Universal Set = {Fennec Fox}

Hello; I am SN. This is my first blog post for my Sophomore year. I am taking a class called Population. It has been incredibly fun and interesting. So far, we have learned about set theory, binomial nomenclature, taxonomy, and have read the book In the Shadow of Man by Jane Goodall over the summer. I am going to cover most of that in this AP (Action Project). For this Action Project, we had to choose an organism, identify its population, and highlight what makes the population unique. During our first FE (Field Experience), our STEAM teacher had us choose an organism at Lincoln Park Zoo. For this AP, I have chosen the fennec fox, a.k.a Vulpes zerda. You might ask, "What is a fennec fox? I will show you in this AP, along with everything else we studied thus far.

The fennec fox is a small mammal that is from the Sahara of North Africa. It, naturally, lives in very hot and sandy climates. That would make sense because, according to the Lincoln Park Zoo website, it is said the fennec fox lives in underground dens in order to survive the harsh environment around them. It is a carnivorous species, but it would also eat insects, fruits, and berries. Basically, it will eat anything to survive. They usually travel in groups of 10 determined by the amount of food and resources available. One fennec fox will live with the mother, father, and 2-5 siblings for a year and nurse in a den until it becomes old enough to explore the desert on its own. The average lifespan of a fennec fox is about 10-12 years. To be honest, that is a lifespan shorter than a dog's. Most dogs live up to 14 years old. It is sad too see that a creature like this would go faster than others. Some interesting things about fennec foxes are they mate for life and get aggressive during mating season. Little is known about the current wild fennec fox population, but it is known that locals hunt these animals for their fur. This raises questions about their future and conservation.


This is a Venn Diagram. It was made by me, PA, and BA. They too have chosen an organism and what we did was create a Venn Diagram to compare all three of them with this. See the circles labeled fennec fox, cheetah, and red kangaroo? Those circles belong to those organisms, and in them are some characteristics they have. In the top left and right corners are characteristics all three organisms don't have. Here is an example, the fennec fox has white fur. White fur is in that circle, as you can see. As you can also see, the fennec fox has night vision, but, so does the cheetah. Night vision is placed where only the cheetah circle and the fennec fox circle merge. The center is where all circles merge. That center has the characteristics all three of the circles share. The three organisms all have claws, fur, tails, whiskers, and are all mammals. That is how a Venn Diagram works and the characteristics that all three organisms share.

Let's look a little closer at the fennec fox. Below are the layers of taxonomy, they help classify all living things. It goes in the order Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species. This is how they are used to classify the fennec fox.

Kingdom
Animalia
Has multiple cells
Phylum
Chordata
Has a spinal cord
Class
Mammalia
Has hair, gives live birth, produces milk
Order
Carnivora
Eats other organisms
Family
Canidae
Has non-retractable claws
Genus
Vulpes
Fox
Species
Vulpes zerda
Fennec Fox

This is the taxonomic order for a fennec fox. It is part of the animal kingdom, has a spinal cord, is a mammal, is carnivorous, doesn't have retractable claws, is a fox, and is indeed, also, a fennec fox.

"Fennec Fox" by SN (2018)
This was my reference picture for the other picture I illustrated myself.

Photo Taken May 11, 2014, for Augsburg Zoo
https://archive.kiza.eu/media/gallery/2014/Fennec_Augsburg_Zoo-IMG_0149.JPG




What you see here is called a set theory. The Set Theory is a way to talk about groups as mathematicians. In set theory, we use a lot of symbols to describe what is happening. Here are five statements I wrote about my organism using set theory.

 List of Set Theory Symbols
∊
… is an element of ...
∪
The union of … and ...
⋂
The intersection of … and ...
⊆
… is a subset of ...
Ø
The null set - is empty
~
Negation. Not ….
{ }
These brackets hold the elements of a set
Illustrated by Aaron Moring-D'Angier

This is a Universal set, all of the existing elements are labled here.

Universal Set = {Fennec Fox, Mouse, Lemur, Beaver, Tiger, Dog, Cat}

My Organism is a small mammal.

Small Mammals = {Fennec Fox, Mouse, Lemur, Beavers}

Fennec Fox ∈ Small Mammals

My Organism is also a furry animal.

Furry Animals = {Fennec Fox, Tiger, Dog, Cat}

Fennec Fox ∈ Furry Animals

My Organism is not a Canine.

Fennec Fox ∉ Canine

My Organism is also not a feline.

Fennec Fox ∉ Feline

My Organism is both small and furry.

Fennec Fox ∈ (Small Mammals ∪ Furry Animals)

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