Monday, October 7, 2013

Dragonfly

The dragonfly is scientifically called Odonata. It resides in every continent except antarctica and is found in freshwater ecosystems. They lay eggs in water which hatch into wingless naiads. They are a predator to mosquitos and aren't usually the prey, even as babies. Odonata have been around since the dinosaurs, used to have meter long wingspans, and have special extending mouths. 

Primary Amebic Meningoencephalitis (Naegleria fowleri)

This is a single-celled ameba. It goes through 3 morphic phases- Trophozoite, flagellate, and cyst. This ameba lives in warm freshwater and soil. It infects the brain and destroys brain tissue. It causes flu-like symptoms that then transform into more severe symptoms such as seizures and hallucinations. Treatment is unclear and this infection is always fatal. Although it is rare, you can prevent this disease by limiting water up your nose and staying away from dirty, neglected freshwater.

Dissolved Oxygen Demonstration

This demonstration included four bottles. We recorded the time, date, dissolved oxygen, temperature, conductivity, and pH of each bottle. We used special tools to record the dissolved oxygen. We also found that DO and temp are directly correlated to the environmental factors