User:Doctor Velvet/sandbox

Article evaluation - Convergent evolution

• There are two sections about eyes: Eyes and Primates. The first section talks about the development of the eye, while the second section talks about the pigmentation of the eye. Would it be effective to talk about the pigmentation (or lack thereof) in the squids as well

THE FOLLOWING WILL BE AN EDIT FOR THE ASSIGNMENT DUE FEB 23RD. I'm hesitant to put it directly onto Wikipedia, so it'll be on here. I've included the additions in "quotes"

Opposable thumbs

Opposable thumbs "," allowing "for" the grasping of objects "," are most often associated with primates, like humans, monkeys, apes, and lemurs. Opposable thumbs also evolved in pandas, but these are completely different in structure, having six fingers including the thumb, which develops from a wrist bone entirely separately from other fingers. "Include a picture of the difference of thumb styles in a Panda and a human, by way of an image."

Fruits

A good example of convergence in plants is the evolution of edible fruits such as apples. These pomes incorporate (five) carpels and their accessory tissues forming the apple's core, surrounded by structures from outside the botanical fruit, the receptacle or hypanthium. "There needs to be a cite here!! It includes hyperlinks to other wikipedia sites, indirectly pointing you to the sources, but there's no evidence that supports the idea that is being presented."

The Animals that I Wish to do my Research on

1. Skate- The skate has the most interesting body shape to me, and how it looks like a pancake; it'd be interesting to note how the internal organs compare to other, less-flat species.
2. Turtle- The first time I went to Hawaii I saw a Turtle on the beach, and again when I was snorkeling: I was so fascinated with how peaceful it was; how they're able to stay underwater for so long and also thrive on land is chief among the reasons why I'm so interested in this.
3. Amphiuma- This innocent little organism is just so fascinating to look at- fish or a worm, or both: I want to see how it's interesting body shape has affecting the development of the various organs within.

Article Evaluation - Gar (for main Sandbox article, click here)

1. Topics
   • There's nothing really explaining how the Gar(fish) fits phylogenetically with other species of fish, and other species in general, so that might be beneficial to add a section about where it came from, from an evolutionary standpoint, as well as what's been derived from it.
     • Looks like it's an Actinopterygii, so include an image of phylogeny (see number 3 below)
   • For the subsection "Distribution", there are no references citing where this information came from. Add references
     • I'll add references (see number 2 and 3 below)
   • Under the subsection "Species", there are so many sites that need reference!! It's hard to tell what is actually believable, because there are so many blanks. Find sources that supplement what is being displayed.
     • I'll find a few references (see number 2 below)
   • I feel like the section "significance to humans" is severely underdeveloped; consider adding more pictures of arrowheads/plate armor
     • I'll link a few sites with some favorable images, I'm not sure about copyright infringement so I won't add the pictures directly, just where they're located (Number 3 below)
   • I read that there's also an industry in gar scale necklaces, going to look into that
     • Adding pictures below (see number 3 below)
2. Articles
   • Distribution
     • This link showcases an example of how the information in the first sentence of the Distribution subsection might be supplemented.
     • Here is where the second sentence in that subsection can be supplemented.
   • Species
     • There seem to be more extinct species of Gar according to this article
     • I haven't found any supplemental information about any of the extinct species listed in the article, but from poking around a few sites they definitely seem to be a thing. Little to no research has been done on any of the unsupplemented regions
   • Significance to humans
     • According to this article, they serve some significance in sport fishing, as well as for bait
3. Images
   • Found here is a phylogeny of the Actinopterygii in relation to the other species (see bullet point one from [1.]).
     • I don't know about copyrights and whatnot, but this image provides an understanding of its phylogenetic relationship
   • Here is an example of Gar arrowheads that was mentioned in the article (see bullet point four from [1.]).
     • Add the picture(s) found there
   • Here are some cool necklaces that are from Gar scales, available for purchase, if you're into that sort of thing (bullet point five from [1.]).
     • Top picture is the best, the rest are colored differently and appear unnatural
4. Bibliography
   1. Photograph by Brian Montague/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Gars, Gar Pictures, Gar Facts - National Geographic https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/gar/ (accessed Mar 9, 2018).
   2. Yamamoto, K.; Bloch, S.; Vernier, P. Development, Growth & Differentiation 2017, 59 (4), 175–187.
   3. Gars https://primitivefishes.com/gars/ (accessed Mar 9, 2018).
   4. California's Invaders: Gar https://www.wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Invasives/Species/Gar (accessed Mar 9, 2018).
   5. Primitive Archer http://www.primitivearcher.com/smf/index.php?topic=22292.0 (accessed Mar 9, 2018).
   6. The Zen Cart® Team and others. Arrowheads Direct http://arrowheadsdirect.com/gar-fish-scale-jewelry-gar-fish-scale-necklaces-c-61_62.html (accessed Mar 9, 2018).

Week 6: Finding Images

I've noticed that under the distribution section, there is only information on the distribution of fossilized gar; there is nothing that points out the distribution of gars of today's day and age. My research this week will focus primarily on the modern Gar and its distribution.

1. The Gar can be found primarily on the coasts of the European and African Continents, as far North as the United Kingdom and as far South as Senegal; it can also be found in the temperate waters surrounding the equator in the Mediterranean Sea. In America, its distribution lies mainly in the coastal waters off of Texas and Louisiana, and off the eastern coast of Mexico.
   • I would like to add the images found the above-two sites, but I am unsure if that is allowed due to copyrights; if the material is copyrighted, I would love to edit an image with Photoshop or something that effectively displays that distribution!
2. Bibliography
   1. Garfish http://britishseafishing.co.uk/garfish/ (accessed Mar 16, 2018).
   2. Alligator Gar Range Map https://www.fws.gov/arkansas-es/A_Gar/AGar_Maps.html (accessed Mar 16, 2018).

Week 7: Review Article

Stingray:

• Consider being more concise with the venom paragraph; seems wordy and could be more concise! Consider reading it over and cutting unnecessary words
• In the original article, there are no cites for the reproduction. Consider adding some sources and adding to that section?
• I think that your cites are awesome! Three cites for such a small article, well done.
• I think that adding a picture of the actual stinger would be super beneficial- I have no idea what it looks like.

Amphiuma:

• Be sure to accurately describe they way in which they respirate, supplement this with your dissection!
  • Research does a lot, so you know what to be looking for/at, some preliminary research would be beneficial before the actual dissection.
• The original article has no pictures about the differences in sexes, some photos about the sexual dimorphism would indeed be helpful to include.
• The amount of sources is good, but I'd re-read and re-edit for conciseness. I know it's difficult, but think back to the one-sentence summaries we submitted earlier; the more concise, the better.

Week 9: Peer Review Responses; Plan for Draft 2

For my part, I will include an original picture of Gar distribution, clearly and concisely showing where they are located around the world. This seemed to get good feedback, and there isn't an image in the original Gar wikipedia site, so I feel like it would be a helpful image to include. However, for the explanation part, it was suggested that I go more in-depth, and that the explanation was a little shallow for their distribution (pun intended?). One suggestion was to see if any adaptations had occurred, depending on the locations of the fish. I think this is an interesting approach that I hadn't thought of, and would be super fun to research! I definitely need to do some more research on their specific locations, and utilizing more reliable sources is going to be necessary as well, as was suggested.

Week 10: Draft 2

Distribution

Fossil gars are found in Europe, India, South America, and North America, indicating that in times past, these fish had a wider distribution than they do today. Gars are considered to be a remnant of a group of bony fish that flourished in the Mesozoic, and are most closely related to the bowfin. The earliest gar fossil was found in the Early Cretaceous period, but can now be found primarily on the coasts of the European and African Continents, and as far North as the United Kingdom and as far South as Senegal. It can also be found in the temperate waters surrounding the equator in the Mediterranean Sea. In North America, its distribution lies mainly in the shallow, brackish waters off of Texas and Louisiana, and off the eastern coast of Mexico. A few populations are also present in the Great Lakes region of the United States, living in similar shallow waters.

Week 11: Illustrate an Article: Draft

If you'll look to the right, you can see my image and caption. I hope that they're both good; I'd love some feedback if you think otherwise!

Map showing Gar Distribution in North America

-Doctor Velvet

Week 12: Adding to the Cite

Fossil gars are found in Europe, India, South America, and North America, indicating that in times past, these fish had a wider distribution than they do today. Gars are considered to be a remnant of a group of bony fish that flourished in the Mesozoic, and are most closely related to the bowfin. The earliest gar fossil was found in the Early Cretaceous period, but can now be found primarily on the coasts of the European and African Continents, and as far North as the United Kingdom and as far South as Senegal. It can also be found in the temperate waters surrounding the equator in the Mediterranean Sea. In North America, its distribution lies mainly in the shallow, brackish waters off of Texas and Louisiana, and off the eastern coast of Mexico. A few populations are also present in the Great Lakes region of the United States, living in similar shallow waters.

Week 13: Continue improving your article

I didn't see any edits to my additions from last week, other than the comments made by Dr. Schutz, which I included within the Gar article. Please give me more suggestions!

Week 14: Continuing to Edit

I uncapitalized the letter R in red in my diagram.

Week 15: Editing Continued

My additions were deleted a few days prior to these additions, and I will add to it to have it represent accurately the information that I researched:

Fossil gars are found in Europe, India, South America, and North America, indicating that in times past, these fish had a wider distribution than they do today. Gars are considered to be a remnant of a group of bony fish that flourished in the Mesozoic, and are most closely related to the bowfin. The earliest gar fish, or Belone belone fossil, was found in the Early Cretaceous period. Nowadays, the fish can be found primarily on the coasts of the European and African continents, and as far north as the United Kingdom and as far south as Senegal. The distribution of the Gar Lepisosteidae in North America, lies mainly in the shallow, brackish waters off of Texas and Louisiana, and off the eastern coast of Mexico. A few populations are also present in the Great Lakes region of the United States, living in similar shallow waters.

Wikipedia Essay

I had the pleasure of editing the gar wikipedia page, and I was able to learn a lot not just about the gar, but about myself and Wikipedia as well. I edited the distribution section on the page, because not a single source was there and it was a sentence-long section. Despite only adding one paragraph, considerable time and effort went into that addition. I had to pore over countless websites, many of which needed to be verified for accuracy, and spend a while constructing the content into a meaningful paragraph that flowed well with accurate content. Even after that, I had to get my content approved by a Wikipedia Professional, and I learned what made sense and what did not, what flowed and what did not, and what was accurate and what was not. When I eventually got it finalized, I was proud of a job well done.

My additions were quite substantial. In the previous edition, all that was under the Distribution section was where the ancient fossils were found, and while that was fine, it was not enough. Prior to this research I did not know that they were even found in the United States; I thought they were isolated to the East Asian countries, but was happy to find that I could catch one in Texas if I wanted to when I go to see my brother this summer. I think that my research is beneficial because it is important to know where things are around you, and it is something that I find to be interesting and fascinating.

The majority of my contributions to my peers’ work was grammatical. Back in high school I was top of my class in my language and grammar course, and I am proud of the fact that I can make sentences flow well and correct grammar mistakes, on the off-chance that one was present. It may seem like a relatively unimportant contribution, but I thoroughly enjoyed it: it was like a puzzle and it was fun. Many of the suggestions geared towards my contribution were grammatical as well; sentence flow and corrected Capital letters were the two that stood out the most to me. It was interesting to see another perspective about my writing: even though I thought it was a good paragraph, other people provide other perspective and I saw validity in their observations and added their suggestions to my writing.

I got one person from Wikipedia to provide feedback on my contributions, and they were very helpful. I made the mistake of adding the incorrect genus on my contribution, but I was quick to make the necessary changes, and they provided much assistance with the information that needed to be changed. Shout out to Atsme.

I learned that one needs to be very specific with contributions when adding to Wikipedia. Because it is a global site, there are a lot of content checkers whose job it is to make sure that the content is as accurate as possible, or else risk the integrity of the site; as such, one needs to be deliberate and intentional with content. It’s important because anyone from anywhere can reference this, and it needs to be presented in the most effective way possible. This process has taught me much about how to respond in lecture and in exams, as well. Irrelevant information is unnecessary and could lead to incorrect ideas being presented, and in Wikipedia and class this is a very useful skill to have.