Guppies and Natural Selection

Being flashy and colorful attracts mates as well as predators.  Camouflage can hide you from predators and potential mates, so camouflage is good to an extent.

My favorite guppy's scientific name is poecilia reticulata.  It is from Brazil and grows to approx. 3.5 cm.

My favorite predator fish is in Trinidad and Latin America, grows to about 16", and its scientific name is Hoplerythrinus unitaeniatus.  It is the Golden Trahira.

Habitat conditions that would affect predator populations is a natural dam, as small fish could fit through, but the larger predators would run out of food.

John Endler was a biologist and studied diversity in coloration of guppies in Trinidad.

Observations about pool coloration:

Pool 1: Blue and orange splotches on their sides, with bright coloration and large spots.
Pool 2: Average coloration, with medium-sized spots.
Pool 3: Average coloration with small spots.

I believe all of the guppies need to balance the predators in the area (by becoming more drab), and need to pass on their genes (with causes more vivacity), so more predators will cause more drabness, and more females and less predators, and this will vary slightly because no two pools are exactly the same.

Predators influence guppy coloration because they eat the brighter ones.

Yes, my hypothesis was correct. As more varieties of predators were introduced, then more were drab. If only rivulus were introduced, then the bright guppies would become completely dominant.

Male guppies live in a crossfire between mates and predators because mates want brighter colors, but predators eat the brighter guppies.

Guppies in the different areas have different coloring because of the certain predators in those pools favor different colorings.

If mostly drab guppies were placed in a pond with few predators, the guppies would become brighter and the population would explode.

If mostly bright guppies were placed in a stream with many predators, the population and coloration would level out.

Biodiversity-Conservation for the People

Key Words:
Life raft ecosystem
Ecosystem services
Biodiversity hot spots
Global impact

Main Points:
There are many links between human health/well-being and saving endangered species.
It is easier to conserve one area, rather than one species, hence hot spots.
Ecosystem services should be the main target of conservation.
Protecting ecosystem services would dramatically improve the lifestyle of 750 million people in poverty.
Life raft ecosystems are finally the most important, as conserving them would decrease disaster damage and restock biodiversity.
It's not possible for "wilderness", but saving only the species good for humans is unethical.
Basically, find the life raft ecosystems.

Biodiversity

Protecting wildlife and biodiversity is important, as new answers to age old questions. A more effective painkiller than morphine is produced from the toxins of certain cone snails. But the cone snails are threatened due to overexploitation of their shells. If we lose the cone snails, "...the loss to future generations would be incalculable." says Eric Chivian of Harvard Medical School. Also habitat loss also affects people because some island nations are reliant on tourism, and marine life is a major cause of tourism. If the marine life is destroyed due to habitat loss, then the island loses a lot of its economy. It's financing a plot to destroy yourself. For example, Hawaii is a major whale watching site. But the water and the whales are not faring so well. Entanglement and collisions with objects like boats are killing the whales off. Preserving biodiversity is good for people, as it promotes the economy and saves lives.

Chernobyl Article and Questions DNA Change

This article (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1319386.stm) explains how DNA mutations were much more likely and damaging in children of liquidators that cleaned up the Chernobyl reactor #4. It has been shown that children who born from liquidators had a 7 times more chance of banded DNA. There are also many signs pointing towards the problem being from internal DNA changes rather than new radiation.

1. How many times more likely to have banded DNA were children who were born after the explosion than before it?

2. Were the bands from external exposure or were they hereditary?

3. What were the people who cleaned up the reactor called?

Chernobyl Questions

Why was the power off if they knew it could be dangerous?
How are the animals surviving?
How long will it be before humans can reinhabit this place?
What are the effects of the cesium137 and strontium90?
Why was the project going on in the middle of the night?

Love canal questions

How long does it take the chemicals to decompose?
What are the effects of the chemicals after this many years?
Has anything happened to the families that live there now?
Can you explain the containment strategies?
How can you prevent airborne chemicals from reaching me?

8/30 Catalyst

The toxic waste in Love Canal was pushed up to the surface by the blizzard of '77' when the snow melted, the water got under the clay, then pushed the toxins up. There were many health hazards associated with the chemicals, such as cancer and birth defects. Other parts of the ecosystem were affected, like the water supply, which in turn infected the plants and animals.

Hazards of Oil Dispersants

Oil dispersants are very dangerous, especially Corexit 9527 and 9500.  It has been proven that oil alone gives marine animals a 98% chance of survival, while oil and dispersants give them a less than 10% chance.  This proves that the dispersants are not helping the water but harming it.  Some long term effects of many dispersants are internal bleeding (if swallowed), skin sores, and not to mention others.  But Nalco insists that the EPA reported that it is having almost no impact on the environment and limiting damage.  I sent an e-mail with a bp disclosure to Ms. Leland.  If you want the same e-mail, just ask.  If Nalco says it is as safe as it is, then the oil is a bigger threat.  But if not, the Corexit is the bigger problem.  Until tests are done on the other products like Sea Brat #4, we won't know which product is better.

Chemical Dispersants

How do chemical dispersants take the oil to the surface?
What bacteria ingest the oil once it is broken down?
What revolutions into nontoxic dispersants have been made?