Animal Biodiversity

The defining characteristic for mammals and the characteristic which gives the class its name is the presence of mammary glands. Both the species I selected have mammary glands and nurture their young with milk from these glands.Apart from the presence and use of mammary glands, the other common features of both animals are the high level of brain development among the animal kingdom as well as the social tendencies of the species.Given these similarities, there are stark differences between humans and dolphins. The most obvious is that humans are land living creatures while dolphins are adapted to life in the sea. As such, humans have evolved an upright stance, as well as opposable thumbs while dolphins have evolved fins and a blowhole.Humans are classified under the order Primates along with monkeys and apes. Defining characteristics for primates are stereoscopic vision, opposable thumbs, highly mobile radius and ulna, and other physical adaptations for life in the treetops.The dol phin belongs to the order Cetacea along with the blue whale and the killer whale. Order cetacea includes mammals who have evolved to a fully aquatic life. As such, dolphins and whales belong to the order.Class InsectaBoth the praying mantis and the monarch butterfly have three main body divisions – the head, the thorax and the abdomen. Both also have compound eyes composed of hundreds or thousand of individual light sensing organs. Lastly, both insects lay eggs for reproductive purposes.One big difference between the praying mantis and the monarch butterfly is flight. The butterfly has wings which enable it to cover large distances for food and for migration during wintertime. As mentioned, the monarch butterfly also undergoes migration. During winter, the monarch butterflies in Northern America travel to Mexico to outlast the cold weather conditions.The butterfly belongs to order Lepidoptera along with moths and skippers. The defining characteristic for the order have been t he presence of antennae, a hard exoskeleton and wings which are covered in scales.The praying mantis belongs to the order Mantodae with its evolutionary siblings the leaf mantis with a thorax shaped and colored like a leaf and its oriental cousin the Chinese mantis. The characteristic for the order have been a predatory diet, their use of camouflage, and the presence of cannibalism among the species.Class AvesThe bald eagle and the chicken, while representing polar opposites of the bravery spectrum have many similar characteristics. First, they lay eggs to reproduce. Second, they have wings and lastly, they also have a feather covering.Also, there are more differences between both birds apart from their symbolism. The bald eagle has binocular vision while the chicken does not due to the placement of the eyes in their skulls. The bald eagle is also a carnivore while the chicken is an omnivore which can feed on seeds and small worms. The bald eagle is also much larger in size than the chicken.The bald eagle together with hawks and falcons form the order Falconiformes. Members of the order are all birds of prey with hooked bills, sharp talons and good eyesight – adaptations needed for spotting and killing prey from the air.The chicken on the other hand belongs to the order Galliformes along with turkeys and quails. The order is best described as being chicken-like in appearance with blunt wings and small to large bodies. Flight is limited for the order with some species having a terrestrial lifestyle.Phylum   EchinodermataBoth star fishes and sea urchins are only found in marine habitats. Physically, both also sport a radial symmetry with the sea urchin going further by having a spherical symmetry. Lastly, both animals under phylum Echinodermata have the spiny exterior which defines members of the phylum.One main difference between starfishes and sea urchins is in physical appearance. Star fishes have an obvious five arms while sea urchins are best descr ibed as round objects with protruding spikes. Sea urchins also have pronounced long spikes for protection against predators and are suspension feeders which feed on algae. Starfish on the other hand are predators and scavengers.The common starfish along with the northern Pacific sea star and the red-knobbed sea star form the subclass Asteroidea. The five rayed body is the unifying feature of members of this subclass.   Five rays connect to a central disc for these animals. The sea urchin along with the sand dollar and heart urchins belong to class Echinoidea.This class is different from other echinoderms because their calcitic ossicles are fused together to form a globe. They also have a very powerful chewing apparatus called Aristotle’s lantern.BibliographyUniversity of Michigan Museum of Zoologyl (2008) â€Å"Animal Diversity Web.† In University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. Retrieved November 30, 2008 from http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/index.html

Legal Advice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Legal Advice - Essay Example Apparently, Heather had complied with her duties as a commercial agent. The law mandates these agents to look after the interest of the principle and action in utmost good faith; put efforts in making negotiations and where possible concludes sales; comply with the principles instructions; and communicate with the principle on necessary information. On the other hand, the principle has the duties of informing the agents within an appropriate period on the refusal or acceptance of the procured transactions of their agents. The remunerations regulations of commercial agents stipulate that an agent is entitled to commissions accrued on transactions concluded within the confines of the period of the contract. Moreover, the agent is also entitled to transactional commissions within the period of contract of the agency especially where the agent has exclusive right to a geographical setting or particular specific clients. This above entitlement is only viable if the transaction entered int o is within the geographical area in question or the group highlighted above . The regulations on commercial agency also stipulate that the agents to commercial firms are entitled to commissions on concluded transactions even after the contract has been terminated. This regulation is conscious to the agent’s effort during the contract period and the transaction ought to have been entered into within a period that is reasonable by incorporating the terminated contract . What complicates Heather’s case is that their agreement with the company.

RESEARCH METHODS FOR MANAGERS Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

RESEARCH METHODS FOR MANAGERS - Assignment Example The ability to form teams virtually that will operate across the limitations of time, distance and organizational boundaries have proven to be the successful for the organizations. These teams use electronic collaboration technologies and other techniques to lower facility and travelling costs, reduce project schedules and improve decision making communication and time. Since companies are more focused on foreign markets for expanding their base of customer, they are also looking at lowering costs or exacting effectiveness by tapping the foreign labor pool. For this purpose, outsourcing and off- shoring have become very prevalent. The result is that firms are able to achieve substantial cost saving and decrease their time to market when building software solutions, offering services, manufacturing products since additional risks are managed effectively (Gruhn, Volker, Schope & Lothar, 2002, P. 254). Today the management desires to establish international presence by exacting operatin g efficiencies and reducing costs of distributed teams created by mergers, acquisitions, technical specialization and downsizing. Organizations that do not use virtual teams effectively have difficulty in competing in the global, competitive and rapidly changing markets. Those organizations that will succeed in finding ways of working across boundaries like systems, technologies, people and procedure. Literature Review Managing virtual teams can be more complex than managing traditional teams, however. First, virtual teams primarily communicate and collaborate by using technology such as e-mail, groupware, etc. Virtual teams exclusively depend on software and technology tools to collaborate and communication, whereas the teams that are traditional can always abandon technology and software tools in favor of face-to-face communication and collaboration. Secondly, boundaries were crossed by virtual teams in relation to organization, distance, and time. This raises the need of attentio n towards the issues of collaboration and communication