DESCRIPTION
Throughout our second semester, each student in our Marine Bio class updates a field guide based on each new phylum that we cover. This website update will cover the sixth phylum of invertebrates we covered in class, Chordata. Each page of our field guide has to include the phylum name and an example of a creature from that phylum, including the creature's common name, scientific name, and three interesting facts about them. We also needed to include a to-scale drawing of the creature with stippling to show it's shade variation.
CONTENT
In my field guide for the phylum Chordata, I drew a colony of bluebell tunicates. It's scientific name is Clavelina moluccensis.
They are generally hermaphroditic.
Colonies are formed by asexual reproduction.
Many live symbiotically with unicellular plants and blue-green algae.
An image of this page of my field guide is included below.
Animals in the phylum Chordata are bilateral and have reduced segmentation. Their skeleton is internal and they have a complete digestive tract. These animals have a simple nervous system and use their gills for respiration. They have notochords, gill slits, and a nerve chord. They are a food source for some animals and are grazers in their natural environment.
REFLECTION
I like that we are able to draw any animal from the phylum and that gives us freedom to include different species than our classmates. I find that it takes a long time to scale a drawing and to get the right shape on a square grid, but it seems to become easier with practice. I like that we don't need to include all information from the unit on the page because it would make organization more difficult. Using the designated amount of time in class has been a challenge, but I am able to complete the assignment without too much difficulty otherwise.
Throughout our second semester, each student in our Marine Bio class updates a field guide based on each new phylum that we cover. This website update will cover the sixth phylum of invertebrates we covered in class, Chordata. Each page of our field guide has to include the phylum name and an example of a creature from that phylum, including the creature's common name, scientific name, and three interesting facts about them. We also needed to include a to-scale drawing of the creature with stippling to show it's shade variation.
CONTENT
In my field guide for the phylum Chordata, I drew a colony of bluebell tunicates. It's scientific name is Clavelina moluccensis.
They are generally hermaphroditic.
Colonies are formed by asexual reproduction.
Many live symbiotically with unicellular plants and blue-green algae.
An image of this page of my field guide is included below.
Animals in the phylum Chordata are bilateral and have reduced segmentation. Their skeleton is internal and they have a complete digestive tract. These animals have a simple nervous system and use their gills for respiration. They have notochords, gill slits, and a nerve chord. They are a food source for some animals and are grazers in their natural environment.
REFLECTION
I like that we are able to draw any animal from the phylum and that gives us freedom to include different species than our classmates. I find that it takes a long time to scale a drawing and to get the right shape on a square grid, but it seems to become easier with practice. I like that we don't need to include all information from the unit on the page because it would make organization more difficult. Using the designated amount of time in class has been a challenge, but I am able to complete the assignment without too much difficulty otherwise.