Respond to one (1) of the following four (4) bulleted items with a "primary post" of at least 125 words. Also, please reply to a fellow student on any topic.
- Neglected Tropical Diseases Caused by Animals. This item asks you to do some internet research. First you will need to find a neglected tropical disease that is directly caused by a parasiticinvertebrate animalin the phylumNematodaorPlatyhelminthes. For the tropical disease you select list the following three pieces of information: (a) the name of the disease; (b) the name ofone speciesthat causes the disease; and (c) where the disease is prevalent. Be sure to credit your sources of information.(Please note: you must choose a neglected tropical disease caused by an animal, i.e. a worm. If you choose a disease caused by a bacteria, virus, or protist, you will not receive credit).
- Pacific Lampreys. Watch thevideoon Pacific Lampreys (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 2012). Please address the following three questions: (a) where do Pacific lampreys fall in the taxonomy of vertebrates? (b) what challenges do Pacific lamprey populations face? (c) why are Native American tribes of the Northwest concerned about them?(Please note: take care not to confuse the Pacific lamprey (described in the video) with the Sea Lamprey, which is a completely different species that is considered an invasive species in the Great Lakes).
- Local Co-evolution of Rattlesnakes and Squirrels. Read at least one of the following articles (Crane, 2016) and/or (Kaplan, 2016). Please address the following three questions: (a) how do squirrels adapt to rattlesnake venom? (b) how do rattlesnakes adapt to squirrel's defenses against rattlesnake venom? (c) what do the results of this research tell us about evolution?
References
Crane, M. (2016, May 19). How is rattlesnake venom like fine wine? Both have regional varieties. Retrieved from https://news.osu.edu/news/2016/05/19/snakes-vs.-squirrels
Kaplan, S. (2016, May 20). Snake venom evolved to kill specific squirrels with shocking precision. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2016/05/20/snake-venom-evolved-to-kill-specific-squirrels-with-shocking-precision/
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. (2012). Taking the initiative to conserve Pacific Lamprey. [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkwfDVAoSXk