Corbicula fluminea

DESCRIPTION:  This freshwater bivalve mollusk with distinct concentric rows of 
elevated ridges on the shells.  The shell is rounded to slightly triangular.  The exterior is usually brown in color but can vary to a yellowish-gold.  The nacre, or interior of the shell, is usually white to light purple.  The average adult size is rarely larger than 1.5 inches.   

Reproduction! - Right after reaching maturity these clams produce eggs, followed by sperm. Even later, they produce eggs and sperm simultaneously. They can self-fertilize, and release up to 2,000 juveniles per day, and more than 100,000 in a lifetime. Juveniles are only 1 mm long when discharged, and take one to four years to reach maturity. At this time they are about one centimeter long. Adults can reach a length of about 5 cm.

La Grippe

• The Spanish Flu killed more people worldwide than WWI, with the death toll hitting between 20 and 40 million people.
• More deaths from the flu were recorded from 1918-1919 than there were in the four years that the Bubonic Plague struck Europe. 
• The Spanish Flu hit Macon on October 15, 1918, with 250 new cases reported in the previous 48 hours.  
• A new preventative measure also appeared on the streets of Macon -- "flu masks", which basically were cloth masks with small eye, nose, and mouth holes.
• Camp Gordon ended its military quarantine, which had been in place for several weeks due to the flu epidemic. But the scare was not over -- Maj. Joel B. Mallett, selective service officer for Georgia, instructed all local boards of health to cease physical exams for new military registrants until further notice - - effectively stemming the draft (albeit temporarily). While this was ordered as a preventative measure against the flu, it also was possible because Allied armies were on the brink of defeating Germany at the time.

All Things Are Connected

Ocmulgee National Monument

Macon, GA

Mercer utilizes this national monument for many things.  I have had classes meet here for lab, a group discussion, and have even volunteered at the annual Ocmulgee Indian Celebration for class credit.  The slogan of the monument goes well with Mercer ideals.  "All things are connected."  Mercer attempts to engulf itself in the surrounding communities and create ties through networking.  The symbol of the monument is a bird.  The bird and park slogan are there to remind us of our personal connections to the natural world, which is a very typical idea of an environmentalist.  

Campus Life

Trees

Plants

Animals

Burgess Shale

The Burgess Shale is found in an area of the Canadian Rocky Mountains creatively called the Burgess Pass.  This is in BC's Yoho National Park.  The Burgess shale represents one of the most diverse and well-preserved fossil specimens in the world.  These fossils have been dated back to the Cambrian Period, where life was restricted to the world oceans.  Charles D. Walcott discovered the Burgess Shale in 1909.  Since then, over 60,000 unique fossils have been found.  

Anomalocaris:

RAWRRR.

Wiwaxia:

Hallucigenia:

Opabinia:

Waptia:

Marella: