AMSTI Animals

 Hand lens  Dwarf African Frogs  For class  Rinse gravel  Plastic cup for scooping gravel  Holding pail for elodea  Holding pail for frogs  per group  1 green dotted small plastic cup with lid put food in it  1 green dotted large plastic cup with lid  1 green dotted plastic tank with lid  Elodea sprigs that came with frogs  Black china marker  Ruler  Teaspoon with green dot  1 piece of notebook paper  1 green dotted pail of conditioned tap water  Paper towel

 Rinse gravel until water pours out clear  Place gravel in container along with a plastic cup for scooping.  Rinse plastic tanks with warm water.  Fill 8 pails ¾ full with water, add a drop of tap water conditioner to each, and stir with a clean spoon

 Tanks with lid  Ruler  China marker  Pails of water  Large cups with lids  Small cups with lids  Paper towels  Gravel with scooper  spoon

 Introduced to Dwarf African Frog  Create habitats  Identify living and nonliving elements in habitat  Variables that affect an animal’s survival  Discuss frog care and feeding schedules  Observe frogs and record questions  Discuss observations

 The 3 animals in this unit were selected because of their diversity of structure, behavior, and habitat.  These animals illustrate a variety of animal adaptations associated with food getting, movement, body structure, and protection.

 Vertebrates – have backbone  Amphibian – most spend part of life in water and other on land  Thin, moist skin with no scales  Can take oxygen in from water and air directly through their skin  Skin needs to be moist for skin respiration  Hatch from eggs  Metamorphosis – hatch as tadpoles and become frogs through stages  Cold blooded – body temperature changes along with the temperature of the environment  Molt – shed skin  Some can change shade which can depend on temperature, light, or wetness  Hibernate in land or mud at the bottom of lakes and ponds during extreme cold  2,500 kinds

 live exclusively in water  Grows about 4 cm or 1 ½ in  Natural habitat is a lake or pond of Democratic Republic of the Congo and the lower Congo in Africa  Body is somewhat flat  Small pointed head  Back is brownish with dark spots  Abdomen is light  Has a lateral line system of nerve endings running from its head down the side of its abdomen which enables the frog to sense any movement in the water around it  Webbed toes  Inner 3 toes of the hind limbs are clawed  Small eyes without lids  Large nostrils  Toothless  No external ear flaps as humans, but, like humans, they hear through a tympanic membrane  Lighten and darken its color to match its surroundings – camouflage to hide among plants and rocks or search for food  Eat shed skin for protein

 Eat mostly aquatic invertebrates – crustaceans, worms, and insects  Snap at food at the water’s surface  Will search for food along the bottom of the tank  Lunges at its prey and sweeps it into its mouth with its front feet  Back and front feet to tear larger food before swallowing  Breathe through lungs  Burbling – expiration and inspiration of air at the water’s surface  Float parallel to the surface with arms and legs extend and spread apart  Will play dead, so has to be belly up

 Show materials and how much of each to get.

 Return all materials except small cup with lid and a spoon.  Add frogs to habitat. (Go over rules on next slide first.)

 Do not bang on habitats.  Do not disturb the animals.  Be gentle, especially when moving the habitat.  Keep the lids on the habitats, unless told otherwise.  Keep objects out of habitat, unless told otherwise.  Add frogs to habitat.

 Feed between 7:40-8:00 in the morning.  Feed again between 2:30-2:40 in the evening.  If there is food visible, remove it with the spoon to avoid water contamination.  Reduce amount of food feed, if food visible when time to feed again.  Every other day, remove the elodea plant, rinse with clean water, and return to tank.  Check water level, add new water every other week by removing 2 cold cupfuls of water and replacing it with 2 fresh cupfuls.  Ideal temperature is between 77 and 86 degrees.  If water becomes cloudy or algae occurs, empty tank water by placing frogs and elodea in holding pail of conditioned water while clean habitat…rinse gravel, use paper towel to remove algae, and rebuild habitat.

1.What happened when you put food in the tank? 2.Did both frogs respond to the food? What happened when you moved the food with the spoon? 3. How much food did the frogs eat? 4. Did the frogs eat from the surface or bottom of the habitat? **You should observe the feeding carefully and discuss the above questions each time.**

1. What does the animal do during the school day? 2. What do you think the animal does when you are not at school? What evidence do you have? 3. What does the animal eat? When do you think it eats? Why do you think so? 4. When is the animal most active? Least active? 5. Where in the habitat do you usually find the animal? Where does it go most? Least? How do you know? 6. How do the animals interact with each other and with other objects? 7. How does the animal respond to you? 8. Other behaviors you have observed.

 Research the similarities and differences between toads and frogs.  Use a Venn diagram to compare the frogs’ classroom habitat with its natural habitat.  Locate the Republic of the Congo and Democratic Republic of Congo on a map. Research what other kinds of frogs, as well as other kinds of plants, are found in the lakes and ponds of Central Africa.  Read expository texts about frogs.