i go google it
Yi Wai: LIGHT, TEMPERATURE, WATER
THEN WHAT
Sumana: And can an adaptation that fulfils my role in the food chain be an adaptation that helps me creature survive in habitats?
Natasha T.: Guys so please add a factor that has to do with LIGHT
Yi Wai: SALINITY OF THE WATER?
Zi Fang: abiotic factors can be classified as light or more generally radiation, temperature, water, the chemical surrounding composed of the terrestrial atmospheric gases, as well as soil. The macroscopic climate often influences each of the above. Not to mention pressure and even sound waves if working within marine- or terrestrial environments. The Biome is defined as environments where organisms live in accordance to their environments.
Sumana: And can an adaptation that fulfils my role in the food chain be an adaptation that helps me creature survive in habitats?
Natasha T.: YES
Natasha T.: SO GUYS!!!! ABIOTIC FACTORS: 1. LIGHT 2. TEMPERATURE 3. WATER 4. SALINITY 5. OXYGEN PLEASE MAKE YOUR ORGANISMS SUITED TO THE FACTORS. BUT FOR LIGHT, ONLY ZI FANG HUNTS AT NIGHT.


Discussion 2

The script:

Biology PT Group Work - Video script

Sumana: Welcome to Planet Zork. 30% of Planet Zork is covered by land and 70% by water. The air composition is 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and 1% Carbon dioxide. There are several biomes in Planet Zork. Now, let’s look at one of the biomes – The Tundra Biome.

Natasha: The Tundra Biome, which experiences strong winds, is characterized as cold and dry, with low annual rainfall. Although there are 4 seasons, winters are long and cold with average temperatures below -56 degree Celsius and the summers are short with average temperatures of 10 degree Celsius.

Natasha: This is the pond habitat of the Tundra Biome. How can organisms survive in this harsh environment? Let’s find out!

Yi Wai: The producer is an aquatic plant, Callholy E.Y. This plant has shallow but dense roots, which enables the plant to absorb water.  This plant is dormant. Hence, it can stay under the ice surface of the pond when it freezes so that it can survive the freezing temperatures.They grow in a cluster and is dark in colour to enable the plant to absorb solar heat. Moreover, it also has hair on the stem to trap heat.

Swathi: The decomposer is called Fistulae viverepetram. It has roots to absorb maximum moisture from the permafrost for itself and also for a nearby plant, from which it will obtain sugars and transport water to via two adjacent tubes. It has moss which acts as a camouflaging agent and helps to obtain oxygen via the stomata. It has 2 toxin glands and many spores under the cap to poison its predators and to improve chances of reproduction.

Charis: There are plenty of herbivores here. One of them is the Sciurus Gibb, which feeds on the aquatic plant. This animal is brown to camouflage with rocks in water and has a streamlined body shape. It has gills to stay underwater and has lungs to breath on land. Its small body retains body heat. During winter when the pond freezes, the animal hibernates as it is unable to eat the aquatic plant. Although it has small limbs, it has powerful hind legs to escape from its predator-- Strix vespertilio.

Zi Fang: Strix vespertilio is a carnivore. It is a nocturnal animal, having a keen eyesight at night. It catches the scent of its prey from 6km away and stalks its prey, flying up and gliding down and scooping its prey with its teeth. Then, it uses its incisors to shear off flesh. It has a short tail to reduce heat loss and has hollow fur to trap air, insulating and making it buoyant in water. It camouflages with the surroundings and can swim quickly with its webbed feet. Its bones are slightly heavy but hollow. This allows it to fly a short distance and float lower in water.

Sumana: Another prey of this fearsome beast is the Fortis Aithusa. This animal is a herbivore with donkey-like teeth to chew on fungi and plants. Its internal system undergoes a process to remove the poison secreted by the fungi it eats. The warm, white, waterproof fur helps retain body heat.It has lungs and nostrils, just like any other mammal, thus it can’t stay underwater for a very long time. It has two horns and night vision to help it fight against and look out for predators. It moves in herds and runs at 30km/h, which is another reason for its strong and long legs.

 

Natasha: Finally, let’s look at the omnivore, Albus superstes. This animal has thick and oily fur to enable the water to flow off easily so that it is kept dry when it goes into the lake to hunt. Moreover, it also has black skin over a layer of blubber under the thick white fur. These are to adapt to the harsh temperatures in the Tundra Biome. It has small ears to minimize heat loss and stiff hairs on its soles of the feet to increase friction between the feet and ice on the ground.

Swathi: Now, we shall look at the relationship between the various organisms. The plant is the producer in the food web. One of the herbivores depends on the producer for food while the other depends on fungi. As nutrient cycling is slow and the dead matter tends to accumulate, a decomposer is necessary to speed up the nutrient cycling. The carnivore in this food chain is the secondary consumer, which feeds on both herbivores. Hence, there is a predator-prey relationship among these organisms. The omnivore is a tertiary consumer, which feeds on both the carnivore and the plant. Hence, there will be competition between the omnivore and the herbivore, which both feed on the plant. When the organisms die, the fungi will feed on the decomposing matter and break down the matter into simple substances, which will then return to the soil as nutrients.

After which, we filmed our video with the assistance of Natasha's father. We then had lunch before proceeding to editing the video. Then, Zi Fang would bring it home to add in subtitles with the main points we provided her with.

Pictures taken during the video processing:

Preparing habitat for filming

Taking pictures for the filming!

Taking pictures for the filming too :)

Watching the filming

Editing the video :)

More editing of the video!

After filming!

The summary of main points (Zi Fang's subtitles):

YI WAI  (Callholy E.Y.)

• ·      Aquatic Plant, Callholy E.Y.
• ·      Shallow but dense roots, enables plant to absorb water
• ·      Grow in a cluster
• ·      Dark in colour to absorb solar heat
• ·      Hair on the stem to trap heat
• Is dormant when the pond freezes.

SWATHI (Fistulae viverepetram.)

• ·      Roots to absorb maximum moisture from permafrost, cos for self and adjacent plants like shrubs.
• ·      Tubes for mutualism with other plant, where decomposer will transport water to plant and receive sugars from plant.
• ·      Moss to camouflage it from consumers (cos it looks like moss on a rock) and to get oxygen (from stomata)
• ·      Toxin glands to poison its consumers in case it gets eaten
• ·      Lots of spores to improve chances of reproduction

NATASHA (Albus superstes)

• ·      Thick and oily fur to allow water to flow off easily to keep the body dry.
• ·      Black skin to better absorb heat from the sun.
• ·      A thick layer of blubber under thick white fur coat act as insulators to help reduce body heat loss to the cold surroundings.
• ·      Small ears to minimize heat loss.
• ·      Stiff hairs on the soles of the feet increase friction between the feet and the icy ground.
• ·      Excellent night vision to adapt to the minimal amount of sunlight during prolonged winter.
• ·      Body can store water to ensure sufficient water due to little rainfall in Tundra.
• ·      Hibernates most of the time during winter to slow down life processes so as to conserve energy as food is scarce during winter period.  

ZIFANG   (Strix vespertilio)

• ·      Able to fly and swim short distance
• ·      Streamlined body shape for swimming
• ·      Good Night vision
• ·      Nocturnal animal
• ·      Good sense of smell, nostrils to breathe.
• ·      Short tail for balance and to reduce amount of heat loss.
• ·      White for camouflage
• ·      Webbed feet for steering in water
• ·      Weak legs. flies down and scoops up prey with mouth.
• ·      Hollow fur that traps air inside, thus making the animal buoyant in water. The layer of air provides insulation between their warm bodies and the cold Arctic air and water
• ·    Bones are slightly heavy but still hollow. This allows it to fly a short distance and float lower in water.

SUMANA  (Fortis aithusa)

• -- Warm, White, Waterproof fur to retain heat

- -- Two horns to fight predator

- -- Donkey-like teeth to chew on fungi

- -- Strong legs to run at 30km/h

- -- Fortis Aithusa, Herbivore

CHARIS  (Sciurus Gibb)

• brown to camouflage with rocks in water

• gills to stay underwater
• small body so as to retain body heat
• lungs to breath on land
• small limbs but powerful hind legs

• no claws

• small tail to lose minimal heat
• big eyes which allows it to see both at night and in the day. In the day, it would open its eye lids halfway and it would open it wide during the night
• sensitive nose to detect when its prey or predator is near
• claws to rip plants from its roots
• when flat on its belly, it has a streamlined body shape
• ears which flap down when swimming to prevent water from entering its body
• sharp hearing that can hear up to 1 km away

• a thick layer of fur and fats