Emilio+Loya

The Environment
Emilio Loya

===The animal kingdom is a place with many different kinds of animals live together, but sometimes there are animals that dont like other animals then the animal kingdom can turn into a very violent place for animals to live in. Some examples of animals in the animal kingdom is anywhere and everywhere you see animals all around ranging from the smallest ant to a dog. And it even includes the smallest forms of life such as plants, bacteria, and other various microscopic forms of life. The animal kingdom can be a very dangerous place for humans to be because there are some animals that like to kill other animals. And they just view humans as other animals and will attack and kill humans and harvest on them. Even some of the smallest animals in the animal kingdom can kill you such as tiny bugs because if they bite you some of them may be carrying viruses, and if they bite you some viruses could be enough to kill you. But the animal kingdom is not all bad there are beautiful places to be such as rainforests and other tropical areas with a large span of wildlife like birds, snakes, and other forms of exotic life and some of the animals are very cool and fascinating to look.=== ==The environment is what supports life. things we can do to keep the enviroment is keeping our water usage to minimum, and as well reducing in our electricity usage. Another thing is our pollution, too much pollution can destroy the enviroment and all the wildlife and humans will suffer the consequeces. Reducing the use of the many things we take for granted now can save the environment and most of all save the life on this planet. Right now pollution is the biggest factor threatening the environment nowadays, with all the pollution from cars, mowers, gas powered machines, Etc. the smoke or exhaust can harm the environment and destroy it. And even alot of electrical usage can harm the environment, recycling can help save the environment drastically.==

MOLLUSKS

=Mollusks comprise a group of soft-bodied animals that includes snails, clams, and sea slugs. The most common characteristic of most mollusks is their shell. One of the largest groups, the snails, is renowned for their shells. Snails are univalves, which means they have one shell. And it is this shell that for many people is the epitome of the ocean. There is perhaps no other ocean treasure that displays more diversity and beauty than the shell. Conchology, the study and collection of shells is a popular hobby the world over. The bivalves, or two-shell mollusks include the clams, scallops, and oysters. It is the oyster that is responsible for producing the most coveted of the ocean's treasures - the pearl. Still other mollusks have lost their shells altogether. The octopus, the squid, and the sea slugs have evolved their own survival strategies to replace their protective armor. Indeed, it is due to the absence of a protective shell the octopus has evolved the largest and most complex brain of all the mollusks. Below is a listing of some of the most common mollusks found on the world's coral reefs. =

ARTHROPODS

Arthropods are the most successful animals on earth as they can live in water, soil, on land and in the air. Included in the group called arthropods are ticks, crabs, shrimp, centipedes, spiders, insects and many others. The arthropods are segmented like earthworms with similiar internal organs. The skeleton is made of a hard material with flexible joints that is on the outside of the body. Muscles are attached on the inside and the skeletons very much resemble a suit of armor. The arrangement of the skeleton on arthropods makes them have great strength. One example of movement and strength in an arthropod is the lobster. He lives in the water and it is easy to move a heavy body around. There are two classes of arthropods. These are the centipedes and the millipedes. These both have segmented bodies and large numbers of legs. On the centipedes there will be one pair of legs on most of the body segments and on the millipedes there will be two pairs. The number of legs will vary. Centipedes and millipedes both are seen in the ground or in a dark, damp area. Centipedes have pincer like poison jaws to catch insects or other small animals. This poison helps to overcome the victims. Some of these are harmless but others can give a painful bite to a person. Millipedes eat decaying plant materials. ECHINODERM

 phylum Echinodermata, which contains about 6000 species, gets its name from the Greek, literally meaning “spiny skin.” This phylum exists exclusively in the sea and includes sea stars, urchins, brittle stars, and sea cucumbers. They are simple animals, lacking a brain and complex sensing organs. Echinoderms are characterized by their radial symmetry, water vascular system and internal skeleton.

The most striking feature of all echinoderms is their pentamerous radial symmetry. That is, the body can be divided into five parts (or appendages) which point outward from the center of the body. Interestingly, although most mature echinoderms are radially symmetrical, the larvae usually have bilateral symmetry. During the process of maturing, the echinoderm will change its body shape and settle down on the sea floor.

Another trait common to all echinoderms is their unique internal plumbing system known as the water vascular system. A hydraulic network of canals runs throughout the body, usually ending in a series of tube feet. By examining the ventral side of a sea star, for example, one will be able to see hundreds of tiny feet usually arranged into several rows on each appendage of the star. These are called tube feet. By varying the internal water pressure, the echinoderm can extend and contract its tube feet for locomotion, food collection and respiration. Characteristic of all echinoderms is the presence of an internal skeleton covered with spines and skin. The skeleton varies with the type of echinoderms. In sea stars and brittle stars, the skeleton consists of multitudes of small calcareous plates called ‘ossicles’ that move with one another, forming flexible joints. Sea urchins and sand dollars have ossicles that are fused, forming a rigid skeletal shell, known as the ‘test’. In sea cucumbers, the calcareous plates have degenerated and are buried in the fleshy body.

AVES  Birds make up the class Aves of the subphylum Vertebrata, phylum Chordata. Class Aves contains 28 orders, 163 families, 1,975 genera, and nearly 10,000 species. Their distribution is worldwide, including open oceans. While the majority of the world's bird species are known to science, a handful of new birds are still discovered each year. Most of these rare birds are found in remote regions of the world. It is widely believed that birds descended from two-footed, lizard-like reptiles that lived in the Jurassic period some 208 million years ago. Birds still have many resemblances to reptiles, such as their habit of laying eggs, the possession of scales on their beaks and legs, and the arrangement of many internal structures. The three highest classes of vertebrates<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode'; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">— reptiles, birds, and mammals<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Sans Unicode'; font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">— have adapted their reproduction to terrestrial life, largely through the evolution of an egg whose embryo is enveloped in a protective membrane called the **<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**amnion** **. Hence these three classes are grouped under the term "amniota," or " **<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**amniotes** ** . " Among all animals, only birds and mammals have evolved the high, constant temperature or**<span style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">**homeothermism** ** that makes energetic activity possible in all habitats and at all seasons. This, more than any other advance, is what makes these two classes the dominant vertebrates. <span style="font-size: 13px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Birds have numerous characteristics that make them distinct from all other classes of organisms. While not all birds fly, a large number of these characteristics complement their amazing adaptation for flight.