Biological Science Archives - 51 Science Bag /science-bag/category/biological-science/ Mon, 11 Dec 2023 18:09:13 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 Secrets of Animal Sounds: The Music of Insects & Frogs /science-bag/secrets-of-animal-sounds-the-music-of-insects-frogs/ Fri, 01 Dec 2023 22:01:45 +0000 /science-bag/?p=6791 Gerlinde Höbel, Associate Professor 51 Dept. of Biological Sciences Rafael Rodríguez, Professor 51 Dept. of Biological Sciences All animals communicate. How that is done, of course, varies by the creature and the purpose. This presentation focusses on treefrogs and treehoppers, …

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]]> Gerlinde Höbel, Associate Professor 51 Dept. of Biological Sciences

Rafael Rodríguez, Professor 51 Dept. of Biological Sciences

All animals communicate. How that is done, of course, varies by the creature and the purpose. This presentation focusses on treefrogs and treehoppers, whose sometimes raucous choruses provide an ideal way in which to ask questions and learn about the social and environmental factors that govern their lives.

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]]> Genes and Environment: Adapting to Changing Conditions /science-bag/genes-and-environment-adapting-to-changing-conditions/ Fri, 01 Dec 2023 22:00:28 +0000 /science-bag/?p=6789 Michael Carvan, Shaw Professor 51 School of Freshwater Sciences When environmental conditions change, animals must also change, in order to live.  In this program, we will explore some truly unique ways that animals use to adapt to environmental extremes to …

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]]> Michael Carvan,

Shaw Professor 51 School of Freshwater Sciences

When environmental conditions change, animals must also change, in order to live.  In this program, we will explore some truly unique ways that animals use to adapt to environmental extremes to enhance survival.  We also look at molecular processes used by some animals which allow them to adapt to both short- and long-term environmental changes.

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]]> A Cold Wind Off the Lake… In August? /science-bag/a-cold-wind-off-the-lake-in-august/ Mon, 12 Aug 2019 20:31:04 +0000 /science-bag/?p=526 Presented by Carmen Aguilar and Russell Cuhel from 51’s School of Freshwater Science. In 2015, a previously unusual weather pattern caused dramatic late summer cooling along the western shore from Milwaukee to the Sturgeon Canal. 12°C (55°F) or cooler water …

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]]> Presented by Carmen Aguilar and Russell Cuhel from 51’s School of Freshwater Science.

In 2015, a previously unusual weather pattern caused dramatic late summer cooling along the western shore from Milwaukee to the Sturgeon Canal. 12°C (55°F) or cooler water covered nearly 25% of Lake Michigan for almost 2 months, driving away beach-goers and drawing in sport fishermen. How this happened, how high humidity contributed to its effects, and how it affected lake biology are subjects of this demonstration-laced presentation. Take off your shades and put on a sweater as you learn about chillin’ in Lake Michigan!

 

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]]> Friend or Foe? The Two Faces of Microbes /science-bag/friend-or-foe-the-two-faces-of-microbes/ Wed, 15 Jun 2016 13:45:51 +0000 /science-bag/?p=271 The Two Faces of Microbes” describes what a microbe is, and then covers some interesting facts and perspectives about microbes. On one hand, they are essential to life, on the other, the can cause devastating and sometimes fatal diseases. McLellan …

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]]> The Two Faces of Microbes” describes what a microbe is, and then covers some interesting facts and perspectives about microbes. On one hand, they are essential to life, on the other, the can cause devastating and sometimes fatal diseases. McLellan talks about some epidemics that have shaped history, and how today, we are using microbiology to assess pollution sources in the Great Lakes.

 

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]]> Matters of the Heart: Cells and Cardiovascular Disease /science-bag/matters-of-the-heart-cells-and-cardiovascular-disease/ Mon, 18 Apr 2016 21:19:35 +0000 /science-bag/?p=167 Biologist Julie Oliver explains the inner workings of our heart and circulatory system in “Matters of the Heart: Cell and Cardiovascular Disease.” With audience participation, Oliver will unravel how blood cells called platelets function at the site of an injury …

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]]> Biologist Julie Oliver explains the inner workings of our heart and circulatory system in “Matters of the Heart: Cell and Cardiovascular Disease.” With audience participation, Oliver will unravel how blood cells called platelets function at the site of an injury to form a plug. There’s good and bad news about our body’s ability to stop bleeding. While this rapid response is critical to wound healing, its regulation can be disrupted, causing a cascade of events that can lead to heart attacks and strokes. As she leads a tour into our veins, discover the what’s inside that activates the platelets – and what inhibits them. She also investigates how drugs like aspirin inhibit platelet’s clotting function. A demonstration reveals why platelets in mammals (that’s us!) respond particularly well to a daily, low-dose aspirin treatment for cardiovascular disease.

 

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]]> Science, Society and Sustainability: Can We Make the Pieces Fit? /science-bag/science-society-and-sustainability-can-we-make-the-pieces-fit/ Thu, 14 Apr 2016 20:25:03 +0000 /science-bag/?p=101 Knowing how parts of nature interact in time and space is critical to our understanding of sustainability. Ecologist Tim Ehlinger looks at our interaction with the land from our first arrival on the continent: trapping, logging, farming, industrialization, urbanization, and suburbia. Through demonstrations he traces human behavior and how it has, and continues, to modify our environment. He builds a "beaver dam" and has "rain" fall on a farmyard and an urban development to show the enormous difference in rainwater retention. Meeting our needs without jeopardizing those of future generations is the theme throughout this look at sustainability.

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]]> Knowing how parts of nature interact in time and space is critical to our understanding of sustainability. Ecologist Tim Ehlinger looks at our interaction with the land from our first arrival on the continent: trapping, logging, farming, industrialization, urbanization, and suburbia. Through demonstrations he traces human behavior and how it has, and continues, to modify our environment. He builds a “beaver dam” and has “rain” fall on a farmyard and an urban development to show the enormous difference in rainwater retention. Meeting our needs without jeopardizing those of future generations is the theme throughout this look at sustainability.

 

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]]> Mussel Beach: The Crushing Weight of Invasive Species /science-bag/mussel-beach-the-crushing-weight-of-invasive-species/ Tue, 12 Apr 2016 20:27:17 +0000 /science-bag/?p=103 Carmen Aguilar and Russell Cuhel — Quagga mussels seem like invaders from another planet. Are they going to crush the historic wrecked ships on the bottom of Lake Michigan with all their bodies and shells? How did they wipe out the zebra mussels in such a short time? Are they stronger? Learn about the most ravaging invader Lake Michigan has ever seen!

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]]> Carmen Aguilar and Russell Cuhel — Quagga mussels seem like invaders from another planet. Are they going to crush the historic wrecked ships on the bottom of Lake Michigan with all their bodies and shells? How did they wipe out the zebra mussels in such a short time? Are they stronger? Learn about the most ravaging invader Lake Michigan has ever seen!

 

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]]> Alien Invaders: Exotic Species in the Food Web of the Great Lakes /science-bag/alien-invaders-exotic-species-in-the-food-web-of-the-great-lakes/ Sun, 27 Mar 2016 20:29:15 +0000 /science-bag/?p=105 Biologist Arthur Brooks in this lecture highlights the interplay of human activity and its impact on the Great Lakes ecosystem over a 200-year period. Utilizing diagrams and high-speed photography, Professor Brooks also discusses the food web of the Great Lakes and gives numerous examples of how exotic species alter the balance within an ecosystem.

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]]> Biologist Arthur Brooks in this lecture highlights the interplay of human activity and its impact on the Great Lakes ecosystem over a 200-year period. Utilizing diagrams and high-speed photography, Professor Brooks also discusses the food web of the Great Lakes and gives numerous examples of how exotic species alter the balance within an ecosystem.

 

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]]> Digestion: A Tough, Dirty Job, It Takes a Lot of Guts /science-bag/digestion-a-tough-dirty-job-it-takes-a-lot-of-guts/ Mon, 21 Mar 2016 20:31:12 +0000 /science-bag/?p=107 Zoologist Donna Van Wynseberghe conducts a journey through the unseen workings of a system we utilize day after day and from the first moments of "Digestion: A Tough Dirty Job, It Takes a Lot of Guts,."

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]]> Zoologist Donna Van Wynseberghe conducts a journey through the unseen workings of a system we utilize day after day and from the first moments of “Digestion: A Tough Dirty Job, It Takes a Lot of Guts,” she makes the familiar both fascinating and informative. A viewer will come away with a clearer idea of the digestive process and of nutrition, material that Van Wynsberghe dispenses with wit and lightness.

 

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