(Friendly) War of the 18 Questions
Congrats for finishing up the semifinals of our 65 ->18 -> 5 question pipeline! Hope we are excited to be heading towards the final of our quest for a research question. Our MC Stella did a great job keeping our class on track today and was receptive to the needs of the class! We were very progressive today and cannot wait to see the discussion on these amazing topics this coming Friday.
Our meeting minutes:
Narrowing down the Ideas
In the beginning of class, we reviewed the 18 questions that everyone had brought and Marshall sent us a google form to rank the questions based on feasibility, timelines, possible materials needed, etc. We then split up into our assigned groups and discussed the questions with the help of the organized rankings.
Sharing Ideas
Below is an overview of some of the questions* our class is considering working with us! The groups are arranged in no particular order.
Group 1: How does anthropogenic noise affect squirrel behavior/health in populations near campus compared to Putah Creek?
Want to test noise pollution. Mentioned variable of traffic and would be interested in monitoring on the behavior of squirrels
Groups 2: The wolf spider and behavior related to their egg sac
How do they recognize their own egg sac?
How does their personality vary and do offspring have a similar personality to parents?
What affects the rate of cannibalism of eggs?
Group 3: Squirrel behavior and influence of human interaction
Squirrel behavior and survival vary in urban/rural areas
Group 4: Noise on red winged black birds
Territorial males
Flight response or any reaction to the noise
Human interaction
Noise pollution
Group 5: Soapberry bugs microbiome
Easy to collect and manipulate due to population
Feed on different plants, effects on the microbiome community?
Little to none microbiome research on soapberry bugs
*These are subject to change but it helps give you an idea of the possible future projects.
Literature Research
After discussion of our chosen topics, we set off on a literature search! Everyone learned new things about their organism and ecosystem and began to compile a list of research papers in Zotero. A huge thank you to Marshall (ABI 198 Blathers) for facilitating and providing help to the individual groups.
Presentation Preparation
During literature research, we also all spent some time talking about how to make our Friday presentations smooth.
Presentations will take about 5-10 minutes per group (give or take) and a message for a PowerPoint template was sent in the slack to give you an idea of what points to hit. It is also stated below in “Homework”. It is not necessary to follow the template exactly but may be helpful in the presentation building.
Remember this is an informal presentation! Have fun discussing, debating, and asking questions about your peers’ presentations :). Persuade your audience but also be open minded and respectful. Though it may seem like it really is a war of the 5 questions, remember we are working towards a common goal!
Homework:
Presentation (5-10 Minutes)
In slide formats, roughly 10 min presentations:
Title
Biology of study species as relevant to question (aka general knowledge of species these)
Question for study
Materials/Methods/Timeline/location
Relevance of study
Limitations/foreseen issues (and how you plan to address them)
Why choose you over others (be respectful and focus on positives of yours vs why you disliking others, rebuttals saved for discussion)
R3 Due (4/19)
How to do Ecology Chapter 5 Reading Due
Next Class (4/19)
Final Round: Narrowing Down to One!
Mamta Rajput
& Kathleen Teel
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