The Process
My team, Evan, Izzy, Ty, and I, was assigned the task to research an endangered organism and create a presentation on it using whatever means necessary. We had to describe its evolutionary history, its role in its ecosystem, its adaptations, reasons for why it's going extinct, and if it can be rescued. We originally wanted pandas but we ended up getting tigers. This is our process.
The Presentation
Our project consisted of 4 major parts. We worked on this for about 2 weeks and finally presented. We managed to get through 3 of the 4 parts. These are the parts:
Slideshow - Our first part was the main informational and educational part. We created a slideshow and presented all the research in a coherent and conventional way. There are multiple "unconventional stimuli" scattered around the presentation because the teacher wanted us to make our work engaging and entertaining. Perhaps the stimuli distracted from the main information, but we were clean in our presentation and expressed well.
Animation - The second part of our project emphasized the engaging portion of the project. We created an animation that modeled a Pokemon battle between Ryan Miller and, later, Trevor Fox (two fellow peers), and a tiger. When presenting, Undertale's "Megalovania" was playing over the speakers. Between each attack of each contender, the music stopped and Evan explained the significance of each move. For instance, when Trevor used deforestation, Evan explained how habitat loss is detrimental to the tiger population.
Video - The third part of our project was a music video. It was a parody of Kanye West's and Lil Pump's song, "I Love It". Our song's name was "I Love Tigers". I was the rapper and Izzy did the opening and closing monologues. Our lyrics consisted of references to the slideshow and educational facts. These are the lyrics:
[Intro: Izzy Cozier]
'Cause you know in the old days
They could hunt the animals they wanted to hunt
They could shoot them without consequence
We should tell hunters today:
"Hey! Don’t kill the tigers!”
[Chorus: Derek Dela Cruz]
I killed a tiger yo, I loved it (I loved it)
I killed a tiger yo, I loved it (I loved it)
[Verse 1: Derek Dela Cruz]
I killed a tiger yo, I loved it (loved it, loved it)
The tigers are all dorks, McLovin (dork)
(McLovin; ooh, ooh, ooh)
I just hunted a tiger, (cat)
Killed that cat up out in India (India)
Then I shot two here’s some trivia
I want bones, medicine to heal ya' (uh-uh, woo)
And the populous gettin' larger
Burning forests, stealing water (water, yeah)
All the tigers needing prey
Deer pig buffalo antelope oh hey (nom!)
Humans kill prey starving tigers
Oof, heck, they can hide (big rip)
I don’t care I want the trophies (bling!)
Boom, shoot, got the head (nice)
[Chorus: Derek Dela Cruz & Derek Dela Cruz]
I killed a tiger yo, I loved it (I loved it, oof!)
I killed a tiger yo, I loved it (I loved it)
[Interlude: Derek Dela Cruz]
Don’t kill the tigers yo...
Biodiversity is important in life
Why you killin’ all the tigers when they’re endangered and control their prey’s population?
Don’t kill the tigers y--
[Verse 2: Derek Dela Cruz]
Don’t kill the cats, don’t smack them with bats (whoop!)
Don’t kill the cats, don’t smack them with bats (whoop!)
Don’t kill the cats, don’t smack them with bats (whoop!)
Don’t kill the cats, don’t smack them with bats (whoop!)
Don’t kill the cats, don’t smack them with bats
Protect their habitats, go stop bureaucrats
Need water to hydrate, please be a diplomat
How do you stop this? Don’t shoot and don’t hate!
Don’t kill the cats, don’t need the head piece
Let them hide in peace, let them live in peace
Let them feast in peace, let them thrive in peace
Protect the darn tigers, let the numbers increase (crease, crease)
[Chorus: Derek Dela Cruz]
Don’t kill the tigers yo, we’d love it (we’d love it)
Don’t kill the tigers yo, we’d love it (we’d love it)
[Outro: Izzy Cozier]
'Cause you know in the old days
They could hunt the animals they wanted to hunt
They could shoot them without consequence
We should tell hunters today:
"Hey! Don’t kill the tigers!”
Kahoot - The fourth and final portion of the project was a Kahoot. We didn't get to this in the actual presentation because we ran out of time and it got hacked. The Kahoot consisted of 13 questions about our presentation. It would require our watchers to listen so they could answer the Kahoot questions, meaning that our information would be presented stronger.
Slideshow - Our first part was the main informational and educational part. We created a slideshow and presented all the research in a coherent and conventional way. There are multiple "unconventional stimuli" scattered around the presentation because the teacher wanted us to make our work engaging and entertaining. Perhaps the stimuli distracted from the main information, but we were clean in our presentation and expressed well.
Animation - The second part of our project emphasized the engaging portion of the project. We created an animation that modeled a Pokemon battle between Ryan Miller and, later, Trevor Fox (two fellow peers), and a tiger. When presenting, Undertale's "Megalovania" was playing over the speakers. Between each attack of each contender, the music stopped and Evan explained the significance of each move. For instance, when Trevor used deforestation, Evan explained how habitat loss is detrimental to the tiger population.
Video - The third part of our project was a music video. It was a parody of Kanye West's and Lil Pump's song, "I Love It". Our song's name was "I Love Tigers". I was the rapper and Izzy did the opening and closing monologues. Our lyrics consisted of references to the slideshow and educational facts. These are the lyrics:
[Intro: Izzy Cozier]
'Cause you know in the old days
They could hunt the animals they wanted to hunt
They could shoot them without consequence
We should tell hunters today:
"Hey! Don’t kill the tigers!”
[Chorus: Derek Dela Cruz]
I killed a tiger yo, I loved it (I loved it)
I killed a tiger yo, I loved it (I loved it)
[Verse 1: Derek Dela Cruz]
I killed a tiger yo, I loved it (loved it, loved it)
The tigers are all dorks, McLovin (dork)
(McLovin; ooh, ooh, ooh)
I just hunted a tiger, (cat)
Killed that cat up out in India (India)
Then I shot two here’s some trivia
I want bones, medicine to heal ya' (uh-uh, woo)
And the populous gettin' larger
Burning forests, stealing water (water, yeah)
All the tigers needing prey
Deer pig buffalo antelope oh hey (nom!)
Humans kill prey starving tigers
Oof, heck, they can hide (big rip)
I don’t care I want the trophies (bling!)
Boom, shoot, got the head (nice)
[Chorus: Derek Dela Cruz & Derek Dela Cruz]
I killed a tiger yo, I loved it (I loved it, oof!)
I killed a tiger yo, I loved it (I loved it)
[Interlude: Derek Dela Cruz]
Don’t kill the tigers yo...
Biodiversity is important in life
Why you killin’ all the tigers when they’re endangered and control their prey’s population?
Don’t kill the tigers y--
[Verse 2: Derek Dela Cruz]
Don’t kill the cats, don’t smack them with bats (whoop!)
Don’t kill the cats, don’t smack them with bats (whoop!)
Don’t kill the cats, don’t smack them with bats (whoop!)
Don’t kill the cats, don’t smack them with bats (whoop!)
Don’t kill the cats, don’t smack them with bats
Protect their habitats, go stop bureaucrats
Need water to hydrate, please be a diplomat
How do you stop this? Don’t shoot and don’t hate!
Don’t kill the cats, don’t need the head piece
Let them hide in peace, let them live in peace
Let them feast in peace, let them thrive in peace
Protect the darn tigers, let the numbers increase (crease, crease)
[Chorus: Derek Dela Cruz]
Don’t kill the tigers yo, we’d love it (we’d love it)
Don’t kill the tigers yo, we’d love it (we’d love it)
[Outro: Izzy Cozier]
'Cause you know in the old days
They could hunt the animals they wanted to hunt
They could shoot them without consequence
We should tell hunters today:
"Hey! Don’t kill the tigers!”
Kahoot - The fourth and final portion of the project was a Kahoot. We didn't get to this in the actual presentation because we ran out of time and it got hacked. The Kahoot consisted of 13 questions about our presentation. It would require our watchers to listen so they could answer the Kahoot questions, meaning that our information would be presented stronger.
Important Concepts
Evolution - Evolution is change over time. Evolution occurs over millions of years and happens in every organism. Every species, including humans, are evolving. Evolution occurs because species are constantly changing in order to be better fit for their environment. There are many other factors that cause evolution, from invasive species to non-random mating. Tigers have evolved over time and are closely related to lions, leopards, and jaguars.
Mutation - A mutation is a random change in the genetic code of an organism. These can be either harmless, harmful, or beneficial. For example, tigers mutated overtime and developed a carnivorous diet. This is beneficial because it compliments their strong physique and ambush techniques, allowing them to eat and prosper.
Adaptation - An adaptation is a beneficial mutation or change in genes of an organism. For instance, one adaptation tigers have is their stripes. Their stripes allow them to camouflage in grass and lash out at their prey without them noticing. This helps them survive and is an adaptation.
Speciation - This is the process of new species emerging from old species. This is mainly caused by two populations of the same organism being raised in different regions. There are many species of tigers that live in South East Asia, China, the Russian Far East, and Indonesia. Each of these places have different climates and, as a result, the tigers have evolved differently.
Sympatric Speciation - This type of speciation involves two populations evolving differently in the same region. For instance, this can be two populations of flies, one in apple trees and one in orange trees, but they are in the same forest.
Allopatric Speciation - This type of speciation involves two populations evolving differently because of impassable separation. The barrier can be something like an ocean, a mountain range, or a canyon. This type of speciation is better fit for explaining tigers' evolutionary history. Since they are scattered around Asia, they evolved differently in different climates.
Geographic Isolation - This type of isolation occurs when two populations are unable to interbreed due to physical geographic barriers. This is very similar to allopatric speciation, the main difference being that allopatric speciation is when new species occur as a result. Different tiger species have developed in different geographic regions, resulting in no interbreeding and new species.
Behavior Isolation - This type of isolation occurs when mates search for and select their mates. This is just non-random mating. Female tigers select stronger male tigers, resulting in weaker tigers not mating and not passing down their traits.
Gene Flow - Gene flow is when genes flow between habitats and populations. This is best modeled when groups of organisms immigrate to or emigrate from a habitat. The result is that the gene pool changes. When a tiger leaves their habitat, the gene pool is changed.
Shrinking Population - A shrinking population means that there are less genes in the gene pool and the diversity usually changes. If a tiger population goes from 200 to 20, then many genes are lost and diversity is shifted significantly.
Non-Random Mating - Non-random mating means that mates select their mates. This results in huge changes in the gene pool because mates are more likely to select favorable genes and the organisms with unfavorable genes won't pass them down and die. Female tigers are more likely to select bigger and stronger male tigers, meaning that the weaker will die off.
Biodiversity - This is a term for diversity in Earth's ecosystems and organisms (hence, the name). There are many species of tigers in South, East, and South East Asia. They have unique traits special to their species. As a result, there is diversity in the many ecosystems. These species contribute to their ecosystem and rely on other organisms.
Gene Pool - The gene pool is an umbrella term for all the genes in a population. The more diverse the population is, the more types of genes there are. The larger the population is, the more genes there are overall. A large population of tigers has more genes than a small population of tigers.
"Survival of the Fittest" - This is a term for the organisms more fit to survive their environment and more likely to reproduce. An example is the adaptations that tigers have. Tigers are big, strong, and have large teeth and claws. These adaptations make them extremely powerful predators who can hunt prey. They are fit to survive their environment and thus are able to reproduce.
Natural Selection - Natural selection is when nature "selects" the more apt and fit organisms to reproduce. What this means is that organisms with more beneficial traits are more likely to survive and pass down their genes. Tigers with genes that make them faster and stronger are more likely to survive and more likely to pass it down.
Artificial Selection - Artificial selection is, in essence, natural selection caused by humans. One of the most common examples of artificial selection is bacterial resistance to antibiotics. When bacteria is exposed to artificial antibiotics, some bacteria survive. These surviving bacteria are resistant and reproduce very fast. The population quickly becomes resistant to that antibiotic.
Extinction - Extinction is when a species dies off completely and has no more living organisms. This is usually caused both naturally and artificially. 3 species of tigers have died off in the past century and one is extinct in the wild. Their populations are dwindling and more and more are dying. Soon, tigers may be extinct entirely.
Mutation - A mutation is a random change in the genetic code of an organism. These can be either harmless, harmful, or beneficial. For example, tigers mutated overtime and developed a carnivorous diet. This is beneficial because it compliments their strong physique and ambush techniques, allowing them to eat and prosper.
Adaptation - An adaptation is a beneficial mutation or change in genes of an organism. For instance, one adaptation tigers have is their stripes. Their stripes allow them to camouflage in grass and lash out at their prey without them noticing. This helps them survive and is an adaptation.
Speciation - This is the process of new species emerging from old species. This is mainly caused by two populations of the same organism being raised in different regions. There are many species of tigers that live in South East Asia, China, the Russian Far East, and Indonesia. Each of these places have different climates and, as a result, the tigers have evolved differently.
Sympatric Speciation - This type of speciation involves two populations evolving differently in the same region. For instance, this can be two populations of flies, one in apple trees and one in orange trees, but they are in the same forest.
Allopatric Speciation - This type of speciation involves two populations evolving differently because of impassable separation. The barrier can be something like an ocean, a mountain range, or a canyon. This type of speciation is better fit for explaining tigers' evolutionary history. Since they are scattered around Asia, they evolved differently in different climates.
Geographic Isolation - This type of isolation occurs when two populations are unable to interbreed due to physical geographic barriers. This is very similar to allopatric speciation, the main difference being that allopatric speciation is when new species occur as a result. Different tiger species have developed in different geographic regions, resulting in no interbreeding and new species.
Behavior Isolation - This type of isolation occurs when mates search for and select their mates. This is just non-random mating. Female tigers select stronger male tigers, resulting in weaker tigers not mating and not passing down their traits.
Gene Flow - Gene flow is when genes flow between habitats and populations. This is best modeled when groups of organisms immigrate to or emigrate from a habitat. The result is that the gene pool changes. When a tiger leaves their habitat, the gene pool is changed.
Shrinking Population - A shrinking population means that there are less genes in the gene pool and the diversity usually changes. If a tiger population goes from 200 to 20, then many genes are lost and diversity is shifted significantly.
Non-Random Mating - Non-random mating means that mates select their mates. This results in huge changes in the gene pool because mates are more likely to select favorable genes and the organisms with unfavorable genes won't pass them down and die. Female tigers are more likely to select bigger and stronger male tigers, meaning that the weaker will die off.
Biodiversity - This is a term for diversity in Earth's ecosystems and organisms (hence, the name). There are many species of tigers in South, East, and South East Asia. They have unique traits special to their species. As a result, there is diversity in the many ecosystems. These species contribute to their ecosystem and rely on other organisms.
Gene Pool - The gene pool is an umbrella term for all the genes in a population. The more diverse the population is, the more types of genes there are. The larger the population is, the more genes there are overall. A large population of tigers has more genes than a small population of tigers.
"Survival of the Fittest" - This is a term for the organisms more fit to survive their environment and more likely to reproduce. An example is the adaptations that tigers have. Tigers are big, strong, and have large teeth and claws. These adaptations make them extremely powerful predators who can hunt prey. They are fit to survive their environment and thus are able to reproduce.
Natural Selection - Natural selection is when nature "selects" the more apt and fit organisms to reproduce. What this means is that organisms with more beneficial traits are more likely to survive and pass down their genes. Tigers with genes that make them faster and stronger are more likely to survive and more likely to pass it down.
Artificial Selection - Artificial selection is, in essence, natural selection caused by humans. One of the most common examples of artificial selection is bacterial resistance to antibiotics. When bacteria is exposed to artificial antibiotics, some bacteria survive. These surviving bacteria are resistant and reproduce very fast. The population quickly becomes resistant to that antibiotic.
Extinction - Extinction is when a species dies off completely and has no more living organisms. This is usually caused both naturally and artificially. 3 species of tigers have died off in the past century and one is extinct in the wild. Their populations are dwindling and more and more are dying. Soon, tigers may be extinct entirely.
Reflection
This was the first project in STEM Biotech. I am fresh out of physics and engineering and have been immersed in an entirely new field of biology, biotechnology, and genetics. This first project was to test our team compatibility and knowledge of biology. We are relatively new to this class, but I feel that the project went well. Some of my strengths were my efficiency in research and the development of the Kahoot. Within the span of only a day, I was able to complete the research needed for my portion of the slideshow. I found genetic details about tigers and learned about their reproduction rituals and threats. I figured out why they're going extinct and paraphrased it on the slideshow. Another strength I had was creating the Kahoot. I had the idea for the Kahoot and asked my team if they approved; they did approve. I added pictures, questions, correct and incorrect answers, and sound on the slides. The Kahoot was sleek and was an excellent addition to the project.
Although I had strengths, I had weaknesses as well. Some of my weak points were team communication and leadership skills. My team was very confused and misinformed about the music video and song. I didn't inform them enough and ended up causing confusion among the team. We still got the music video done but communication about it could've been much better. I also didn't have the best leadership skills this project. I was almost sort of isolated when working and never really communicated nor led the team. Leadership isn't necessary to be successful but I could've been more authoritative. The team also struggled to get together to practice the presentation so I could've helped with that.
This is my first sophomore project so there's a different feel. I had some problems, but personally I feel like I was a good team member, especially for the first project after getting back from summer. I'm excited about the next project and can't wait to work with my new team on the next one.
Although I had strengths, I had weaknesses as well. Some of my weak points were team communication and leadership skills. My team was very confused and misinformed about the music video and song. I didn't inform them enough and ended up causing confusion among the team. We still got the music video done but communication about it could've been much better. I also didn't have the best leadership skills this project. I was almost sort of isolated when working and never really communicated nor led the team. Leadership isn't necessary to be successful but I could've been more authoritative. The team also struggled to get together to practice the presentation so I could've helped with that.
This is my first sophomore project so there's a different feel. I had some problems, but personally I feel like I was a good team member, especially for the first project after getting back from summer. I'm excited about the next project and can't wait to work with my new team on the next one.