Tropical Biology Questions - San Salvador 2007

The list of questions that follows this introduction is intended to provide you with a focus in keeping field notes and in writing your papers for the tropical biology course. Your field notes should include coverage of both terrestrial and marine ecosystems as the course progresses. Naturally, you may include appropriate phenomena not directly addressed by the questions when answering them. You will not be penalized for evidence of thinking or for speculation! Please note that library research is expected but we are also looking for your in-person observations of ecosystems on San Salvador.

In this course you must turn in two or three papers. All students will write one paper on terrestrial ecosystems and one paper on marine ecosystems. Students hoping for Biology 3** credit toward the major must also submit a transect survey field report (see additional handouts). Each of these papers must follow the guidelines. Failure to submit the required papers at college-level quality, will result in a grade of "F" for the course.

In grading your papers, the instructors will take into consideration your major, your class-level, and the science courses that you have taken (including Tropical Biology-Belize). It is expected that seniors with much experience will submit focused, insightful, synthetic, and well-written papers. The expectations for underclassmen are adjusted to account for less experience. The attached cover sheet must accompany your papers to assist the grading process. Finally, keep in mind that the instructors' observations of your attitude and attention during the field section of this course also contribute to your final course grade.

Terrestrial Ecosystem

In your first paper, respond to the following:

In what ways have San Salvador's geographic location, geologic origin and climate influenced its terrestrial flora and fauna? In answering this question, you should consider:

• the native flora and fauna present at the time Columbus landed and the flora and fauna present now; and
• how the plant communities presently inhabiting San Salvador compare with those of the continents and other islands in the region (e.g., Caribbean; Bermuda) with regard to taxonomic diversity (e.g., species genera, families, etc.) and relative abundance (predominant versus rare plants); and
• the reasons for the observed patterns in the distribution, diversity and abundance.

Marine Ecosystem

In your second paper, respond to the following:

In what ways have San Salvador's geographic location, geologic origin and climate influenced its marine flora and fauna? In answering this question, you should consider:

• the various kinds of marine habitats you visited around San Salvador; and
• how the coral reef communities (i.e., algae; corals and other invertebrates; fish) of San Salvador compare to those of other islands in the region (e.g., Caribbean; Bermuda) with regard to taxonomic diversity (e.g., species, genera, families, etc.) and relative abundance (predominant versus rare organisms); and
• the reasons for the observed patterns in the distribution, diversity and abundance.

Guidelines for Writing Essays

Here are a few guidelines for you to follow when you write your papers. For a more thorough introduction to writing about science please consult Jan A. Pechenik's A Short Guide to Writing about Biology (Addison-Wesley Educational Publishers, Inc.).

1. Papers must be typed (12 point font) and double-spaced with a one-inch margin on all four sides.
2. Library research is expected and citations must follow general scientific usage. Generally ideas are paraphrased rather than quoted, but all paraphrased ideas must be credited to the original author. You do this in one of two ways in the body of your papers: 1. (Author date) if author is not part of the sentence . . . or 2. Author (date) if author is used in the sentence.

Example Citations Within the Essay:

a. The spurge group is the largest genus within the order Euphorbiales (Curtis 1975). or. .

b. Felgenhauer and Abele (1985) believe that grapsid crabs probably have the widest ecological distribution among decapod crustaceans.

Example Citation References in the Literature Cited:
This section must appear at the end of each essay and there must be a full reference for each citation in the body of your paper.

a. Books:
Curtis, E.W. 1975. Bermuda - a floral sampler. Bermuda Press Ltd., Bermuda. 52p.

b. Journals:
Felgenhauer, B.E. and L.G. Abele. 1983. Branchial water movement in the grapsid crab Sesarma teticulatum Say. Journal of Crustacean Biology 3:187- 195.

There must be a one-to-one correspondence between literature cited in the text of your papers and the alphabetized references in the "Literature Cited" section at the end of your essays.

3. There should be NO footnotes, under any circumstances.
4. The length of EACH of the essays should be about five pages but no more than six pages. The total number of pages, then, will be approximately ten and not more than twelve for the two essays.
5. Try to make your essays a synthesis of 1) what you have learned in other courses, 2) what you have learned about Tropical Biology by reading, and 3) what you learned about San Salvador through your own observations while there (this is where thorough, detailed field notes are invaluable). We do not want essays that could have been written without your ever having been to the Bahamas. All three components are critical to each essay!
6. You should keep a copy of your essays before you turn them in. This would be critical should a package be "lost" in the mail, etc.
7. Essays must be turned in by July 16, 2007, to either Dr. Booth, or Dr. Koning. If you plan to mail your essays to the University, the postmark must read no later than the given date. Lateness will result in substantial grading penalties. There are NO acceptable excuses for late essays!

Tropical Biology - San Salvador 2007

Cover Sheet for BIO 320 Papers

This sheet must accompany the two essays (and field report, if pertinent) to be submitted for grading purposes. The pages for each paper should be stapled in the upper-left corner. Both papers must have the topic (Terrestrial Ecosystem or Marine Ecosystem) and your name on the front page. The two stapled papers (and field report, if pertinent) should be placed in a large envelope along with this cover sheet. Please do not submit your papers in sleeves, binders, folders or other covers. The envelope must be received, or postmarked, by July 16, 2007.

Name___________________________________________ Major:_____________________

Including Spring 2007, I have been a college student for ______ semesters and I have ______ credits on my transcript.

I have checked off the courses I have taken at or transferred to Eastern:

I have taken the following geology or earth-science courses:

  I have proof-read my papers and I have thoroughly edited and revised them at least once.

Pointers for your papers

(based upon papers from past years)

By proof-reading, we mean that you have:

• examined your papers closely
• read them thoroughly
• revised them more than once (do not submit a first draft!)
• used a spelling checker
• used a Collegiate Dictionary or a Biology book to check the spelling of words not in the computer's dictionary
• examined each sentence for number agreement (i.e., to be sure that, if you have a plural subject, the verb is also in a plural form: One goose is; three geese are).

While there may be some moss on San Salvador, it is limited to a few patches in marshy zones inland; at the shore you are observing algae or other organisms, not moss! There are no marine mosses.

If you have one individual, it is an alga. If you have two, then you have algae. There is no such word as algaes.

Organisms do not attract rain or sunlight. One may use water or light more efficiently than another. A plant might reorient its leaves to intercept more light; it might reshape its leaves to redirect water to its roots. But an organism can only collect the light or rain that falls upon it; there is no "magnetism" with respect to falling water or light.

What you find in a location is determined in part by how carefully you look. Be careful not to say that one place where you searched thoroughly by turning rocks and spending hours has more species than another place where you merely swam by.

Desiccation...spell it correctly.

Turbidity and turbulence are different qualities of water. Be careful to use the correct one!

Use the word effect when you mean "a result" as in "the effect of this treatment was" and never use the word effected in your papers (there are better ways to say what you mean).

Do not use these words at all: affect, affected or affecting. Again, there are better words to use. If you mean that a factor influenced something, well, did it increase or decrease it? Increase or decrease, exacerbate or ameliorate, stimulate or inhibit and accelerate or retard are far better word choices than affected because they tell the direction of the influence!

Throughout is a single compound word. It is NOT two words.

Be sure that your each of your papers demonstrates

• your learning about the subject both from reading in books or journals
• your personal experiences on San Salvador!
• your previous course experience

This page © Ross E. Koning 1994.

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Send comments and bug reports to Ross Koning at rkoning@snet.net.