Monday, June 14, 2010

Questions - part 2

Here are some new questions and answers for Mrs. Waldrop's class!

Sean asks, Is using the anemometer fun? Is it working right?

The anemometer is pretty fun to work and setup. Taking data is a little boring though, like you saw in the video it is a lot of sitting around and waiting and clicking buttons on the computer. But I am hanging out in a pretty nice place, so it's not too bad at all.

As far as working right, it has been mixed. It is pretty flaky sometimes, the program that runs and takes the data from the anemometer has been not working properly all the time. I sometimes have to close it and open it again so that it saves the way it should, and that is annoying. The thing that has been the worst problem is battery life of the computer, which is around 2.5 hours. I didn't think about this when I was packing and didn't get an extra battery, so I can only use it for that long even though I stay on the motu for usually 4-5 hours at a time.

Maria asks, How do crabs see?

Crabs see a lot like we see. They have eyes like us that use lenses to focus light onto cells that send signals to their brain. But they also see differently. They have compound eyes (like flies) which basically means instead of having one lens per eye (like you), they have a lot of lenses that go all the way around their eyes. This makes it easier for them to see things move, which is really useful if you don't want to get eaten by something! But they are not as good as we are at making out details. Crabs would need some crazy reading glasses!

Emily asks, How many different species of crabs are there?

There are two big groups of crabs that are related to, but a little bit different from, each other. Together, they have about 850 species. Crabs are part of a really big group of animals known as crustaceans. Crustaceans are all things with segments that have exoskeletons and are usually marine (but there are some that live on land). There are about 200,000 species of crustaceans, making it one of the largest and most diverse group of animals alive!

Keri asks, What is the weather like?

French Polynesia is in the southern hemisphere (it is below the equator). It is winter right now here, so it is a little colder and drier than it would be if I were here during November to March. It still rains a lot (like on Sunday!) and is very humid. It is about 80 degrees at night and 85 during the day, so I get to wear shorts and flip-flops everywhere and still be warm. It is not too windy, but last year I was here in July when the trade winds start blowing, and it can be very windy then. I like the weather, except when it rains a lot.

Sarah asks, How many babies do crabs have at once?

Crabs are different than mammals like people or dogs. When they reproduce, they lay eggs, kind of like chickens. Except they lay between 20,000 and 500,000 eggs at a time! Also like chickens, the mom crab will protect her eggs and carries them on her belly until they are ready to hatch. When they are, she shakes her tail and the new tiny babies, called larvae, swim away to grow in the water.

Great questions, y'all! Keep it up! And if you're not in Mrs. Waldrop's class, you can still leave your questions in the comments or email me at lwaldrop[at]berkeley[dot]edu.

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