Learning About Marine Life Claspers

Claspers are organs that found on male elasmobranchs  (sharks, skates, and rays) and Holocephalans (chimaeras). These parts of the animal are vital for the reproduction process. How Does a Clasper Work? Each male has two claspers, and they are located along the inner side of the shark or rays pelvic fin. These play a critical role in helping the animal reproduce. When it mates, the male deposits his sperm into the females cloaca (the opening that serves as the entrance to the uterus, intestine and urinary tract) via grooves that lie in the upper side of the claspers. The clasper is similar to the penis of a human being. They differ from the human penis, however, because they are not an independent appendage, but rather a deeply grooved cartilaginous extension of the sharks pelvic fins. Plus, sharks have two while humans only have one. According to some research, sharks use just one clasper during their mating process. Its a hard process to observe, but it often involves using the clasper on the opposite side of the body that is alongside the female.   Because  the sperm is transferred into the female, these animals mate via internal fertilization. This differs from other marine life, who release their sperm and eggs into the water where they join to make new creatures. While most sharks give live birth like humans, others do release eggs that hatch later. The spiny dogfish shark has a gestation period of two years, meaning that it takes two years for the baby shark to develop inside the mother. If you see a shark or ray up close, you can determine its gender by the presence or absence of claspers. Quite simply, a male will have them and a female will not. Its an easy well to discern the sex of a shark. Mating is rarely observed in sharks, but in some, the male will nip the female, giving her love bites (in some species, females have thicker skin than males). He may turn her over on her side, curl around her or mate parallel to her. Then he inserts a clasper, which may attach to the female via a spur or hook. Muscles push the sperm into the female. From there, the young animals develop in a variety of ways. Some sharks lay eggs while some give birth to live young. Fun fact:  There is a type of fish that has a similar appendage but it is not part of the pelvic fin as is the case with sharks.  Known as a gonopodium, this clasper-like body part is part of the anal fin. These creatures only have one gonopodium, while sharks have the two claspers. References and Further Information: Internal Anatomy of a Shark  Accessed July 4, 2012.Manta Catalog. Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary. Accessed July 4, 2012.Martin, R.A. Why Do Sharks Have 2 Penises?. ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research. Accessed July 4, 2012.

Essay Juvenile Delinquency - 1499 Words

Main Post: Juvenile delinquency is a problem that affects society as a whole. Understanding Juvenile delinquency is important because it is part of trying to figure out how people in American society should react to it; specifically, in terms of law enforcement officers, their agencies, and State legislators. When deviant behavior becomes continuous, chronic and widespread it gets perceived as a significant part of the population as threatening to the general well-being of society (Thompson and Bynum, 2010, p. 44). This is a societal problem that requires attention from various forms of social control. However, a lot of the burden is absorbed by an imperfect Juvenile Justice System. As time has passed, argument has ensued over†¦show more content†¦The functionality of juvenile courts has increasingly become a system of criminal social control to protect society from young offenders, rather than as a welfare agency to nurture and protect vulnerable children from a wrathful community (Hickey, 2010). This shift has caused more of a focus on an individual as a criminal in contrast to the innocence of a child. In turn this has created hostility, which has led to more emphasis on social control and incarceration (Hickey, 2010). In addition, the shift has moved juvenile courts further away from a rehabilitative standpoint. The point of rehabilitating juveniles when they are in adolescence is to try to prevent adult criminal behavior. Another problem is that juvenile courts lack resources to provide social welfare for children. This issue was created because of state agencies having the control over the institutions and programs to which judges send delinquents, rather than juvenile courts having the control (Hickey, 2010, p. 148). The lack of resources by juvenile courts has occurred because the responsibility of providing child welfare does not rest solely with the juvenile courts (Hickey, 2010). The best way to describe this problem is that providing child welfare is a societal responsibility, not simply a judicial one (Hickey, 2010, p. 148). Some people support reform of the juvenile court system to re-emphasize its social welfare agency aspect. They suggest that moreShow MoreRelatedJuvenile Delinquency1154 Words   |  5 PagesDiscussion In common parlance, there is an understanding of juvenile delinquency as meaning adolescents breaking the law or participating in mischievous behavior. 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KEEP YOUR OWN SECRET Essay Example For Students

KEEP YOUR OWN SECRET Essay A monologue from the play by Pedro Calderon de la Barca NOTE: This monologue is reprinted from Eight Dramas of Calderon. Trans. Edward Fitzgerald. London: Macmillan Co., 1906. PRINCE: Don Arias,I love Don Cesar with as whole a heartAs ever. He and I from infancyHave grown together; as one single soulOur joys and sorrows shared; till finding himSo wise and true, as to another selfMyself, and my dominion to boot,I did intrust: you are his friend, and surelyIn honouring you I honour him as well.Besides, Arias, I know not how it is,For some while past a change has come on him;I know not what the cause: he is grown sad,Neglects his businessif I call to him,He hears me not, or answers from the purpose,Or in mid answer stops. And, by the way,We being on this subject, I would fain,Being so much his friend, for both our sakes,You would find out what ails and occupies him;Tell him from me to use my power as ever,Absolute still: that, loving him so well,Id know what makes him so unlike himself;That, knowing what it is, I may at least,If not relieve his sorrow, share with him.