Are Asiatic Clams from Asia?

The answer: Yes!

The Asiatic clam is indigenous in temperate to tropical southern Asia and east to the Mediterranean, southeast Asian islands, eastern and central Australia, and Africa, except in the Sahara desert. It has spread to 40 states in the United States and is most prevalent in Indiana. This freshwater bivalve mollusk with distinct concentric rows of elevated ridges on the shells.  The shell is rounded to slightly triangular.  The exterior is usually brown in color but can vary to a yellowish-gold.  The nacre, or interior of the shell, is usually white to light purple.  The average adult size is rarely larger than 1.5 inches. 

1918 Spanish Flu Pandemic :(

The Spanish Flu Pandemic in 1918 killed about 50 million to 100 million people around the world (up to 5% of the world's population). It was very interesting to witness the effect of the Spanish flu when we visited the cemetery. This particular flu targeted more the young and healthy, namely 20 to 35 year olds. The flu is believed to have had origins in China and spread mainly through the military, after soldiers were exposed to it in World War I.

Unfortunately for the victims of the Spanish flu pandemic, the symptoms were intense and rather harsh and it was a slow and painful process until death. Fatigue, fever, headache, coughing, foamy blood from the mouth, nose, and ears, vomiting...all of this and more. People tried homemade prevention remedies, such as eating raw onions, but they never seemed to work. In all, there were three waves of the Spanish flu before it finally died out. The story of the victims of the Spanish flu will never be forgotten and the Spanish flu will remain to be a very dark period in history.

Ocmulgee National Monument

Ocmulgee National Monument is such a cool and unique place! It is a memorial to the relationship of people and national resources in the Southeast corner of North America for past centuries. There is evidence of life and human habitation for more than 17,000 years in the past! That is absolutely crazy if you ask me! I really enjoyed our visit there and my favorite part was getting able to go inside one the cave-looking things :). I also enjoyed doing cartwheels and round-offs with Dr. Rood and experiencing sheer terror as Dr. Rood pretended to push me off the cliff of one of the Indian mounds...but, I know it was all fun and games :)


Gosh, I'm going to miss this class!!!!! :(

HITCHITI!!!!!!!!

For one of our labs, we went to Hitchiti Experimental Forest. This was such a fun lab. It was nice to get outside and enjoy nature for the day. I learned a lot walking around the forest and I felt very knowledgeable about Hitchiti after leaving. Although, it was slightly difficult for us to find the forest, it was an experience that I will definitely keep in my memory. :)

Burgess Shale

The Burgess Shale is a fossil field located in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia. In 1909, paleontologist Charles Walcott discovered the Burgess Shale. He was intrigued by this particular fossil field because of it's unusually exceptional preservation of the soft parts of its fossils. Some of the fossils commonly found in the Burgess Shale are the following: anomalocaris, wiwaxia, hallucigenia, opabinia, waptia, and marella.

Anomalocaris

Opabinia

Hallucigenia

Marella

Waptia

Wiwaxia

Hang Loose, Bra!!!!

In light of the recent tsunami that took place in Japan, it is interesting that the word "tsunami" actually comes from a Japanese word, which literally means "harbor wave". By definition, a tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, usually an ocean. Tsunamis can be caused by many events, such as seismic earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and other underwater explosions. In class, we learned that waves are most commonly caused by wind. Thus, in my mind, I figured "Hey, a tsunami is a large wave, so it must be caused by very heavy winds..." Let's just say that my thinking wasn't quite right.

Approximately 80% of tsunamis occur in the Pacific Ocean within what is the called the "Ring of Fire." (pictured below)

Here is a video of a tsunami...I don't imagine it being very fun to "hang loose" on such a wave, but hey, if you're dangerous enough to try, then go for it!

Soil That Can Toil

There are 12 soil orders in the world...And here they are!!!!!

A prominent soil type characteristic of Georgia is Ultisols. Ultisols are defined by the Soil Orders website as strongly leached soils with a subsurface zone of clay accumulation and less than 35% base saturation. Ultisols are found primarily in humid areas and are commonly known as red clay soils.

Here is a soil map of Georgia, indicating the variety of soils found in Georgia:

One of the ways we examine and analyze soil is by looking at soil color and this is done by use of the Munsell Soil Color Chart and we also use the soil texture dichotomous key, which can be seen below: