Arthropods!
Those creepy things that crawl on you...
Courtney Murphy; Mitcham; Pre-AP Bio; 2
At a glance...
It's part of the kingdom Animalia and the phylum Anthropoda. Athropods include insects, arachnids, and crustaceans. Since arthropods are such a wide range of animals, there is no specific scientific name. Their trophic level is a herbivore.
Grasshoppers!
A grasshopper is an insect.
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Subphylum:Hexapoda
Class:Insecta
Order:Orthoptera
Suborder:Caelifera
Respiratory System up close
Habitat
Predators/Prey
Grasshoppers are herbivores, which means they eat only plants. Things like leaves, stems, corn, oats are what they eat.
Ecological Adaptations
The grasshopper also has powerful and extremely elongated back legs, which enable it to hop or jump from place to place or away from predators.
Ecological Role...
Taxonomy
Human Impact/Influence
Grasshoppers also benefit ecosystems through their droppings (frass), which contain plant nutrients that enrich the soil and fertilize new plant growth.
Interesting Facts!
- They make their sound (music) by rubbing their wings or legs together.
- Their average life-span is about one year
- They have a hard exoskeleton to protect themselves
- Grasshoppers cause billions of dollars in damage to food crops annually, worldwide.
- Some people on other continents eat grasshoppers for nutrition
- Fossils show that grasshoppers existed long before dinosaurs!
Crayfish!!!
Scientific Classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class:Malacostraca
Order:Decapoda
Suborder:Pleocyemata
Infraorder:Astacidea
Superfamily:Astacoidea
They are a primary consumer.
Respiratory System Up Close
As the crayfish walks, the surface area of the gills spread so the water can pass through in order for the crayfish to breath.
Habitat
Predators/Prey
During the day, they nestle underneath rocks and hide from predators. Lots of species of fish, birds, alligators, and etc. will eat the crayfish. During the battle of eating, the crayfish actually escapes quite often due to its very fast swim speeds from its rear tail.
Ecological Adaptations
- Crayfish adapted eyes on short stems that move around, allowing them to see in all directions just by turning the stems. They also have two pairs of sensitive antennae that help detect movement in the water as well as chemicals transmitted through the water, such as that of a dead fish or a nearby potential mate.
- Crayfish have large front pincers, and they also have smaller ones on their front two sets of legs. These legs are used for walking, but the pincers help bring food to the crayfish's mouth and tear it into smaller pieces. The large pincers grab and hold prey, and they help ward off predators
Ecological Role
Video
Interesting Facts!
- They can move their eyes independently from one another.
- Crayfish fight over their territory.
- Crayfish can eat hot dogs and cat food. (not relevant, but interesting nonetheless)
- Crayfish molt at the end of June. They usually eat their old skeleton in order to recover the calcium and phosphates contained in it.
- The presence of crayfish in the water is a sign of lack of severe contamination. Crayfish cleanse the water of detritus and carrion.
Article about evolution of crayfish!
Pages Cited
http://www.animalstown.com/animals/g/grasshopper/grasshopper.php
http://ladywildlife.com/animals/grasshopper.html
https://sites.google.com/site/chsgrasshopper/niche
http://insects.about.com/od/grasshoppersandcrickets/a/10-Cool-Facts-About-Grasshoppers.htm
http://wiki.hicksvilleschools.org/groups/hsbiology/wiki/9abf5/Respiratory_System.html
http://animals.pawnation.com/crayfish-adaptations-5605.html