Crocodile ; Physical, Chemical, Geological

The video below was the one presented in class today. It shows how the Crocodile interacts physically, chemically, and geologically in various environments. Pay close attention to each of the five videos because each video shows an interesting aspect of the Croc. Hope you enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nljY6MZ8UA

American Crocodile

Good morning everyone,

This post will deal with the American Crocodile in the Mangrove Habitat.

The American Crocodile or the Crocodylus acutus, is the species of crocodilian found in North and South America. Do not let this statement fool you, this 20-ft long dinosaur can be found in various nations in South American, but it can only be found in Southern Florida, in North American. The American crocodile is considered one of the largest species of crocodile on the planet.

What is Looks like, Physical description, in other words, the Good Stuff

The American crocodile is a quadruped, with four short, splayed lets, a long tail, with scutes running down its back and a long snout. The crocodiles eyes are one of a kind, they have nictitating membranes for protection. Often times when a predator is caught in the jaws of a crocodile, they will attack its eyes.

As you can see in the picture below, its nostrils, eyes, and ears are situated on the top of its head. These ancient creatures often crawl on their bellies and can reach a speed of 10-mph on land. It is in the water that these creatures thrive in, be able to reach speeds as fast as 20-mph.

At birth they are on average, 9 inches and can become over 20 feet long, weighing in at 2,220 pounds.

The American Crocodile is considered an endangered species.

An interesting fact is that if the water the crocodile is in is colder than 45 degrees F, then the creature will die. Also, crocodiles have a Palatal Flap in the back of their throat that stops water from entering their throat and drowning them. This gives them that ability to have their mouths open under water. Pretty Cool eh?

Crocodiles and Mangroves, who could want more?

Crocodiles and Mangroves have an interesting interaction between each other. The American Crocodile, thrives in Salt water. Due to this scientist, believe that is the reason they grow faster than the American alligator. The Mangroves also provided double the salinity as anywhere else, making it an ideal living location for the animal.

These crocodiles are Apex Predators, eating anything that it feels like. As it gets older, it moves on to bigger prey. For example, a baby crocodile will eat insects, small reptiles, and fish. Were as a full grown male crocodile will eat sharks, people, pets, cattle...you name it, it will eat it.

Conclusion

Crocodiles are at the top of the food chain, not just in North and South America, but all over the world. The American Crocodile, that is uniquely found in North and South American Mangroves, is a bit different then crocodiles from around the world. It thrives in high salinity water, that actually helps it grow. The other organisms that will be presented on this page coexist with the crocodile because they are to small.

I hope was informative, if you have any questions, feel free to post questions in the comment section.

Sources

1May11, Crocodile Specialist Group, Crocodylus acutus. 2006. www.iucnredlist.org

1May11, Guggisberg, C. Crocodiles: Their Natural History, Folklore, and Conservation. pg 195.

1May11, Gregg, Gordon, Morphology & Physiology of the Crocodylia.

1May11, Kushlan, J, "Historic and present distribution of the American Crocodile.

1May11, Wiki Crocodile.

Long time No See

Good morning everyone,

It has been awhile since my last post and I feel it necessary to reintroduce myself. My name is Peter Bue, a 21 year old, Studies of War and Peace major at Norwich University. This blog was set up so that my group and I, who have been focussing our time on the Mangrove Habitat and various creatures of Mangroves, can better inform you. Below I will reintroduce the Mangrove, let you know what it is about, how creatures interact with in it, and some interesting details. It is my hopes, that after reading the next few posts, you will be better informed of Mangroves and the American Crocodile.

Mangroves

A brief definition of Mangroves is trees of medium height that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics. The interesting part of this is that they thrive in extreme saline environments. The salinity around the Mangrove Habitat is often twice that of the ocean. Mangroves dominate three quarters of tropical coastlines and within the habitat, their are about 110 species that are considered mangroves. Do not let the large number distract you though, often times in any single mangrove there will be 3-4 tree species.

Mangroves also protect coastal areas from erosion, storms, and large waves. This is because of the massive roots that the mangrove trees have. Mangroves also have a very large creature habitat (that will be discussed throughout this blog) as well.

Mangroves can be found all over the world and in some places, they are even harvested.

Key Points to Take Away

Even though their are a recognized 110 mangrove species, only about 54 are "true" mangroves species. Over time, these species have gone through an extreme adaptation process because of the high salinity in the mangrove Habitat. That is perhaps the biggest take away from this. Mangrove species have had to adapt arguably more than any other species on earth because of the changing environment on the Mangroves.

Sources

1May11. University of California at Los Angeles. http://www.botgard.ucla.edu/html/botanytextbooks/worldvegetation/marinewetlands/mangal/index.html.

1May11. Morphological and Physiological Adaptations. Florida Mangroves, http://www.nhmi.org/mangroves/phy.htm.

1May11. Hogarth, Peter J. 1999, The Biology of Mangroves,Oxford University Press, Oxford England.

Crocodile Hunter Remembrance Post

We would like to contribute this post to a huge advocate of the vertebrate species, more specifically the Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin. These Crocs can be found in Mangrove habitats.

Fiddler crabs web site

Hey all,
found a great site with good general info and photos for somebody looking for a solid overview of fiddler crabs. enjoy!

http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/2053.htm

Hello all

Hello everyone-
My name is Zac Milesky. I am currently a sophomore in HHC and I am studying communications here at Norwich University. I will be contributing to this blog with facts, photos, and video of invertebrates of the mangrove ecosystem, more specifically the fiddle crab. I am looking forward to posting more and I hope you will all enjoy the information I have to share.

much love.

Awesome Website

Below is a awesome website regarding Mangroves and the American Saltwater Croc!

http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/mangroves.htm

Intro

Hello,

My name is Phillip Brown. I am currently a senior at Norwich University and I am majoring in history. In this blog, I will providing information about mangroves, but more specifically phytoplankton.

Brown

CROCS

A short clip detailing Salt Water Crocs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY7swZCQ1hU&feature=fvst

Website for Crocodile information.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saltwater_crocodile

Invertebrates of the mangroves

So when we all think of mangroves, things like the florida everglads come to mind. Its that or some other form of lush semi tropic hot environment that we think of. poeple think of birds fish gator's and the a-typical "swamp" creatures. No one really stops to think about those creatures that dont have back bones. Like jelly fish, certain types of worms, crabs of various kinds, and all those slimey crawley snails.

The creature I would like to Focus on the most would be the horseshoe crab.
The Horse shoe crab can be found in the mangrove areas primarly during their early life stages and during mating season. During their mating season they come close to shore and into mangroved areas to help keep their masses of eggs from being eaten by predatory animals. It is this mass migration of Animals that provides with one of its many nutrient enriching qualties. meaning that local animal life gains alot from these animals coming in and temperarly enriching the waters with nutrients from their reproductive process.
Horse Shoe crabs first appear around 450 million years ago, they have changed very little since then. In mondern terms they are living fossils, they are often used commercailly for fertilizer and bait for more profitable animals. recently there has been a moretorium (forced halting) of harvesting horseshoe crabs. this is due to over fishing and destruction of their local breeding grounds, AKA the mangrove areas.

Oceanography HW part 3

Hello everyone here posting about our group topic (Mangrove)

Information:

Mangroves dominate 75% of the tropical coastlines between latitudes 25 degrees N -25 degrees S or higher latitudes bathed by equatorial originating water masses. Along the coast of Florida, the close proximity of the Gulf Stream and the Florida Current aid in development of mangrove communities. With only three species of mangrove present, Florida's species composition seems somewhat low compared to areas of the Indo-West Pacific with over 30 species reported. However, extreme conditions for growth should be expected with most areas in Florida north of 250 N. Red and White mangroves are found as far north as Cedar Key in the Gulf of Mexico and Ponce de Leon inlet on the east coast of Florida. Black mangroves are found farther north to Jacksonville on the east coast and along the panhandle in the Gulf due to their ability to grow from the undestroyed roots after a freeze.

Source(s): http://www.nhmi.org/mangroves/index.htm

Hello everyone I am here to post about phytoplankton.

General Information:

Phytoplankton are microscopic floating photosynthetic organisms in aquatic environments, both freshwater and seawater. In seawater, the most common types of phytoplankton are diatoms and dinoflagellates. In the oceans, they are responsible for most of the primary production (photosynthesis). Their photosynthetic activities remove carbon dioxide from the environment and release oxygen; thus they are responsible for mitigating some of the effects of increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Since they need sunlight in order to photosynthesize, they are found only in the upper, sunlit layers of the water. When excessive nutrients are present, there may be excessive blooms of phytoplankton, which when they die and sink to the bottom.

Source(s): http://www.eoearth.org/article/Phytoplankton?topic=49480

Intro

Hello

My name is Patrick Phelan, I am a sophmore with HHC. I will also be partaking in this blog along with Mr.Bue I will be posting information about the kinds of invertabrets that can be found in this sort of environment. In the future expect to see some youtube stuff and such. feel free to ask any questions.

Phelan

Good Evening Everyone,

My name is Peter Bue, I am currently a senior at Norwich University and majoring in War and Peace. This blog is dealing with Oceanography 101, more specifically the Mangrove habitat. I will be giving you detailed information regarding vertebrate organisms in the Mangrove habitat, more specifically the Crocodile. This should be a fun and exciting project. Please check back regularly for cool youtube videos and awesome information.

Have a good evening.

Norwich GL111 Term Project Introductions

As part of our Introduction to Oceanography class this Spring 2011 semester at Norwich University, our group will be researching and presenting on plants and animals that live in an ecosystem called a 'Mangrove'.

We have four group members:
_Peter Bue

_Zac Milesky

_Phillip Brown

Each member of our group will be reporting on a different marine organism that lives in the rocky shore ecosystem. One will be a zooplankton, one a phytoplankton, one a marine invertebrate, and one a marine vertebrate.

As part of an integrated approach, we will be researching how our organisms interact with the other aspects of the ocean system (geological, physical, and chemical).

***Note to groups:

Once you have accepted the invitation to join this blog, I will check back and grant you admin permissions, you will then be able to edit this post to include your name in one of the placeholders above. (You will also all be able to edit the same post - to add your individual information -- for future assignments).

Your next task is to comment on this post (after you click 'publish post', then click 'view post' and a comment box will be available). Your comment should introduce yourself in more detail, say what you would like, but be sure to at least include your year and major. Also say which marine organism you will be investigating.

Finally, the last person to add should delete these instructions.