Research Paper – The Evolution of a Trait or Characteristic in Group

advertisement
Research Paper: An Adaptive Trait or Characteristic in Group of Organisms
Your assignment is to choose an adaptive trait or characteristic (a behavior, an anatomical
structure, a physiological capability, etc.) found a species or higher taxonomic grouping that you
find interesting, and write a report on the evolution of that trait. You will find some suggestions
on the back of this page, but you may choose a different topic. Your paper should take the form
of an essay arguing why the trait(s) you have chosen is an adaptation.
PAPERS ARE DUE: April --, 2006. They will be graded out of 100 points and you will lose 5
points for each day the paper is late (including weekends and holidays!). Outlines are due March
--, 2006.
Specifics
Your paper should include the following:
1) A thorough description of the trait so that a reader with no prior knowledge can
understand the trait, the addition of a diagram may be used for complicated
structures.
2) A description of the function of the trait; what is it used for in the organisms that
possess it and how does it work?
3) What is the evidence on whether or not the trait is adaptive, that it actually increases
the fitness of individuals who possess the trait.
4) A description of the evolution of the trait:
Where did it first appear in the phylogeny of the group? What type of evidence
(molecular, morphological, developmental) is being used to reveal the phylogeny of
the trait? If possible, map the evolution of the character on an available
phylogenetic tree. Do other groups posses the trait? If so, are the traits homologous
or analogous in the different groups? Etc.
You may cover these in any order you deem appropriate, but make sure there is a clear and
logical flow to how you organize the materials. Your paper should be well structured, with a
descriptive introduction and conclusion. Each paragraph should be coherent, addressing a single
point or idea. Paragraphs should flow well from one to the next, so that the paper is easy to read.
PROOF READ. PROOF READ your paper by reading it aloud, edit, and proof read it again!
Then have someone else proof read your paper. Most word processing programs contain both
spelling and grammar checking functions, use them, and when in doubt, use a dictionary or your
source material.
The paper should be approximately 5 pages (typed, double-spaced, 12 point standard font) of
text. Be sure to include the title, your name, the course and date at the beginning of the paper.
You will need to have a minimum of 4 scientific references, which will be listed in a
“References” or “Literature Cited” section at the end of your paper. References from scientific
journals are preferred, however, some books, book chapters, or monographs may count. If you
are not sure about a source, ask your instructor. Popular science magazines, newspapers, and
web sources may also be used in addition to your primary science articles. One of the goals of
this paper is to have you read real research articles written by scientists. Some source material
may be found on the web (author websites often have pdf versions of articles and some journal
websites allow you to download articles), but you will need to spend some time in the library.
Wikipeadia IS NOT a valid reference (though it may help in the understanding of a topic and
1
direct you towards good sources). Again, if you are not sure about a reference, ask your
instructor, we are here to help you learn.
Literature Cited
Any information that you use from another source needs to be referenced, otherwise this is
plagiarism. Whenever possible, avoid using direct quotes. Instead, read your references until
you understand them (this will mean several readings), and then write your paper in your own
words. But remember to cite the source of any information within the body of your paper. Even
when you do not quote directly, you need to tell the reader where the information came from by
giving the last name of the author(s) and the year of publication of the reference in parentheses at
the end of the sentence or paragraph in your paper.
For example:
Whereas Bradbury (1977) employs a precisely delineated definition of the mating system in
question, other researchers use a much looser definition (Höglund and Alatalo 1995).
If more than two authors, use: ...(Silander et al., 1993). Note: et al. is Latin for et alii, meaning
“and others”. Because it is Latin, you need to underline or italicize the words. Note that et is not
an abbreviation, whereas alii is abbreviated (hence the period).
Once you have read a couple of articles, you will see this citation method in action, and it will
make more sense to you. The complete references should be placed in a section entitled
“Literature Cited” or “References” at the end of your report.
The appropriate format for a book is:
Höglund, J. and R. V. Alatalo. 1995. Leks. Princeton University Press, Princeton New Jersey.
(Note that the title of the book can be italicized or underlined).
The appropriate format for a journal article is:
Bradbury, J. W. 1977. Lek mating behavior in the Hammer-headed bat. Z. Tierpsychol., 45: 225255. (Note that the title of the journal should be italicized or underlined, but the title of the article
is neither underlined nor italicized. The ‘45’ referes to the journal volume number, and the ‘225255’ refer to the page numbers within the journal.)
The appropriate format for a chapter in a book is:
Bradbury, J. W. and R. M. Gibson 1983. Leks and mate choice. In: Mate Choice. Ed. P. Bateson,
pp. 109-138. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. (Note that the title of the book is
italicized or underlined, but the title of the chapter is not. Also, there may not be an editor.)
Any references that are from the web (including pdf’s and official journal articles) must also
include the URL at the end of the citation.
2
Possible Topics for Paper:
There are a gazillion possible topics to write about that can be found in the natural world.
Just look around if you are not sure. Try to choose topics that are interesting to YOU, this will
make the paper much more fun to write. If you are not sure about how suitable your chosen
topic is, ask your professor. Keep in mind that some topics may be too big for the format of this
paper whereas others may be so specialized that there are not enough references for this paper.
Start researching this paper now so you can make sure there are enough sources to the topic you
want to write about. Here is just a sampling of ideas.
Color vision in humans or primates
Swords in swordtail fish
Spines in marine invertebrate larvae
Spines in stickleback fish
Stripes in Zebras (or tigers)
Mimicry in butterflies
Wings design in insects
Feathers in birds
Feather color patterns in birds
Hollow bones in birds
Flower color or shape in angiosperms
Tips for Researching:






You can find Academic Search Engines on the SCCC Library Website
http://www.sunysuffolk.edu/Web/Selden/Library/frame_5.html
Article First works well
This search engine will provide you articles from scientific journals.
Many articles will not be available online. You will simply get the Author, Date,
Title, Journal name, volume and page numbers so that you can go to a library and
find the article in print.
Many of the scientific journals are not carried by Suffolk’s Library so you will have to go
to Stony Brook to find them. See me for specific directions if you are going to Stony
Brook’s library.
The Proceedings of the National Academy of Science has a web site (www.pnas.org) that
has its own search feature. Many of their articles have the full text available online.
Google’s Scholar search engine (http://scholar.google.com) can be very useful for finding
references within certain topics. However, unlike PNAS, few of these will have full text
available online, you will still have to go to Stony Brook to find them.
Once you find one good article, try searching using the Author’s Last name to find
additional articles. Many scientists will publish several articles on the same subject.
Once you find one good article, check the literature cited (bibliography) section of that
article for additional references on the same subject.
3
Download