Ingredients
For the cupcakes:

* 15 1/2 ounces all-purpose flour
* 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
* 1 1/4 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
* 13 ounces granulated sugar
* 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
* 3 eggs

Directions

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons red food coloring

* 1 1/4 teaspoons vinegar (white or apple cider can both work)
* 1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1/8 cup water

For the cream cheese frosting:

* 1 1/2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
* 1 pound butter, room temperature
* 2 pounds powdered sugar, sifted
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the cupcakes:

Preheat oven 350 degrees F.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder into a bowl and set aside.

In a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix oil, sugar, and buttermilk until combined. Add eggs, food coloring, vinegar, vanilla and water and mix well. Add the dry ingredients a little bit at a time and mix on low, scraping down sides occasionally, and mix until just combined. Be sure not to over mix, or the batter will come out tough.

Line a 16-cup cupcake pan with paper liners, scoop the batter into the liners and bake at 350 degrees F for 20 to 30 minutes or until the toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.

Ingredients

* 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 2/3 cup granulated sugar
* 2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
* 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
* 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
* 1 cup buttermilk, shaken, at room temperature
* 1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
* 2 tablespoons brewed coffee
* 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 cup good cocoa powder
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
* Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing, recipe follows
* Chopped salted peanuts, to decorate, optional

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and 2 sugars on high speed until light and fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Lower the speed to medium, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and mix well. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, sour cream, and coffee. In another bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. On low speed, add the buttermilk mixture and the flour mixture alternately in thirds to the mixer bowl, beginning with the buttermilk mixture and ending with the flour mixture. Mix only until blended. Fold the batter with a rubber spatula to be sure it's completely blended.

Divide the batter among the cupcake pans (1 rounded standard ice cream scoop per cup is the right amount). Bake in the middle of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, remove from the pans, and allow to cool completely before frosting.

Frost each cupcake with Peanut Butter Icing and sprinkle with chopped peanuts, if desired.

Kathleen's Peanut Butter Icing:

* 1 cup confectioners' sugar
* 1 cup creamy peanut butter
* 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Ingredients

* 4 cups fresh corn kernels or 2 (10-ounce) packages frozen, thawed
* 2 cups nonfat milk
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1 large onion, diced (about 2 cups)
* 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced (about 1 cup)
* 1 medium zucchini, (about 1/2 pound) diced
* 2 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
* 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced
* 3/4 teaspoon salt
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons

Directions

Put 2 cups of the corn and the milk into a blender or food processor, until smooth. Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over a medium-high heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and zucchini and cook, stirring until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the remaining 2 cups of corn and the broth and bring to a boil. Add the pureed corn and tomatoes and cook until warmed through, but not boiling. Add the salt and season with pepper. Serve garnished with the basil ribbons.

Ingredients:
• 5 Capsicums (chopped)
• 1 cup Raw Rice
• 1/2 tsp Lemon Juice
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric Powder
• 1-1/2 tbsp Dry Grated Coconut
• 3 tbsp Oil
• 1 tsp Black Gram
• 1/2 tsp Mustard Seeds
• 2 tsp Bengal Gram
• Few Curry Leaves
• 1 tbsp Peanuts
• 8-9 Cashew nuts
• 6 Red chilies
• Salt as per taste
• Coriander Leaves for garnishing

For powdered masala
• 2 Red Chilies
• 1" piece Cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp Cumin seeds
• 1-1/2 tsp Black gram
• 2 tsp Coriander seeds
• 1-1/2 tsp Bengal gram
How to make Capsicum Rice:
• Take oil in a frying pan and heat it.
• Fry all the ingredients of the masala till the mixture turns brown.
• Remove the pan and allow it to cool.Grind to make a fine powder. Keep aside.
• Cook the rice till it is 3/4 th cooked. Keep aside for cooling.
• Now pour oil in a frying pan and add mustard seeds, black gram, Bengal gram, red chilies, curry leaves,peanuts and cashew nuts.
• Fry the mixture till it starts fuming.
• Add chopped capsicum and fry till it they become tender.
• On a medium flame add grated coconut.
• Fry the coconut till it turns light brown.
• Now add cooked rice, turmeric and salt.
• Fry the dish for few minutes until the rice becomes hot.
• Sprinkle powdered masala and pour lemon juice.
• Mix it properly and garnish with coriander leaves.
• Capsicum Rice is ready to serve.
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Ingredients:
• 1 Cauliflower (pieces)
• 3 Onions
• 3 Green chillies
• 1 Cup gram flour
• 1 tsp Red Chilli powder
• Fresh coriander leaves
• Salt to taste
• Oil for frying
How to make Chilli Gobhi:
• Cut cauliflower into pieces.
• Chop the onions and green chillies.
• Mix flour, red chili powder and salt.
• Prepare batter of thick consistency.
• Dip cauliflower pieces in the batter.
• Deep fry the cauliflower pieces in oil.
• Heat the oil.
• Add chopped onions and green chillies till it turns golden brown.
• Add fried cauliflower and saute for few minutes.
• Adorn with fresh coriander leaves.

Ingredients:
• 2 Cups basmati rice, cooked
• 1 Cup sprouts
• 1 tsp Red chili paste
• 1 tbsp Groundnut oil
• 1/2 tsp Soya sauce
• 1 tsp Tomato sauce (optional)
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp Garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tsp Ginger, finely chopped
• White pepper powder (optional)
• 2 tbsp Spring onions, chopped
How to make Fried Rice with Sprouts:
• Heat oil in a wok or large non-stick skillet, till it nearly smokes.
• Add chopped garlic and ginger and stir fry for a few seconds on high heat. Keep tossing around, so that it doesn’t burn.
• Add the red chili paste and stir fry for 10-15 seconds.
• Now, add sprouts and cover. Cook for 2-3 min on medium heat.
• Add soya sauce, tomato sauce, salt and white pepper powder. Mix well.
• Add, the completely cooled, cooked rice to the wok and stir fry, tossing well for about 2 min.
• It’s important to note here that after adding the rice, flip the whole thing over as quickly as possible in order to coat the rice grains with the rest of the ingredients.
• Garnish with spring onions.
• Serve hot.
• Fried Rice with Sprouts is ready.

Ingredients:
• 12 Slices French bread
• 1/2 Cup milk
• 4 Eggs
• Butter
How to make French Toast:
• Mix all the ingredients except bread in a shallow bowl.
• Dip bread in this mixture such that the mixture covers it on both sides.
• Melt some butter in a large skillet placed on high flame.
• Cook the bread in butter until both sides become golden brown.
• French Toast is ready.
• Serve it immediately

Ingredients

* 8 ounces mascarpone cheese (about 1 cup), softened
* 2 egg whites
* 1/4 cup vegetable oil
* 1 box white cake mix
* 1 cup water
* 1/3 cup frozen strawberries, thawed and drained
* 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

Special equipment: 4 mini muffin tins and 48 mini muffin paper cupcake liners

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the mini tins with paper liners.

In a large bowl combine the mascarpone cheese, egg whites and vegetable oil. Using a hand mixer, beat the ingredients until combined and creamy. Add the cake mix and water and mix until smooth, about 3 minutes. Fill the mini cups to just below the rim and bake until puffed and golden, about 18 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool slightly in the tin then transfer the cupcakes to a wire rack.

Meanwhile, puree the strawberries in a blender or small food processor. Place the powdered sugar in a medium bowl. Pour in the strawberry puree and whisk until smooth. Top the cooled cupcakes with the strawberry glaze. Let the cupcakes sit for a few minutes for the glaze to firm up, then serve.

Ingredients:
• 8 Ounces bean thread noodles
• 1 Red bell pepper, julienned
• 1/4 Cup soy sauce
• 1/4 Cup sugar
• 1 Cup julienned carrots
• 1/2 Cup lime or lemon juice
• 1/2 Cup dry-roasted peanuts
• 1 Inch piece ginger root, peeled and sliced
• 2 Chili peppers
• 1/2 Cup cilantro leaves

How to make Thai Noodle Salad:
• Boil water in a pot.
• Remove the pot from heat and add noodles, carrots and pepper.
• Leave until noodles turn tender. It will take about 10 minutes.
• Drain the noodles and transfer to a bowl. Allow it to cool.
• Mix lemon juice, soy sauce and sugar in a bowl.
• Whisk the mixture until sugar gets dissolved.
• Put chilies, peanuts, ginger and cilantro in a food processor. Pulse the processor until finely chopped.
• Add this mixture to noodles and mix.
• Add soy sauce mixture and toss to mix.
• Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve.

Sweetened Condensed Milk
Ingredients

* 1/3 cup boiling water
* 4 tablespoons butter
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
* 1 cup powdered milk (recommended: Carnation)

Directions

Using an electric mixer, blend together water, butter, sugar, and vanilla.

Add powdered milk and blend until thick. Store in refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Solar energy, radiant light and heat from the Sun, has been harnessed by humans since ancient times using a range of ever-evolving technologies. Solar radiation, along with secondary solar-powered resources such as wind and wave power, hydroelectricity and biomass, account for most of the available renewable energy on Earth. Only a minuscule fraction of the available solar energy is used.

Solar powered electrical generation relies on heat engines and photovoltaics. Solar energy's uses are limited only by human ingenuity. A partial list of solar applications includes space heating and cooling through solar architecture, potable water via distillation and disinfection, daylighting, solar hot water, solar cooking, and high temperature process heat for industrial purposes.

Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive solar or active solar depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute solar energy. Active solar techniques include the use of photovoltaic panels and solar thermal collectors to harness the energy. Passive solar techniques include orienting a building to the Sun, selecting materials with favorable thermal mass or light dispersing properties, and designing spaces that naturally circulate air.

Energy from the Sun

About half the incoming solar energy reaches the Earth's surface.

The Earth receives 174 petawatts (PW) of incoming solar radiation (insolation) at the upper atmosphere. Approximately 30% is reflected back to space while the rest is absorbed by clouds, oceans and land masses. The spectrum of solar light at the Earth's surface is mostly spread across the visible and near-infrared ranges with a small part in the near-ultraviolet.

Earth's land surface, oceans and atmosphere absorb solar radiation, and this raises their temperature. Warm air containing evaporated water from the oceans rises, causing atmospheric circulation or convection. When the air reaches a high altitude, where the temperature is low, water vapor condenses into clouds, which rain onto the Earth's surface, completing the water cycle. The latent heat of water condensation amplifies convection, producing atmospheric phenomena such as wind, cyclones and anti-cyclones. Sunlight absorbed by the oceans and land masses keeps the surface at an average temperature of 14 °C. By photosynthesis green plants convert solar energy into chemical energy, which produces food, wood and the biomass from which fossil fuels are derived.

Yearly Solar fluxes & Human Energy Consumption
Solar 3,850,000 EJ
Wind 2,250 EJ
Biomass 3,000 EJ[8]
Primary energy use (2005) 487 EJ
Electricity (2005) 56.7 EJ

The total solar energy absorbed by Earth's atmosphere, oceans and land masses is approximately 3,850,000 exajoules (EJ) per year. In 2002, this was more energy in one hour than the world used in one year. Photosynthesis captures approximately 3,000 EJ per year in biomass. The amount of solar energy reaching the surface of the planet is so vast that in one year it is about twice as much as will ever be obtained from all of the Earth's non-renewable resources of coal, oil, natural gas, and mined uranium combined.

From the table of resources it would appear that solar, wind or biomass would be sufficient to supply all of our energy needs, however, the increased use of biomass has had a negative effect on global warming and dramatically increased food prices by diverting forests and crops into biofuel production. As intermittent resources, solar and wind raise other issues.

Applications of solar technology

Average insolation showing land area (small black dots) required to replace the world primary energy supply with solar electricity. 18 TW is 568 Exajoule (EJ) per year. Insolation for most people is from 150 to 300 W/m² or 3.5 to 7.0 kWh/m²/day.

Solar energy refers primarily to the use of solar radiation for practical ends. However, all renewable energies, other than geothermal and tidal, derive their energy from the sun.

Solar technologies are broadly characterized as either passive or active depending on the way they capture, convert and distribute sunlight. Active solar techniques use photovoltaic panels, pumps, and fans to convert sunlight into useful outputs. Passive solar techniques include selecting materials with favorable thermal properties, designing spaces that naturally circulate air, and referencing the position of a building to the Sun. Active solar technologies increase the supply of energy and are considered supply side technologies, while passive solar technologies reduce the need for alternate resources and are generally considered demand side technologies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_energy

Labels: Solar energy Code: ZO4B1Section A

Photosynthesis explains how energy from the sun is captured by green plants and used to make food. Most of this energy is used to carry on the plant's life activities. The rest of the energy is passed on as food to the next level of the food chain.

The figure above shows energy flow in a simple food chain. At each level of the food chain, about 90% of the energy is lost in the form of heat. The total energy passed from one level to the next is only about one-tenth of the energy received from the previous organism. Therefore, as you move up the food chain, there is less energy available. Animals located at the top of the food chain need a lot more food to meet their energy needs.

NOTE!! Each organism in the food chain is only transfering one-tenth of its energy to the next organism.

Trytryitlogo this fun activity with your class to help make this more clear. Think of energy as rootbeer. The teacher will represent the sun and four students will represent the organisms in a food chain: a plant, an insect, a sparrow and a hawk. You will need a liter of rootbeer, graduated cylinders, and an eyedropper.

Reviewing the above diagram, we find that:

* The sun has one liter of rootbeer (energy) to give.
* Of that, the plant gets one-tenth or 100 milliliters.
* The mouse gets 10 milliliters from the plant.
* The hawk gets 1 milliliter from the mouse.
* When the hawk dies and is decomposed by the mushroom, the mushroom gets only one-tenth of a milliliter!

When the rootbeer has been distributed in the correct amount to each participating student, they can drink their share.

The extra rootbeer that the sun does not give to the plant, is likened unto the 90% energy lost to the environment. You as the teacher to simulate this energy loss, pour the remaining rootbeer down the drain and listen to the moans of your students!

After doing the activity, answer these questions.

1.Which organism was most satisfied by the amount of "energy" he or she received? Which organism was least satisfied?

2. What happened to the 900 milliliters from the sun that the plant didn't absorb?

3. How much "energy" was USED by the insect?

4. What consumer in the food chain is going to have to eat the most food to meet their energy needs?

5. Why can't a food chain have an infinite number of links?


You can see that because energy is lost at each step of a food chain, it takes a lot of producers to support a few top consumers. The food pyramid below shows an example of this.

Notice that if there were a 1000 units of energy at the producers level the primary consumers would recieve 100 units of energy, the secondary consumers would recieve 10 units of energy, and the terciary consumer would recieve 1 unit of energy. This pyramid helps to demonstrate the loss of energy from one level of the food chain to the next.

http://www.usoe.k12.ut.us/curr/Science/sciber00/8th/energy/sciber/ecosys.htm
Code: ZO4B1
(a) Energy flow and energetics of ecosystem

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hydrozoa
Order: Siphonophora
Family: Physaliidae
Genus: Physalia
Species: P. physalis
Binomial name
Physalia physalis
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The Portuguese Man o' War (Physalia physalis), also known as the blue bubble, blue bottle, man-of-war, or the Portuguese man of war, is a jelly-like, marine invertebrate of the family Physaliidae.

The common name comes from a Portuguese war ship type of the 15th and 16th century, the man-of-war or caravel (named Caravela in Portuguese), which had triangular sails similar in outline to the bladder of the Portuguese Man O' War.

While the Portuguese Man O' War resembles a jellyfish, it is in fact a siphonophore – a colony of four kinds of minute, highly modified individuals, which are specialized polyps and medusoids. Each such zooid in these pelagic colonial hydroids or hydrozoans has a high degree of specialization and, although structurally similar to other solitary animals, are all attached to each other and physiologically integrated rather than living independently. Such zooids are specialised to such an extent that they lack the structures associated with other functions and are therefore dependent for survival on the others to do what the particular zooid cannot do by itself.

A similar group of animals are the chondrophores, which are specialised hydroids that float at the surface of the open ocean.

The Portuguese Man O' War is infamous for having a painful sting, and for swarming in many hundreds.


Habitat and location

The Portuguese Man O' War lives at the surface of the ocean, with its float above the water, serving as a sail, and the rest of the organism hanging below the surface. It has no means of propulsion, but is moved by a combination of winds, currents, and tides. It is found in open ocean in all of the world's warm water seas but most commonly in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Pacific and Indian oceans, and the northern Atlantic Gulf Stream. Strong onshore winds may drive them into bays or on beaches.

Physalia physalis is found in tropical Atlantic waters and occasionally as far north as the Bay of Fundy and the Hebrides, Mediterranean Sea. P. utriculus (La Martiniere), commonly known as the bluebottle, occurs in the Pacific and Indian oceans.

They are reported abundantly off the Karachi coast in Pakistan, and are also common in the ocean off parts of Australia and New Zealand, particularly at the Sand's Pit and Hawkes Bay beaches during the months of June, July, and August. They are known to come ashore all along the northern Gulf of Mexico and both east and west coasts of Florida as well around the Hawaiian Islands. They are also frequently to be found along the east coast of South Africa, especially on the KwaZulu-Natal beaches (particularly if the wind has been blowing steadily on shore for a number of hours). The Portuguese Man O’War has also been spotted in the Mediterranean sea, after first being spotted off the coast of Spain, later in Corsica. In the summer of 2009, Pembrokeshire County Council warned bathers in its waters that the organisms had been sighted in Welsh waters.

There is also an abundance of Portugese Men O' War in the waters of Costa Rica. Congregations of jellys can be found in the March and April months, often causing very painful, sometimes deadly, stings for vacationers. Beaches are often strewn with these blue jellys during this time.

It is rare for only a single Portuguese Man O' War to be found; the discovery of one usually indicates the presence of many as they are usually congregated by currents and winds into groups of thousands.

Attitudes to the presence of the Portuguese Man O' War vary around the world. Given their sting however, they must always be treated with caution, and the discovery of a number of blue bottles washed up on the beach might lead to the closure of a whole beach.

Structure

The Portuguese Man O' War has an air bladder (known as the pneumatophore or sail) that allows it to float on the surface of the ocean. This sail is translucent and tinged blue, purple or mauve. The sail may be 9 to 30 centimetres long and may extend as much as 15 centimetres above the water. The Portuguese Man O' War secretes gas into its sail that is approximately the same in composition as the atmosphere, but may build up a high concentration of carbon dioxide (up to 90%). The sail must stay wet to ensure survival and every so often the Portuguese Man O' War may roll slightly to wet the surface of the sail. To escape a surface attack, the sail can be deflated allowing the Man O' War to briefly submerge .

Below the main body dangle long tentacles, which occasionally reach 50 metres (165 ft) in length below the surface, although 10 metres (30 ft) is the average. The long tentacles "fish" continuously through the water and each tentacle bears stinging venom-filled nematocysts (coiled thread-like structures) which sting and kill small sea creatures such as small fish and shrimp. Contractile cells in each tentacle work to drag prey into range of the digestive polyps, the gastrozooids, another type of polyp that surrounds and digest the food by secreting a full range of enzymes that variously break down proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Gonozooids are responsible for reproduction.

Certain small fish are able to live among the tentacles (being nearly immune to the poison from the stinging cells) and have a commensal symbiotic relationship, i.e. a relationship beneficial for the symbiont, with no negative or pathogenic effect on the host.

The Portuguese Man O' War's float is bilaterally symmetrical with the tentacles at one end, whereas by contrast the chondrophores are radially symmetrical with the sail at an angle or in the center. Also, the Portuguese Man O' War has a siphon, while the chondrophores do not.

Venom

The Portuguese Man o' War is responsible for up to 10,000 stings in Australia each summer, particularly on the east coast, with some others occurring off the coast states of South Australia and Western Australia.

The stinging venom-filled nematocysts in the tentacles of the Portuguese Man O' War can paralyze small fish and other prey. Detached tentacles and dead specimens (including those which wash up on shore) can sting just as painfully as the live creature in the water, and may remain potent for hours or even days after the death of the creature or the detachment of the tentacle.

Stings usually cause severe pain to humans, leaving whip-like, red welts on the skin which normally last about 2–3 days after the initial sting, the pain should subside after about 1 hour. However, the venom can travel to the lymph nodes and may cause, depending on the amount of venom, more intense pain. A sting may lead to an allergic reaction. There can also be serious effects, including fever, shock, and interference with heart and lung action. There have even been deaths, although this is rare. Medical attention may be necessary, especially where pain persists or is intense, or there is an extreme reaction, or the rash worsens, or a feeling of overall illness develops, or a red streak develops between swollen lymph nodes and the sting, or if either area becomes red, warm and tender.

Research suggests that in the normal course the best treatment for a Portuguese Man O' War sting is:

(a) to avoid any further contact with the Portuguese Man O' War and to carefully remove any remnants of the creature from the skin (taking care not to touch them directly with fingers or any other part of the skin to avoid secondary stinging); then

(b) to apply salt water to the affected area (not fresh water, which tends to make the affected area worse);

If eyes have been affected they should be irrigated with copious amounts of room temperature tap water for at least 15 minutes and if vision blurs, or the eyes continue to tear, hurt, swell, or are light sensitive after irrigating, or there is any concern, a doctor should be seen as soon as possible;

(c) to follow up with the application of hot water (45°C/113°F) to the affected area, which eases the pain of a sting by denaturing the toxins.[13]

Vinegar dousing has been shown to cause discharge of nematocysts from the larger (P. physalis) man-of-war species (that is, increasing the toxin and worsening the symptoms) while the effect of vinegar on the nematocysts of the smaller species (which has less severe stings) has been mixed.[14] Vinegar is therefore not recommended.

The Portuguese Man O' War is often confused with jellyfish by its victims, which may lead to improper treatment of stings, as the venom differs from that of true jellyfish.

Predators

The Loggerhead Turtle feeds on the Portuguese Man O' War; indeed it is a common part of its diet. The skin of the turtle is too thick for the Portuguese Man O' War sting to penetrate and launch its venom.

The sea slug Glaucus atlanticus also feeds on the Portuguese Man O' War, as does the violet snail Janthina janthina.

Blanket octopuses are immune to the venom of the Portuguese Man O' War, and the female has been known to rip off its tentacles and use them for defensive purposes

Commensalism/Symbioses

The Portuguese Man o' War is often found with a variety of marine fish, including shepherd fish, clown fish and yellow jack, species that are rarely found elsewhere. The clown fish can swim among the tentacles with impunity, possibly due to its mucus that does not trigger the nematocysts. The shepherd fish seems to avoid the larger, stinging tentacles, but feeds on the smaller tentacles beneath the gas bladder. These fish benefit from the shelter from predators provided by the stinging tentacles, and for the Portuguese Man o' War the presence of these species may attract other fish to feed on.

Etymology

The Portuguese Man O' War (named caravela-portuguesa in Portuguese) is named for its air bladder, which looks similar to the triangular sails of the Portuguese ship (man-of-war) Caravela latina (two- or three-masted lateen-rigged ship caravel), of the 15th and 16th centuries.

(ref.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portuguese_Man_o%27_War)

Labels: The Portuguese Man o' War

Noctiluca algae produced a spectacular display of color when the bloom occurred near the water's surface off the coast of California. Such blooms are caused by high concentrations of sometimes toxic algae species. Photo by Peter J.S. Franks, Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Chromalveolata
Superphylum: Alveolata
Phylum: Dinoflagellata
Class: Noctiluciphyceae
Order: Noctilucales
Haeckel, 1894


They differ from most others in that the mature cell is diploid and its nucleus does not show a dinokaryotic organization. also they show gameteic mieosis. These cells are very large, from 1 to 2 millimetres in diameter, and are filled with large buoyant vacuoles. Some may contain symbiotic green algae, but there are no chloroplasts. Instead, they feed on other plankton, and there is usually a special tentacle involved in ingestion.

The most common species is Noctiluca scintillans, also called N. miliaris. It can be bioluminescent when disturbed, as are various other dinoflagellates, and large blooms can sometimes be seen as flickering lights on the ocean.



Noctilucales reproduce mainly by fission, but sexual reproduction also occurs. Each cell produces numerous gametes, which resemble more typical athecate dinoflagellates and have the dinokaryotic nuclei. Evidence suggests that they diverged from most other dinoflagellates early on, and they are generally placed in their own class.

The most common species is Noctiluca scintillans, also called N. miliaris. It can be bioluminescent when disturbed, as are various other dinoflagellates, and large blooms can sometimes be seen as flickering lights on the ocean.