MY THESIS TITLE ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS
by
Ronald M. Coleman
Supervised by Ronald M. Coleman
An Undergraduate Honors thesis for the Department of Biological Sciences
at
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SACRAMENTO
SPRING 2007
MY THESIS TITLE ALL IN CAPITAL LETTERS
by
Ronald M. Coleman
ABSTRACT
Here is the first paragraph of my thesis abstract. It goes on and on. There could
be more written here, but I feel the need to start a second paragraph. That is okay. Go for
it.
Notice that the paragraphs are indented. That is not an accident. It makes them
easier to read. Notice also that the right margin is not justified. That is important as well
in a thesis. If I used an organism in my research, I would have the scientific name here.
So, for example, if I used the convict cichlid (Archocentrus nigrofasciatus) I would give
the scientific name here and the first time I use it in the body of the thesis. The rest of the
time, I use the common name.
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
First, I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. xxx for the time, trouble and space
that they..….
I would also like to thank all those people that made this research possible. Avoid
thanking your cat. Even really smart cats cannot read.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................iii
List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... v
List of Figures .................................................................................................................... vi
Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................. 1
Chapter 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS ...................................................................... 5
Study Organism ...................................................................................................... 5
Experimental Setup ................................................................................................. 8
Data Collection ..................................................................................................... 10
Sample Size........................................................................................................... 15
Data Analysis ........................................................................................................ 19
Chapter 3. RESULTS........................................................................................................ 24
Overall Patterns ..................................................................................................... 24
Detailed Results ................................................................................................... 35
Chapter 4. DISCUSSION ................................................................................................. 40
Chapter 5. LITERATURE CITED ................................................................................... 45
APPENDIX I. Raw data tables are often included in a thesis so that all your stuff is in
one document ................................................................................................................... 47
iv
LIST OF TABLES
Table 1. This title is exactly the same as the title on the actual table, including ALL
wording in the table title, not just the first few words ......................................... 12
Table 2. Example of egg measurements taken for each spawning. ............................... 22
Table 3. Results for the regression of mean egg size versus number of eggs for each
individual female. ............................................................................................... 32
Table 4. Mean egg size for five spawnings from fourteen females. .............................. 36
Table 5. Variance of egg size within a spawning for five spawnings from fourteen
females. ............................................................................................................... 38
v
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1. This title is exactly the same as the caption on the figure, including all the
wording, not just the first line. .............................................................................. 7
Figure 2. A diagram (top) and a photograph (bottom) of the experimental aquarium
setup. ..................................................................................................................... 9
Figure 3. Measuring the total length and standard length of a fish. Total length (TL) is
the length of a fish from the tip of the closed mouth to the end of the caudal fin.
Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish from the closed mouth to the end of
the last vertebrae (where the tail bends). .............................................................. 9
vi
15
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
This is the start of the thesis. Notice that the page numbers are now in the upper
right, whereas previously they were in the bottom center and were lower case Roman
numerals.
Second paragraph and so on…. Be sure to state the scientific name of any
organism you use the FIRST time you mention the organism. After that, use the common
name. For citations, use the author, year format, NOT a numbered format (Coleman,
2007).
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CHAPTER 2
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Study Organism
Notice that the new chapter starts on a new page! Convict cichlids are found in
Central America from Guatemala to Northern Panama (Conkel, 1993). In the wild, a
female will lay eggs in cave-like structures made of a hard substrate such as rocks or tree
roots. The male will externally fertilize the eggs as the female lays them. The pair will
remain with the brood for several weeks, providing extensive parental care, including
guarding them from predators, fanning to increase oxygen, and moving hatchlings to predug pits. This parental defense of the young is crucial to the young’s survival. At 28ºC,
eggs hatch in about 3 days, and become free-swimming after about 6 days (Galvani and
Coleman 1998).
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Figure 1. Figures are put on separate pages, not surrounded by text. They do not go at
the end of the thesis. This exact text should appear in the List of Figures.
18
And the text continues……
Experimental Set-Up
Here is a new subsection, which has a nice title.
19
Table 1. With a table, the caption appears above the table. The table is on its own page. .
Date
Type of Measurement
Total Length (TL) (mm)
Standard Length (SL) (mm)
Weight (WT) (grams)
July 12, 2004
Initial
45.6
35.4
1.8
July 19, 2004
Weekly
48.2
36.5
2.0
July 24, 2004
After Spawning
48.8
36.6
1.7
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Data Analysis
To analyze the non-spherical eggs of convict cichlids, the effective diameter of
each egg was calculated. The effective diameter is calculated by taking the cube root of
the major axis multiplied by the square of the minor axis (Coleman 1991; Figure 7).
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CHAPTER 3
RESULTS
Overall Pattern
Here are the results….
Number of Eggs
1
1.2
1.4
1.8
Female Weight (g)
1.6
2
2.2
2.4
Figure 9. Number of eggs in a spawning versus female weight for the first spawning of
14 females. Each blue dot represents one spawning, and regression line (pink)
shows that as females increase in size there is an increase in the number of eggs
in a spawning.
0
50
100
150
200
250
21
22
CHAPTER 4
DISCUSSION
The discussion is where you discuss the experiment and the significance of what
you found. What does it all mean?
23
CHAPTER 5
LITERATURE CITED
Charnov, E. L., J. F. Downhower, and L. P. Brown. 1995. Optimal offspring sizes in
small litters. Evol. Ecol. 9:57-63.
Coleman, R. M. 1991. Measuring parental investment in nonspherical eggs. Copeia
1991:1092-1098.
Coleman, R. M., and A. P. Galvani. 1998. Egg size determines offspring size in
Neotropical cichlid fishes (Teleostei: Cichlidae). Copeia 1998:209-213.
Coleman, R. M., M. R. Gross, and R. S. Sargent. 1985. Parental investment decision
rules: a test in bluegill sunfish. Behav. Ecol. Sociobiol. 18:59-66.
Conkel, D. 1993. Cichlids of North & Central America. T.F.H. Publications, Neptune
City, New Jersey.
Cunnington, D. C., and R. J. Brooks. 2000. Optimal egg size theory: Does predation by
fish affect egg size in Amystoma maculatum? J. Herpetol. 34:46-53.
APPENDIX I
Table 6. All spawnings that occurred during experiment.
Egg Set #
Tank
Date Collected Spawn # Date Counted Date Measured
Comments
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Tank# 4
Tank# 1
Tank# 8
Tank# 3
Tank# 2
Tank# 5
Tank# 3
Tank# 1
Tank# 8
Tank# 4
Tank# 5
Tank# 2
Tank# 6
Tank# 8
Tank# 3
Jun 15
Jun 15
Jun 16
Jun 17
Jun 19
Jun 21
Jun 29
Jun 29
Jun 30
Jul 2
Jul 2
Jul 4
Jul 10
Jul 12
Jul 12
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
1
2
2
1
3
3
Jun 22
Jun 22
Jun 22
Jun 22
Jun 22
Jun 22
Jul 1
Jul 1
Jul 1
Jul 5
Jul 5
Jul 5
Jul 12
Jul 12
Jul 12
n/a
n/a
Nov 16
Oct 22
n/a
Jan 22
n/a
n/a
Oct 14
n/a
Jan 26
Nov 16
Nov 16
Jan 21
n/a
16
17
18
19
Tank# 5
Tank# 12
Tank# 9
Tank# 11
Jul 15
Jul 15
Jul 19
Jul 19
3
1
1
1
Jul 20
Jul 20
Jul 20
Jul 20
Nov 16
n/a
Jan 23
Nov 16
Eggs eaten, female excluded
Female excluded
Measured for sample size determination
Female excluded
Female excluded
Female excluded
Measured for sample size determination
significantly abused, female excluded
Female excluded
Male in basket when spawn occurred
Female excluded
Female died
Spawned on front glass
Continued…
47
Table 6. (continued)
Egg Set #
Tank
Date Collected Spawn # Date Counted Date Measured
20
Tank# 1
Jul 20
3
Jul 20
Oct 14
21
Tank# 2
Jul 20
3
Jul 20
n/a
22
23
24
25
26
Tank# 8
Tank# 6
Tank# 5
Tank# 7
Tank# 11
Jul 24
Jul 26
Aug 1
Aug 4
Aug 4
4
2
4
1
2
Aug 6
Aug 6
Aug 6
Aug 6
Aug 6
Mar 24
Jan 26
Mar 23
Jan 25
Jan 22
27
28
29
30
31
32
Tank# 1
Tank# 2
Tank# 6
Tank# 8
Tank# 9
Tank# 3
Aug 5
Aug 6
Aug 8
Aug 8
Aug 8
Aug 10
4
4
3
5
2
4
Aug 6
Aug 6
Sep 1
Sep 1
Sep 1
Sep 1
n/a
n/a
Jan 25
Mar 24
Jan 25
n/a
33
34
35
36
Tank# 5
Tank# 7
Tank# 11
Tank# 1
Aug 15
Aug 18
Aug 20
Aug 21
5
2
3
5
Sep 1
Sep 1
Sep 1
Sep 1
Mar 26
Jan 25
Jan 25
n/a
37
38
Tank# 6
Tank# 2
Aug 21
Aug 23
4
5
Sep 1
Sep 1
Mar 24
n/a
Comments
Spawned on side of filter, female
excluded
Spawned on side of filter, female
excluded
Collected by R. M. Coleman
Missing measurement of female for this
spawn
Female excluded
Female excluded
Greatly injured between 3 & 4 spawn,
female excluded
Spawned on bottom of filter eggs lost in
gravel, female excluded
Female excluded
Continued…
48
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