While reading the book, Your Inner Fish, I initially struggled to understand the significance of this book to the lecture material. I could plainly see that much of the material presented in the book was similarly discussed in lecture. In lecture we learned the three factors necessary to find fossils and Neil Shubin elaborated this by recognizing the significance of a geological survey in an old test book that helped him realize where he need to look to find these fossils. The transition from aquatic like to life on land was revealed through his discovery of Tiktaalik, which filled a missing gap in the phylogenic tree. Another point discussed in lecture and the book was how specific genes differentiate into our forelimbs, common to land animals …show more content…
This led to an understanding that this was controlled by a set of genes discovered by Tabin in his research into fruit flies. This lead to experiments into fin development experiments in sharks and skates by Randy Dhan. Dhan’s experiments were conducted around the time of Shubin’s discovery, which he describes, Dhan’s experiment as discovering his inner fish. Later Hox genes are discussed and it is revealed that these gill arches in human embryos are responsible for the formation of the jaw, ear nose and throat. These Hox genes are not unique to us, they are found in smaller segments in other animals. Shubin’s obsession with the nesting doll ties into this as well. Smaller portions of these HOX genes are found in other living organisms. A segment of human HOX genes is found in beavers, a segment of beavers HOX genes is found in fruit flies and the nesting pattern continues. This nesting pattern continues with organ development, body plan development and sequences of genetic code. This same order of subset of our genes found within the gene of other multicellular organisms is seen with our sense of smell as …show more content…
This leads students to the understanding that while scientific endeavors may seem unrelated they help us unlock the mysteries in the phylogenic tree of life. When I first started reading the book, I was like Shubin roaming the dessert in search of fossils, I failed to see what was right in front of me the whole time. Then it struck me as I continued reading, this book was not just about the similar facts discussed but rather the painstaking journey and tedious hours spent arriving at these conclusions. I can look at a phylogeny and see morphological changes, but what is not initially evident is the countless hours cataloging fossilized remains and studying them to determine their place on a phylogenic tree. While Shubin made a significant advancement in our understanding of our evolutionary history, the significance of his findings relies on the tedious work of his predecessors, the same could be said for any advancement in the pursuit of knowledge. Our knowledge in the field of science is advanced in much the same way as Shubin’s nesting doll. This insight brings a greater appreciation for phylogenic tree used in the last PowerPoint slide of our last
18 February 2014 “NSTA Position Statement: The teaching of Evolution”. NSTA.org. -. nd. Web. The Web. The Web.
In the book, Your Inner Fish, by Neil Shubin he presents the notion of evolution and how we can trace parts that make up the human body back to jellyfish, worms, and even fish. The book not only discusses how we arose to be what we are today, but also the implications our ancestors had on our current body plan. In this essay, I will demonstrate that I have digested the entirety of Shubin’s book by convincing you (dear reader) that everything in our bodies is based on simple changes to already existing systems. To make this case, I will use the evidence of limb development in a vast array of organisms, the four arches found in the embryological stage of development, the structures inside our noses, and how our ears have come about all due to modifications.
The book has vivid imagery making the reader imaging as if her or she was their right beside him in his whole investigation. Such as “In the winter of 1978, through, a fierce blizzard hit southern Connecticut. Temperatures were often below zero and at one point it snowed for thirty-three hours straight. Perhaps it was the cold that killed the fish, or the copper sulfate I helped the caretaker drag through the pond the previous summer to manage the algal blooms, or maybe even the fishermen id noticed trespassing on the estate one day, scoping out my grounds. But whatever caused it, after that never again did I spot a living fish in that pond again.”(Greenberg 12-13). This quote shows how good his imagery, tone, and diction is, when I read it all I could think of is that storm and the pond. The author has an excellent writing style and keeps the reader wanting more. Even though the book has a lot of good things for it the only thing I would tell the author would to give more connections of him to the story. It says “The transformation of salmon and sea bass from kingly and holiday wild fish into everyday farmed variants is a trend that continues with different animals around the globe.”(Greenberg 195). In every chapter about each of the fish it gives some connections to him but it would make it even
The second of Tinbergen’s questions Phylogeny looks at the evolutionary explanations of development, as opposed to just how behaviour has adapted, including mutations in response to environmental changes. Some of these mutations remain in species even after necessity has gone, and can influence future characteristics of that species. The third of Tinbergen’s questions looks at Causation,...
The origin of modern day whales, a mystery that has puzzled paleontologists for years, may have just been solved with the discovery of an ankle bone. This discovery might sound simple and unimportant, but the bones of these ancient animals hold many unanswered questions and provide solid proof of origin and behavior. The relationship between whales and other animals has proven to be difficult because whales are warm-blooded, like humans, yet they live in the sea. The fact that they are warm-blooded suggests that they are related to some type of land animal. However, the questions of exactly which animal, and how whales evolved from land to water, have remained unanswered until now.
Diving into the book I found that Paul Greenberg takes his readers on a journey starting from when he was just a boy and enjoyed the simple act of casting a baited-line into the water and waiting for a fish to latch onto the hook. “By the summer of 1981, I had a boat...and several thousand square miles of sea for my own use.” (3) After being hooked by Greenberg’s opening story, I learned that the four fish from the title of the book are salmon, sea bass, cod, and tuna. These four fish are on almost every seafood restaurant's menu. The book only has about six traditional chapters but four of them are dedicated to a single fish from the list mentioned before. Regardless, the book is still over two hundred pages long because Greenberg goes so in-depth with the story of each fish.
Sharks rely on several mechanisms to maintain their buoyancy in water. Firstly, their skeleton is made of cartilage that is less dense than bone. The second mechanism is the dynamic lift where they use their pectoral fins to maintain their buoyancy, just as the birds use their wings in the air. Liver contributes about 25% of the total mass of the shark. Moreover, it contains a natural compound known as Squalene. It is mainly used in the synthesis of Vitamin D and cholesterol. The compound has a lower density that assists the fish in maintaining buoyancy. However, fish with swim bladder have an advantage over sharks in that they can remain still in the water, unlike the shark that must stay in motion to control its
A killer whale is a large toothed whale with distinctive black and white markings and a large fin. Killer whales are marine mammals that have violent behavior that can be recognized when they are trapped in small pools. Having killer whales in captivity is harmful to not only them but to killer whale trainers.
A fish is a creature that preceded the creation of man on this planet. Therefore, Bishop supplies the reader with a subject that is essentially constant and eternal, like life itself. In further examination of this idea the narrator is, in relation to the fish, very young, which helps introduce the theme of deceptive appearances in conjunction with age by building off the notion that youth is ignorant and quick to judge. Bishop's initial description of the fish is meant to further develop this theme by presenting the reader with a fish that is "battered," "venerable," and "homely." Bishop compares the fish to "ancient wallpaper.
He realized that snake embryos had bumps where there should be legs. Which mean they probably evolved from a creature with legs. He noticed that whale embryos had teeth, but adult whales did not have teeth. The most shocking of his embryotic studies involved human embryos. He noted that the human embryos as slits around the neck, the same in fish. The difference is that in fish the develop into gills, and in human the become the bones of the inner ear. This showed that humans must be descended from fish. This led him to the conclusion that all species were somehow connected. He theorized that beginning with a common ancestor, species had changed dramatically over generations. Some species may add new body features, or lose them. He called this descent with
I will begin by defining humanity and responsibility. Humanity is nothing more than a group of humans living in harmony. Humanity can also be interpreted as feelings of kindness, compassion, brotherhood, consideration, understanding, and sympathy, among others. Responsibility is defined as: the state of being autonomous in making decisions, can also be defined as an authority, leadership, power, control, among others. It is extremely important that humans can show humanity towards everything around them and that they are responsible enough to protect people and the environment; This research paper will focus on how authors like Elizabeth Bishop, John Updike, Jim Willis and Maxine Kumin, emphasized the
..."Not a Real Fish: The Ethnographer as Insider-Outsider." In P. R. DeVita (Ed.), The Naked Anthropologist: Tales from Around the World (pp. 73-8). Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Zacherl, Danielle. “Biology 171 Evolution and Biodiversity.” National Association of Research in Science Teaching 2007 Annual Meeting, New Orleans LA. (2007):n. page. Print.
Gould, Stephen Jay. "Evolution as Fact and Theory." The Norton Mix. Editor Katie Hannah. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2010. 110-119.