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Defining Biology and Life
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy.[1] Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines. Among the most important topics are five unifying principles that can be said to be the fundamental axioms of modern biology:[2]
Subdisciplines of biology are recognized on the basis of the scale at which organisms are studied and the methods used to study them: biochemistry examines the rudimentary chemistry of life; molecular biology studies the complex interactions of systems of biological molecules; cellular biology examines the basic building block of all life, the cell; physiology examines the physical and chemical functions of the tissues, organs, and organ systems of an organism; and ecology examines how various organisms interact and associate with their environment
Axolotl photo by Dick Willis (Feb 3, 2011)
Axolotl photo by Dick Willis (Feb 4, 2011)
Axolotl larva photo by Dick Willis (Feb 9, 2011)
Axie Larva photo by Dick Willis (Feb 11, 2011)
Axolotl Offspring
During our recent unscheduled winter break I stopped by school to make sure my animals were doing okay. I noticed that the axolotls had laid a few eggs (about 50 - 75). I took a few out and began to make a photo journal of their development. Because I hadn't been to school since the previous Friday (it was now Thursday) I wasn't certain when the eggs might have appeared. Looking at the development of the eggs over the next few days indicates that the axolotls spawned on Monday or Tuesday.
The axolotl larvae continue to develop and you can see their gill fronds growing longer, their tails elongating and their yolk sack shrinking. I expect that these larvae will emerge from their jelly casing on Tuesday or Wednesday. By the weekend they will begin to forage for very small living organisms like daphnia and newly hatched brine shrimp.
I have used the digital microscope provided through a grant from NWLEAFF (Susan Dodge Foundation) to take these pictures.