User:Caduceus19/sandbox

Week 2: Article Evaluation (Dorsal Nerve Cord)

Individual Evaluation

• The article is not very detailed—main ideas about the dorsal nerve cord could be expanded upon, such as the description of the steps leading to the formation of the dorsal nerve cord.
• It lacks necessary citations and references.
• Images/diagrams could be added to provide visualization of the dorsal nerve cord, such as diagrams showing the formation of the dorsal nerve cord during embryonic development and images of the location of the dorsal nerve cord in various chordates (these could also be under their own subheadings).
• The organization of the article could be changed— the second paragraph starting with “A dorsal nerve cord is mainly found…” could be integrated into the beginning of the first paragraph to say something like: “The dorsal nerve cord is a unique feature to chordates, and it is mainly found in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata. The dorsal nerve cord is only one embryonic feature unique to chordates, among the other four features, which are the notochord, post-anal tail, endostyle, and pharyngeal slits.”
• The last paragraph that mentions the direction of dorsal and ventral seemed repetitive, and it could be simplified.

Group Evaluation

We all agreed that there was a lot of information that was missing to support main details of the dorsal nerve cord in addition to missing citations and references. We questioned why there was such a lack of information included in the article and what could be done to fill in gaps of information.

• A few examples of information that could have been expanded upon:
  • It was missing the evolutionary function of the dorsal nerve cord and how the synapomorphy arose.
    1. This information could be found in our comparative anatomy textbook (Kardong, KV.2014 Vertebrates Comparative Anatomy, Function, Evolution, 7th Edition. (ISBN-13: 978- 0078023026, ISBN-10: 0078023025)
  • The process of the formation of the dorsal hollow nerve cord could have been described in a lot more detail.
    1. This formation might be better to obtain from a developmental biology textbook that explains this concept in full detail.
  • Images could have been added for clarity---visualization of morphology and location.
  • The unbiased viewpoint should be kept; however, sections/subheadings could be created to better organize the information and the information could be described more concisely.

Week 3: Add to an Article (Dorsal Nerve Cord)

I chose to copyedit the article because I thought the organization and wording of the paragraphs could be improved to make the article flow better. For instance, I thought the first two paragraphs could be combined into one paragraph. I made the following changes to the original article:

“The dorsal nerve cord is a unique feature to chordates, and it is mainly found in the Vertebrata chordate subphylum. The dorsal nerve cord is only one embryonic feature unique to all chordates among the other four chordate features—the notochord, post-anal tail, endostyle, and pharyngeal slits. It is formed from a part of ectoderm that rolls, resulting in the formation of a hollow tube, compared to other animal phyla having solid, ventral tubes. In vertebrates, the dorsal nerve cord is modified into the central nervous system, which comprises the brain and spinal cord.”

--I added these modifications around what was already added by others in the group improving this article--

Week 4: Assignment to group dissections

1. Stingray:

• I would like to do dissections on a stingray because I want to learn more about its defense mechanisms and why a "harmless" (in the sense that people can swim with stingrays) organism can also cause death, such as in the case of Steve Irwin.
• 3 pages to edit: Stingray injury, Whiptail stingray, Butterfly ray

2. Bat:

• I have had the opportunity to learn about bats in previous biology classes and was fascinated by its use of echolocation to find prey; therefore, if I had the opportunity to dissect a bat, I would like to learn more about its features that contribute to its use of echolocation.
• 3 pages to edit: Ultrasound, Tragus (ear), Vesper bat

3. Turtle:

• Growing up in Hawaii, I had the opportunity to see turtles on the beach but I know nothing about its anatomy, so I would enjoy learning more about it and how the characteristics turtles possess allow it to thrive in its environment.
• 3 pages to edit: Carapace, Trionychidae, Scute

Week 5: Group Assignments

Lianne:

1. Physiology of the bat wing skin:

The current microbat article page does not include information about the physiology of the bat skin. A few topics related to the skin that came up during my reference search was information on the general characterization of the bat wing skin and how it contributes to its flight, the role of elastin fibers in the mechanical function of its wing, and the bat wing’s possible role in gas exchange. Images of those specific bat skin features could also be added.

• Skulborstad, A. J., Swartz, S. M., & Goulbourne, N. C. (2015). Biaxial mechanical characterization of bat wing skin. Bioinspiration & Biomimetics, 10(3), 036004. doi:10.1088/1748-3190/10/3/036004

• Cheney, J. A., Konow, N., Bearnot, A., & Swartz, S. M. (2015). A wrinkle in flight: the role of elastin fibres in the mechanical behaviour of bat wing membranes. Journal Of The Royal Society, Interface, 12(106), doi:10.1098/rsif.2014.1286

• Makanya, A. N., & Mortola, J. P. (2007). The structural design of the bat wing web and its possible role in gas exchange. Journal Of Anatomy, 211(6), 687-697.

2. Function and evolution of microbat teeth:

Information on the function and evolution of microbat teeth could be included to discuss how its teeth determine its diet. This could include information on the shape/changes of shape in microbat teeth and its composition that contributes to its function. The teeth of microbats could then be compared to those of different bats to show how their diets may vary. Images of the teeth can be included in this section to make these comparisons.

• Gutzwiller, S. C., & Hunter, J. P. (2015). Evolution and function of the upper molar talon and its dietary implications in microbats. Journal Of Morphology, 276(11), 1368-1376. doi:10.1002/jmor.20424

• Popa, E. M., Anthwal, N., & Tucker, A. S. (2016). Complex patterns of tooth replacement revealed in the fruit bat ( Eidolon helvum). Journal Of Anatomy, 229(6), 847-856. doi:10.1111/joa.12522

• Freeman, Patricia W., "Form, Function, and Evolution in Skulls and Teeth of Bats" (1998). Papers in Natural Resources. 9.

Jimmy:

I will be adding information about the Fluid Balance (homeostasis) on microbat in the article microbat. Mainly focusing about how deprivation of fluid can lead to urea poisoning. Lyons, R., & Wimberley, T. (2014). Introduction to the Care and Rehabilitation of Microbats. Reterived from www.bats.org.au/uploads/.../Care-and-Rehabiliation-of-Microbats-V3-Mar14.pdf

Frankee:

1. Reproductive System: the Microbat wiki page has limited information on the reproductive structures of micro bats. As in how their anatomy contributes to how they mate as well as how the female anatomy is structured to carry and birth their young. Possibly more info on their pelvic bone and how it can cary the young for such extended periods of time and how it gives birth. Relative to hanging upside down and birth, how the small structures (ex: pelvis) are viable because of not putting any weight onto them, and how this might different in females because of birth.
   1. http://www.allaboutbats.org.au/biology/ :  (Time, birthing, seasonal information)
   2. https://sudartomas.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/reproductivebiologyofbats.pdf  (Chapters 4,5, and 8)
   3. Bats: a book by Phil Richardson
   4. https://www.britannica.com/animal/bat-mammal/Form-and-function
2. Another characteristics in bats that is not mentioned in detail is their upside down lifestyle. Hanging upside down during sleep and hibernation, would drastically effect their anatomy both internally and relative to their skeletal anatomy. I'd like to focus on why they hang this way and in what ways their bodies are adapted to be in this position for such ling periods of time. If information is accessible I'd like to do more research on the weight of the skeleton. Also how the phalanges effect/protect them as they are sleeping and in hibernation and how their shapes effect that they are the only real "flying" mammals.
   1. http://www.bats.org.au/uploads/members/Care-and-Rehabiliation-of-Microbats-V3-Mar14.pdf (page 10)
   2. Why do bats hang upside down?
      1. https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.plu.edu/docview/1848937429?accountid=2130
   3. https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.plu.edu/docview/218993681?OpenUrlRefId=info:xri/sid:wcdiscovery&accountid=2130

Books at the lib and focus chapters:[edit]

These books provide a solid amount of information about their flight a section of the microbat wiki page that is lacking that we could contribute to, with this information.

1. "Bats of the United States and Canada" (Focus Pages: Biology-8; Reproduction and Longevity-46; Bats and wind power-64; specific details-What species of bat are we getting?)
2. "Bats From Evolution to Conservation)" (Chapters: 1-Yangochiroptera; 2-Flight; 5- Birth Reproduction and development;
3. "Bats: A Natural History" (Chapters: 2-Form and function; 7-reproduction and development; 8-Anatomy and development of echolocation)
4. "Ecology of Bats" (Chapters: Chapter 2-part 2 and 3.5; Chapter 4-for Jimmy; Chapter 5-3.2, Chapter 6-2.1 Flight and Wing Morphology, 2.2, 2.4,)
5. "bats" (Chapters: 9-Wings in the Dark; Image- A little brown bat-8)

Comments from Dr. Schutz:

1. Excellent start. You have identified some good gaps and found some potentially good references and some other references that may not be great to cite, but good places to begin a search.

Begin your work for next week by considering the following next steps:

• What is a good reference? Some of the primary literature you found is terrific. Some other web pages are also a good places to go for ideas and to help you find primary sources. However, the material is not peer-reviewed (That is your gold standard).
• How will you integrate each others edits? This may not be clear now and not always possible, but it should be attempted.
• What kinds of images/illustrations will be useful for you to find (see info on appropriate use of images)/produce and contribute?
• As you detail in your plan ( very well done btw) many images can come directly from the dissections you will do, so think about how you want to approach that. Also, look ahead to week 11. The description for that assignment has numerous links to useful information for the appropriate use of images etc.

-- I have a bat that students dissected last year that you might skeletonize now. You might be able to sex it and get SUPER lucky and have a male and a female. Bats have pelvic sexual dimorphism that can be pretty obvious.

• Start drafting some content as you prepare for next week.
• Ask me in lab for your study animal so that you can make a plan and maybe start the de-fleshing process for the old bat we have.
• Make sure all team members complete all training.
• When asking for help (which is great) you will have better outcomes if you ask for specific feedback. Some of your posts on the talk pages are perfect in this regard.

Osquaesitor (talk) 00:06, 12 March 2018 (UTC)

Week 6: Draft 1 of Article

Lianne:

Microbat vision

The current Microbat page does not include any information about the bat's wing; however, the Bat page does. Because of this, it would probably be better to add a different section to the Microbat page. Another topic that came up during my search was on microbat eyes. The Microbat page only mentions that a microbat's eyes are smaller than megabats, so this is a section I could expand on to address why there is this difference in size. The Bat page does include information about microbat vision, though there is not much information about it. Information about bat vision could be added to either the microbat or bat Wikipedia page. The following is a draft of information that could be added:

• Due to having smaller eyes in comparison to Megabats, Microbats depend on echolocation to navigate and find prey. It was found that their poor vision was attributed to the underdevelopment of visual processes in the retina. General retinal elements, such as rod and cone bipolar cells, AII amacrine cells, and RGBCs (retinal ganglion cells), as well as retinofugal projections, contribute to the microbat's visual ability; however, a third photorecptor, called intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells (ipRGCs), are yet to be identified in any bats that contribute to their vision. These cells are responsible for the microbat's ability to respond to light and plays a role in both non-image forming vision, such as circadian rhythms, sleep regulation, and pupil responses, as well as image forming vision.

• Revision of last sentence based on peer review: These cells allow microbats to respond to light, and it plays roles in both non-image and image forming vision (3/23/18).

-The source I found about microbat vision only discussed the cells in the retina that are responsible for the bat's vision. I will work on finding more resources about the difference the size of the bat's eye to hopefully contribute more information to this topic.

Evolution and function of microbat teeth compared to those of megabats and its dietary implications

Microbats and megabats display differences in their palate and teeth size depending on their type of diet. Microbats that have large teeth and small palates are insectivores, carnivores, and frugivores; however, microbats that feed on nectar have small teeth and large palates. Regardless of the size of the bat, the proportion of the teeth and palate size are maintained.

• Revision of last sentence based on peer review: Though there are differences between palate and teeth sizes of microbats and megabats, the proportion of their teeth to palate size is maintained among bats of various sizes (3/23/18).

-I will be adding more information about this topic as I find more articles related to it.

Jimmy:

Fluid intake for bats is an important factor for survival. Due to their body composition of having over 80% of the body surface is naked they are more prone to dehydration rapidly. Water helps maintain their ionic balance, thermoregulation system, and removal of wastes and toxins from the body via urine. They are also susceptible to blood urea poisoning if they do not receive enough fluid.

Frankee:

Flying has many positive contributions to the species that participate in this form of travel. One of these includes options of migration, covering large masses of land for resources because of distance coverage in a day as well availability to cross land masses that are difficult to cross on land, such as mountains, water and desserts. Yet, flight does not come at a cheap expense. It takes a lot of energy, a sufficient way of respiration and metabolic transfer to the flight muscles. Energy supply to the muscle's engaged in flight require double the amount to those animals that do not use flight as a means of transportation. In parallel to energy consumption, oxygen levels of flying animals is twice as much than that of their running transportation counterparts. As blood supply controls the amount of oxygen supplied throughout the body, the organs and systems functioning in blood supply must respond accordingly. Therefore it is not shocking that, compared to a terrestrial traveling animal of the same relative size, the bat's heart can be up to three times larger (dissect this part compare it to relatively other smaller mammals). In comparison to other animals that do fly (birds), bats have lower oxygen consumption rates relative to body mass. Relative to blood supply compared to birds, bats have more red blood cells and those red blood cells contain more hemoglobin resulting in more oxygen supply to the muscular structures that need them for flight.

So the bat page has some information on reproduction already including the separation of the pelvic girdle, as well a section for torpor. But I found some info on how mothers decide to go about energy saving and intake during pregnancy that could be added.

Torpor which is a reduced physiological activity may be taken advantage of during harsh conditions when food expenses cannot be met. It is stated that one can reduce energy requirements by becoming heterothermic. Female little brown bats have shown to become heterothemic during early stages of reproduction but stop before lactation and prior to birth. The mother being in a heterothermic state during the entire cycle of pregnancy suggest the fetus cannot fully develop under those circumstances.

Week 7: Peer Review and Copy Edit

Amphiuma Review

Draft 1: This is a great draft and the information included was easily understood, detailed, and well organized. The resources used for this draft also seem very reliable. The only thing that could be improved was simplifying/rewording some of the sentences.

Copy edit of draft 1:

• Amphiumas demonstrate sexual dimorphism in relation to the size of its body and the size of its head. Generally, males have been found to have larger bodies and longer heads in comparison to females, which is normally indicative of male-male combat observed within the population; however, there have been no other physical indicating factors for male-male combat seen in other species of Amphibia, such as horns or spines. Some populations do not show these sexual dimorphic traits; and in certain locations, female and male bodies do not exhibit any traits with significant differences.

Draft 2: This draft is also very detailed and well organized. Even though there was a lot of information covered in this draft, it was easy to read through because the information was explained concisely. I also think the plans for the types of images that will be added are great. Only minor changes could be made to improve the sentence structure of this draft.

Copy edit of draft 2:

• Amphiuma possess ancestral forms of limbs compared to some of the other groups of salamanders that live terrestrially today. Their lungs are long organs, extending over half its body length, and have dense capillary networks and a large surface area that suggest the utilization of the entire lung for respiration while the amphiuma is in water or on land. Although it is common for amphibia to respire out of their skin, it was found that amphiuma primarily respirate through their lungs, despite their aquatic lifestyle. This is found by the high lung to respiratory capillary density compared to the relatively low skin to respiratory capillary density.

• The lung of an amphiuma was found to work through a two-cycle pressure-induced buccal/nares process. This indicates that amphiuma go through one full cycle of body expansion and compression in order to inhale, followed by another full cycle to exhale, which is a unique process that utilizes both the buccal cavity and their nares. The pressure that activates the cycles of expansion and compression involve a rise in pressure within the lung to assist the buccal pressure to increase; however, it was found that the buccal pressure gradient was not enough to drive respiration in the amphiuma tridactylum.

Draft 3: This draft has great information to include and is from credible sources. I also agree with the comments made by the author of this draft in that the section about the size of the jaws applying to the sexual dimorphism section. It would also be good to include images that compare the size of the jaws of males compared to that of females. If there are current wikipedia articles about the stationary and strike feeding suction feeding, these could be linked to where those are mentioned in the draft.

Copy edit of draft 3:

• Amphiumas are primarily carnivorous amphibians that consume crayfish, insects, and other small vertebrates. Similar to many salamanders, the amphiuma has two distinct forms of suction feeding procedures: stationary and strike. This gives them the ability to feed on living or dead food sources. An amphiuma’s ability to displace its jaw to feed indicates that it can consume a large variety of organisms; however, its narrow jaw makes it difficult for them to fully consume large prey, such as crayfish or mice. In these cases, amphiuma will use one of the forms of suction feeding then rip the prey into prey into pieces until fully consumed. Small prey will be pulled completely into the mouth before being eaten. The structure of the teeth within the jaw tends to be arched caudal on the head.

Draft 4: This is a great draft of what will be added to the section on food habits. The current plan for more information that will possibly be added sound like good information to also include. The sources used for this draft are credible, and the information is organized well. A few changes could be made to improve the sentence structures/wording.

Copy edit of draft 4:

• In addition to eating frogs, snaked, fish, crustaceans, and insects, amphiuma have been found to eat annelids, vegetables, arachnids, mollusca, and insect larvae. Arguably, amphiumas prefer crawfish as food, which they will pursue over any other food in captivity. In the wild, their food choices are directly related to the availability of food. It has been suggested that large amphiuma will not pursue small crawfish due to the expenditure of energy in relation to the gain in energy; therefore, they prefer to wait for large crawfish to prey upon. In captivity, the behavior they display has been observed to depend on the presence or lack of food. Amphiuma will remain inactive when food is absent, but they will become more active once food has been introduced into their habitat.

Moray Eel Review

Draft 1 (Evolutionary History): This is a great start of a draft on this information, and it is organized well. Source 1 used in the article is just questionable as to whether or not it is the best source to obtain information from, though it seems credible. It would also be good to include images of the locations of the fins mentioned in the first paragraph of this draft. The first sentence of the second paragraph of this draft is an incomplete sentence, so more information should be added to complete it (or are the 1st and 2nd sentences of the 2nd paragraph suppose to be together?). The two main subspecies of the moray eel that are mentioned could be linked to their own wikipedia article if they exist. The words “monophyletic” and “Pleomerism” could also be linked to its wikipedia page. Maybe the differing modes of development mentioned at the end of the second paragraph could be expanded upon.

Copy edit of draft 1:

• The two main subspecies of the moray eel are Muraeninae and Uropterygiinae. These two monophyletic groups are distinctly defined by the location of their fins. In Muraeninae, the dorsal fin is found to begin near the gill slits and run down the entire length of the back of the eel, while the anal fin is located behind the anus. On the other hand, Uropterygiinae are defined by both their dorsal and anal fins that are located at the end of their tail.

• Pleomerism is the process of elongation due to the increase in number of vertebra; however, the development of vertebrae evolved independently from a lengthened body and explains the high amount of diversity among moray eel species. Additionally, pre-caudal and caudal regions have differing modes of development, and vertebra in these regions do not increase in a synchronous fashion.

Draft 2 (Pharyngeal Jaw): This draft is concise and organized. I also thought it was great that relevant wikipedia pages were linked to some of the terms mentioned in the draft. I like the idea of using your own image of the jaw from your dissections to include in this section, but it’s good you have an idea of how you might label that image based on the placeholder image that was included in this draft. It was mentioned that the first paragraph of this draft was already too similar to a section that is already on the Moray eel page, so maybe it does not need to be included to prevent the repetition of information.

Copy edit of draft 2:

• Unlike most predatory fish that feed using suction to pull prey into their mouths, moray eels (which show smaller pectoral structures than other teleosts) use specialized jaw structures to capture prey. In the action of lunging and biting at prey, water flows out of the posterior side of the mouth opening, reducing the waves in front of the eel, allowing it to bite down on prey without the aid of negative pressure. This results in greatly increased bite times; however, an aggressive approach to predation is supported.

• The shape of the jaw also reflects the respective diets of different species of moray eel. Rounded jaws and molar-like teeth that evolved separately multiple times across the Muraenidae allow durophagous eels, like Gymnomuraena zebra, genus Echidna, and some others to consume crustaceans, while other piscivorous genera of Muraenidae have pointed jaws and longer teeth. This division between durophagous and piscivorous morays is not entirely defined; however, the extent of jaw optimization for prey types vary across different species and bodily actions, such as knotting. This equalizes the differences in feeding ability based on jaw morphologies.

Draft 3 (Habitat): This draft is well written. It is very detailed, concise, and well organized. It is easy to read through this draft and understand the information mentioned. The sources used for this draft also seem very credible, and relevant wikipedia pages related to the topics mentioned in this section were added. Only slight changes in the wording of the paragraphs could be made.

Copy edit of draft 3:

• The moray eel is known for it's wide species diversity and habitat occupation. The moray eel can be found in two separate aquatic environments: freshwater habitats and saltwater habitats. When concerning freshwater habitats, there is relatively little species abundance, or rather species richness, in these environments. The most widely known, and most relatively acknowledged, freshwater moray eel is Gymnothorax polyuranodon, which is considered to be one of the only freshwater moray eels to exist. Additionally, these moray eels can be found in habitats at depths of roughly 80 meters.

• The saltwater habitats are not uniform and have much variability, including shallow water nearshore areas, continental slopes, continental shelfs, deep benthic habitats, and mesopelagic zones of the ocean. Additionally, specifically concerning saltwater habitats, the moray eel is considered “cosmopolitan,” which refers to the fact that the moray eel contains various species that can occupy two separate saltwater habitats: tropical oceans and temperate oceans. Tropical oceans are typically located near the equator, whereas temperate oceans are typically located away from the equator. Due to this, the moray eel is capable of living in relatively warm water despite the ocean being tropical or temperate. Additionally, these moray eels can be found in habitats at depths greater than 10 meters.

• Although the moray eel can occupy tropical oceans, temperate oceans, freshwater, and saltwater, the majority of moray eels occupy warm saltwater environments that contain reefs. Additionally, within the tropical oceans and temperate oceans, the moray eel occupies shelters, such as dead patch reefs and coral rubble rocks, and less frequently occupies live coral reefs.

--all team members made equally great contributions to the information they included in their drafts--

Week 9: Feedback Responses

As commented by my peers, my first draft can be improved by the following:

• including images
• adding more sources
• changing sentence structure/wording of paragraph
• including links to addition Wikipedia pages for specific words/concepts that may be explained in more detail
• simplifying sentences that are too detailed to make it easier for the reader to understand

-After seeing the bat our group will be doing dissections on, I have decided that I would rather work on revising/improving the draft I started on the jaw/teeth size and function of microbats instead of the draft I started about the eyes. Not only was I able to find more information regarding the jaw/teeth, but I would also be a lot more interested in isolating the jaw/teeth from the bat we were provided with and could take images of these parts as our group works on our dissections.

-The main improvements I plan to make will be to include more sources to expand on my draft of the size and function of microbat teeth/jaw, change my sentence structures/wording, and include links to additional Wikipedia pages related to specific terms I may mention. I will not plan to add any images to my draft yet due to not having images of microbat teeth size or jaws on Wikimedia. This is something I plan to implement once our group is able to take images of these parts. Since writing my first draft, I was able to find more sources that will help me add more information to what will become a "Teeth and Jaw Structure and Function" (only a possible section title and is not final) on the microbat Wikipedia page. I am still deciding on which information I will use from each source, so not all sources will be implemented into the following draft I have revised based on peer comments, but more may be added to my second draft.

• Revision of draft 1 based on comments from peers:

Microbats and megabats display differences in their palate and teeth size depending on their type of diet. Unlike megabats that have mainly illustrated frugivory and nectarivory feeding patterns, microbats have been classified as carnivores, nectarivore, frugivores, and sanguinivore; and have been found to have these food habits due to having a dilambdodont insectivorous tooth pattern. Carnivorous microbats possess large upper molars, while nectarivorous microbats possess large canines and frugivorous microbats possess a different pattern on their molars compared to the others. In general, microbats that are insectivores, carnivores, and frugivorous have large teeth and small palates and the opposite is true for microbats that are nectarivores. Though there are differences between the palate and teeth sizes of microbats, the proportion of the sizes of these two structures are maintained among microbats of various sizes. The types of feeding habits among microbats vary depending on the geographic region of where the bats live. Microbats that live in North America are mainly insectivorous, whereas microbats that are from neotropical regions feed on nectar and fruit.

-Links to additional articles about microbat teeth/jaw structure and function:

1. Connecting morphology, function and tooth wear in microchiropterans

2. Canine teeth of bats (Microchiroptera):size, shape and role in crack propagation

3. Puncturing Ability of Bat Canine Teeth: The Tip

4. Frugivorous and anirnalivorous bats (Microchiroptera):dental and cranial adaptations

-In addition, the bat we received in lab has a tail, which is something I would also be interested in contributing to on Wikipedia. The only difficulty with that is determining what bat page on Wikipedia that information should be added to considering that there are variations in tail structure among various species of bats. Whether or not I will add this section will most likely be determined after the tail type and species is determined for our bat.

-As far as providing feedback on my group member's draft, Frankee has a great draft written and was able to implement a lot of sources in the paragraph she has written so far. She also included relevant links to other Wikipedia pages. Jimmy also has a great start to his draft--the only things I suggested for him to implement in his draft are links to additional Wikipedia pages that are relevant to the topics he mentions, as well as including information from more sources; but these are things he already mentioned he would improve.

Comments from Dr. Schutz:

• Good job responding to the reviews and finding ways to move forward. You were supposed to respond in your main sandbox space, but I was able to find your individual responses.
• As you work through your drafts, be sure to use the rubric I provided
• We were able to skeletonize a bat skull last year and the are many in the lab. The dissecting scope can be used to take close up pictures of the teeth and I have some Mammalogy textbooks that you can use to help you understand tooth structure in bats. You may also want to see the Animal Diversity webpage from the university of Michigan. They list good sources and have great examples of showing mammal dentition. You might emulate their style.

Week 10: Draft 2

Form and function of teeth

Ventral view of a free-tailed microbat (Genus Tadarida) skull displaying a dilambdodont teeth pattern. Specimen from the Pacific Lutheran University Natural History collection.

Frontal view of a free-tailed microbat (Genus Tadarida) skull displaying the canine teeth. Specimen from the Pacific Lutheran University Natural History collection.

The form and function of microbat teeth differ as a result of the various diets these bats can have. Teeth are primarily designed for the breakdown of food; therefore, its shape significantly determines the effectiveness of its function. In comparison to megabats which feed only on fruit and nectar, a microbat illustrates a range of diets and have been classified as an insectivore, carnivore, sanguinivore, frugivore, and nectarivore. Differences seen between the size and function of the canines and molars among microbats in these groups vary as a result of this. In addition, these bats display differences among palate and skull size, which also contribute to its feeding ability.

The diverse diets of microbats are a reflection of having dentition, or cheek teeth, that display a morphology derived from dilambdodont teeth, which are characterized by a W-shaped ectoloph, or stylar shelf. These W-shaped dilambdodont upper molars include a metacone and paracone, which are located at the bottom of the "W"; while the rest of the "W" is formed by crests that run from the metacone and paracone to the cusps of the stylar shelf.

Microbats display differences between the size and shape of its canines and molars, in addition to having distinctive differences among its skull features that contribute to its ability to feed effectively. Frugivorous microbats are characterized by having smaller stylar shelf areas, short molariform rows, and a wider palate and face. In addition to having a wide face, frugivorous microbats have a short skull which places the teeth closer to the fulcrum of the jaw lever, allowing an increase in jaw strength. Frugivorous microbats also possess a different pattern on their molars compared carnivorous, insectivorous, nectarivorous, and sanguinivorous microbats. In contrast, insectivorous microbats are characterized by having larger but fewer teeth, longer canines, and shortened third upper molars; while carnivorous microbats have larger upper molars. Generally, microbats that are insectivores, carnivores, and frugivorous have large teeth and small palates; however, the opposite is true for microbats that are nectarivores. Though there are differences that exist between the palate and teeth sizes of microbats, the proportion of the sizes of these two structures are maintained among microbats of various sizes.

________________________________

-Since our group plans to isolate the bat jaw this week in lab, I will plan to add images of the teeth, jaw, and skull from the bat we were given, in addition to using the skeletonized bat from last year. After seeing images of the dilambdodont tooth structure on the University of Michigan Animal Diversity website and in one of the articles I used, I would also like to include this image if it is possible since I think it will help readers get a better visual of what I mention for this section.

Week 11: Illustrate an Article (Draft)

Lianne:

-Images were added to Week 10: Draft 2

-I will be adding my section to the Bat page under "Skull and dentition"; however, I will also contribute some information to the Microbat Wikipedia page (add to characteristics section: Dentition: form and function) and link it to the section I will be adding on the Bat page.

Jimmy:

cross section of a mammals kidney that I draw with some of the major parts labeled.

Will adding a picture of the kidney from the specimen.

The addition of this picture will contribute to the main bat page. This picture will allow the readers to see the position of where the kidneys are in the bat, and see the size of it in the micro bat.

First taking the attached kidney with the bat, to show the size comparison.  

Then I will take out one kidney to cut in a cross section under dissecting scope and take pictures under the microscope. For other kidney will carefully take out with the ureter attached to it. This dissection will be a delicate process that I plant to carry out in up coming lab session.

Will be editing on main Bat page.

The kidney has many roles in maintaining homeostasis such as maintaining the fluid levels and electrolytes, removing the excess material, filtration of toxins, etc. The kidney filters a lot of the blood and approximately 25% of the cardiac output goes to the kidney. In mammals, their ecological distribution and their diet have an impact toward urine concentration and in their renal specialization. The kidney composition differs between bats with a different diet. For vampire bats such as Desmodus rotundus and Pizonyx vivesi and in neotropical bats with carnivorous feeding habit, they have a thing cortex and long renal papilla to have more efficient water conservation due to their protein-rich diet. In old world fruit bats pteropodidae they have tick cortex and very short conical papilla. The loop of Henle is a structure in the kidney where it creates a concentration gradient in the medulla of the kidney and reabsorption of water occurs. The longer loop of Henle the more concentrated the concentration of urine, thus in insectivorous bat such as Schneider’s leaf-nosed bat (Hipposideros speoris) they have a longer loop of Henle.

Good fluid balance maintenance is an important category for the well-being of the whole organism. Homeostasis in terms of fluid regulation is the tendency to regulate and maintain the internal levels of fluids along with its components, such as sodium, electrolytes, etc. with responses to environmental change. In bats, they have higher metabolic rate associated with flying, which leads to an increased respiratory water loss. In addition to their metabolic rate contributing to the rate of water loss, their large wings which are composed of the highly vascularized membrane increases surface area leading to cutaneous evaporative water loss. \Water helps maintain their ionic balance, thermoregulation system, and removal of wastes and toxins from the body via urine. They are also susceptible to blood urea poisoning if they do not receive enough fluid.

Frankee:

Draft: After reading through both micro bat and bat pages and understanding my contributions, I will be adding to the bat page under "Internal Systems" before it starts talking about the digestive system. Making connections to the heart, circulatory system, microbat, and humming bird, pages on wikipedia.

It takes a lot of energy, a sufficient way of respiration, and efficient circulatory system to work the flight muscles of bats. Energy supply to the muscles engaged in flight require about double the amount compared to the muscles that do not use flight as a means of mammalian locomotion. In parallel to energy consumption, blood oxygen levels of flying animals are twice as much as those of their terrestrially locomoting mammals. As the blood supply controls the amount of oxygen supplied throughout the body, the circulatory system must respond accordingly. Therefore, compared to a terrestrial mammal of the same relative size, the bat's heartcan be up to three times larger. The large size of the heart creates a greater cardiac output throughout the bats body. Cardiac output is directly derived form heart rate and stroke volume of the blood. An active microbat can reach from 900 to 1000 beats per minute. That is only 200 beats away from that of an active humming bird. During torpor, heart rates can drop to 40-80 beats per minute, and during hibernation these rates can drop to 20 beats per minute. With that being said, the greater heart size allows for more blood to be pumped throughout the body per minute increasing the oxygen supply to the body from the blood. The large heart size also allows for a wide range of heart rates dependent on the activity and metabolic needs, which are influenced by the energy consumption of the bat. All in all the bats necessary increased energy supply regulates the amount of activity for flight. The muscles and energy systems used by bats to initiate and sustain flight are unique and require increased oxygen/ blood supply. The unique cardiac anatomy of the bat allows the circulatory system to meet the demands of oxygen output to engage in flight.

Ventral view of free-tailed microbat (Genus Tadarida) displaying the relative size of the heart to the rest of the body. Specimen from the Pacific Lutheran University Natural History collection.

MountainFoot (talk) 16:00, 24 April 2018 (UTC)

Week 12: Begin moving your work to Wikipedia

I created a new subheading, titled "Dentition", under the "Characteristics" section on the Microbat page. The following sentence was added to that section:

• The form and function of microbat teeth differ as a result of the various diets these bats can have. Teeth are primarily designed for the breakdown of food; therefore, its shape significantly determines the effectiveness of its function.

Week 13: Continue improving your work

Revised Draft 2:

The form and function of microbat teeth differ as a result of the various diets these bats can have. Teeth are primarily designed to break down food; therefore, the shape of the teeth correlate to specific feeding behaviors. In comparison to megabats which feed only on fruit and nectar, microbats illustrate a range of diets and have been classified as insectivores, carnivores, sanguinivores, frugivores, and nectarivores. Differences seen between the size and function of the canines and molars among microbats in these groups vary as a result of this. In addition, these bats display variations among palate and skull size, which also contribute to their feeding ability.

The diverse diets of microbats reflect having dentition, or cheek teeth, that display a morphology derived from dilambdodont teeth, which are characterized by a W-shaped ectoloph, or stylar shelf. A W-shaped dilambdodont upper molar includes a metacone and paracone, which are located at the bottom of the “W”; while the rest of the “W” is formed by crests that run from the metacone and paracone to the cusps of the stylar self.

Microbats display differences between the size and shape of their canines and molars, in addition to having distinctive variations among their skull features that contribute to their ability to feed effectively. Frugivorous microbats have small stylar shelf areas, short molariform rows, and wide palates and faces. In addition to having wide faces, frugivorous microbats have short skulls, which place the teeth closer to the fulcrum of the jaw lever, allowing an increase in jaw strength. Frugivorous microbats also possess a different pattern on their molars compared to carnivorous, insectivorous, nectarivorous, and sanguinivorous microbats. In contrast, insectivorous microbats are characterized by having larger, but fewer teeth, long canines, and shortened third upper molars; while carnivorous microbats have large upper molars. Generally, microbats that are insectivores, carnivores, and frugivores have large teeth and small palates; however, the opposite is true for microbats that are nectarivores. Though differences exist between the palate and teeth sizes of microbats, the proportion of the sizes of these two structures are maintained among microbats of various sizes.

________________________

A couple more sentences from the first paragraph of this draft were added to the "Dentition" section on the Microbat page.

(Hi Lianne this is super awesome work! Very intriguing and well thought out. I added a period to the last sentence of your first paragraph. I would also suggest, in your last P, removing the common after molars in the first sentence and putting one after skull features in that same P.... Other than that really great job girl, and your pictures are labeled nicely and very clear :)

Hey! I noticed there are some similarities between some of your content especially your 3rd paragraph with the content under "skull and dentition" section in the main bat page. Your information is more detailed in terms of the description of the development and certain structures of the bat in relation to their diet. I would try to orient the writing focus toward a context style that can apply as general information instead of main focus on microbat and add that info to that section in the main bat page, and then link those to the microbat page. I hope this is helpful! Aside from that your overall content is well put together and the pictures are clearly labeled. - Jimmy

Week 14: Final article

Lianne:

As I read over my draft, I realized that my information was a better fit for the microbat page instead of adding most of it to the bat page. I tried my best to integrate my information into the skull and dentition section on the bat page since it was similar to what I wrote in my third paragraph; however, I did not think it flowed well. Instead, I chose to add my entire section to the microbat page then link it from the skull and dentition section on the bat page.

Added to the microbat page (final):

-I added the images of the dilambdodont teeth pattern and canines to this section.

The form and function of microbat teeth differ as a result of the various diets these bats can have. Teeth are primarily designed to break down food; therefore, the shape of the teeth correlate to specific feeding behaviors. In comparison to megabats which feed only on fruit and nectar, microbats illustrate a range of diets and have been classified as insectivores, carnivores, sanguinivores, frugivores, and nectarivores. Differences seen between the size and function of the canines and molars among microbats in these groups vary as a result of this.

The diverse diets of microbats reflect having dentition, or cheek teeth, that display a morphology derived from dilambdodont teeth, which are characterized by a W-shaped ectoloph, or stylar shelf. A W-shaped dilambdodont upper molar includes a metacone and paracone, which are located at the bottom of the “W”; while the rest of the “W” is formed by crests that run from the metacone and paracone to the cusps of the stylar self.

Microbats display differences between the size and shape of their canines and molars, in addition to having distinctive variations among their skull features that contribute to their ability to feed effectively. Frugivorous microbats have small stylar shelf areas, short molariform rows, and wide palates and faces. In addition to having wide faces, frugivorous microbats have short skulls, which place the teeth closer to the fulcrum of the jaw lever, allowing an increase in jaw strength. Frugivorous microbats also possess a different pattern on their molars compared to carnivorous, insectivorous, nectarivorous, and sanguinivorous microbats. In contrast, insectivorous microbats are characterized by having larger, but fewer teeth, long canines, and shortened third upper molars; while carnivorous microbats have large upper molars. Generally, microbats that are insectivores, carnivores, and frugivores have large teeth and small palates; however, the opposite is true for microbats that are nectarivores. Though differences exist between the palate and teeth sizes of microbats, the proportion of the sizes of these two structures are maintained among microbats of various sizes.

Added to the bat page (final):

-I linked "cheek-teeth" that was mentioned in skull and dentition section to the University of Michigan's Animal Diversity website on cheek teeth.

-I incorporated the following sentence to the second paragraph in the skull and dentition section then linked it to the microbat page so readers can refer to what I added under the dentition section of the microbat page for more information:

• These feeding behaviors are true for both megabats and microbats.

Jimmy:

The kidney structure of the vampire bats such as Desmodus rotundus and Pizonyx vivesi and in neotropical bats with carnivorous feeding habit, they have a thin cortex and long renal papilla to have more efficient water conservation due to their protein-rich diet. In frugivorous bats such as pteropodidae, they have a thick cortex and very short conical papilla. (This was my first content that went live on actual Bat Wikipedia page.) (Now, this information has been edited by other Wikipedians in ways that is better integrate with original context, similar situation to my second content that went live.)

Homeostasis in terms of fluid balance is the tendency to regulate and maintain the internal levels of fluids along with its components, such as sodium and electrolytes with responses to the environmental change. Bats have higher metabolic rates associated with flying, which lead to an increased respiratory water loss. Their large wings are composed of the highly vascularized membranes, increasing the surface area to lead to cutaneous evaporative water loss. Water helps maintain their ionic balance, thermoregulation system, and removal of wastes and toxins from the body via urine. They are also susceptible to blood urea poisoning if they do not receive enough fluid. (this the second time)

Week 14 is just minor update and tweaks such as making sure I link some contents to an existing Wikipedia page. I also added picture of the kidney on my sandbox, but decided not to on the main bat page since I don't think it will benefit the reader as much to have that information.

Frankee:

It takes a lot of energy, and efficient circulatory system to work the flight muscles of bats. Energy supply to the muscles engaged in flight require about double the amount compared to the muscles that do not use flight as a means of locomotion. In parallel to energy consumption, blood oxygen levels of flying animals are twice as much as those of their terrestrially locomoting mammals. As the blood supply controls the amount of oxygen supplied throughout the body, the circulatory system must respond accordingly. Therefore, compared to a terrestrial mammal of the same relative size, the mammalian bat heart can be up to three times larger. The large size of the heart creates a greater cardiac output throughout the bats body, pumping more blood throughout its body. Cardiac output is directly derived form heart rate and stroke volume of the blood; an active microbat can reach from 900 to 1000 beats per minute. That is only 200 beats away from that of an active humming bird. During torpor, heart rates can drop to 40-80 beats per minute, and during hibernation these rates can drop to 20 beats per minute.

With that being said, the greater heart size allows for more blood to be pumped throughout the body per minute increasing the oxygen supply to the body from the blood. The large heart size also allows for a wide range of heart rates dependent on the activity and metabolic needs, which are influenced by the energy consumption of the bat. All in all the bats necessary increased energy supply regulates the amount of activity for flight. The muscles and energy systems used by bats to initiate and sustain flight are unique and require increased oxygen/ blood supply. The unique cardiac anatomy of the bat allows the circulatory system to meet the demands of oxygen output for the muscles to engage in flight.

A large chunk of my additions to the bat page were removed as well as the image. These are my final edits to what I would have liked to be added.