Species Project - Sample Beginning Project

Species Project

Example Project -- Beginnings...

One of your classmates is investigating this snake

Here's a start to this student's species project

and a peak at what else we will study about species.

We can connect biology themes, concepts, and vocabulary while learning about one particular species.

regal ring-necked snake

common name

Multiple Choice

What is this snake's common name?

• python

• regal ring-necked snake

• regal lined snake

• Diadophis punctatus regalis

Diadophis punctatus regalis

scientific name

Diadophis

Genus name

Multiple Choice

What is this snake's genus name?

• punctatus regalis

• regal ring-necked snake

• Diadophis

• Diadophis punctatus regalis

punctatus regalis

species name

Molts

-- means that it sheds its skin

-- This snake molts throughout the year

(all months of the year)

Multiple Choice

When does molting occur?

• Molting occurs during all months of the year.
• In August and November only.
• In all months except January.

Multiple Choice

What does molting mean?

• Molting means that the snakes are "shedding".
• Molting means the snakes can run during this time.
• Molting means that they are dying.

Source:

University of Michigan's Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Diadophis_punctatus/

University of Michigan's Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web

This is updated by college students.

FUN FACT...

Mrs. Gordon added some of her research on bats and the patagonia weasel to this in 2001 as a mammalogy student at the University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point.

Multiple Choice

Do ring-necked snakes release hormones?

• Yes, they are called pheromones.

• No they do not release hormones.

• Yes, they release methane gases.

pheromones

hormone

The skin on females' scales releases this chemical. It attracts males during mating season.

Multiple Choice

How do ring-necked snakes release pheromones?

• They release them from their skin.

• They do not release pheramones.

• The pheramones are released from specifically their tail.

Where is it now?

mostly Arizona

sometimes California

Where has it lived?

Virgin Mountains

lower Grand Canyon

Hualapai Mountains

the Black Mountains.

(Arizona & California)

They prefer rocky terrain.

Where has it lived in the past?

Virgin Mountains

lower Grand Canyon

Hualapai Mountains

the Black Mountains.

They prefer rocky terrain.

Other common names?

no other common names, but there are several subspecies that share “ringneck”

Who named it?

Baird and Gerard named the genus of this species in 1853.

Multiple Choice

When was the Regal ring-neck snake named?

• It was named in about 1853.
• It was named in 2003.
• The regal ring-necked snake was named in 500 A.D.

Multiple Choice

Who named the Regal ring-neck snake?

• Spencer Baird and Charles Gerard.
• "Captain" Jack Sparrow
• Queen Elizabeth II

Spencer Fullerton Baird

a naturalist, herpetologist, museum curator, ichthyologist, and ornithologist.

worked for the Smithsonian National Library

mid 1800s

wrote A LOT of manuals to help people understand MANY species

Spencer Fullerton Baird

ONE of many publications included:

Directions for collecting, preserving and transporting specimens of natural history,

Smithsonian Institution, 1852

Charles Frederic Gerard

French biologist

specialized in Herpetology and Ichthyology

He was Spencer F. Baird’s assistant.

Charles Frederic Gerard

In 1860, he was granted a commission from the Confederacy to provide drugs and medical supplies. After the war, he returned to Paris to continue his medical studies.

Multiple Choice

Where did the Regal Ring-neck snake originate from?

• It originated in Arizona and Mexico.
• It orginiated in London.
• The ring-neck snake originated in Bulgaria.

Multiple Choice

Where can this snake be seen?

• Rolling hills, mountains, and plains.
• It can be seen in the ocean.
• The ring-neck snake has been seen in volcanoes.

Multiple Choice

What kind of terrain does the ring-neck snake live in?

• The ring-neck snake prefers rocky terrain.
• The ring-neck snake prefers wetlands.
• Marshy plains are the ring-neck snakes favorite terrain.

Multiple Choice

Where does the regal ring-necked snake live?

• Arizona and can be seen in California.

• They live in Alaska.

• The Regal Ring-necked snakes are extinct.

What other concepts and vocabulary will we connect with our species project?

What are this snake's structures and functions?

How do the structures of this organism enable it's life functions?

How does this snake relate to inheritance and variation of traits?

How are the characteristics from one generation related to the previous generation?

What is the matter that composes this snake?

How does its chemical structure relate to the energy produced and used?

How does this snake relate to ecosystem?

How do snakes obtain and use energy they need to live an grow?

How does this snake interact within an ecosystem?

How does this snake relate to concepts of natural selection, adaptation, and evolution?

How can there be so many similarities among snakes yet so many different types of snakes?

So much to learn and explore still

We will continue to explore biology themes as we research our species.

So much to learn and explore still

Hope you learned something to help appreciate and understand biodiversity more.

Thank you!