Openbiology/2BIO/BiologicalInvestigations

The great tragedy of science - the slaying of a beautiful hypothesis by an ugly fact - Thomas Huxley

Introduction
Living systems are organised and regulate themselves at the cell, organism, and ecosystem levels. Each of these dynamic systems maintains stability in response to a changing environment and their responses in turn impact on the environment.

Cant remember this stuff? You need to go over it then!

Take a look here for help on the seven characteristic of life, and here for more information on the five kingdoms. Have a go using classification keys here. General cell theory can be reviewed at the cells alive website, biology for kids, or for more detail check out the [http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/begin/cells/ Learn. Genetics] site.

Living Systems
Living systems are organised and regulate themselves at the cell, organism, and ecosystem levels.

Levels of organisation
Scientists organise life into different levels of organisation. Multicellular organisms are complex, we have big bodies that are capable of performing complex tasks, and exploiting different environments. Biological organisation breaks down living organisms to different levels, or increasing complexity. This organisation provides a framework for understanding and scientific study.

Model Ecosystem
By studying different environments, and modelling these we can show an understanding of ecological principles. Ecosystems can be as small as a puddle or as large as a continent. An ecosystem is a community where lots of different populations of organisms interact with each other, and the other non-living factors in the environment. The biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) factors constantly affect one another. Ecosystems are dynamic - always changing, adjusting, and being affected. Energy typically enters the ecosystem through photosynthetic organisms capturing sunlight energy and converting it into glucose, which is then eaten (consumed) by other organisms. Populations inhabit different habitats, and exploit slightly different niches within these habitats to avoid competition. Different ecosystems can include:


 * Forest
 * Human
 * Urban
 * Inland
 * Geothermal
 * Coastal Marine
 * Riparian zone
 * River
 * Freshwater lake
 * Pond
 * Cave
 * Desert
 * Alpine
 * Littoral Marine
 * Deep sea Marine and many more...

There are many ecosystems found in NZ, and many of them are considered to be very rare.

Ecological Principles

 * Organisms have an optimal range of different environmental factors within which they are able to live successfully. This determines where they are able to live.
 * Organisms have a niche within their habitat. This is when they are active, where and what they feed on. This allows different organisms to survive in the same habitat by reducing competition.
 * A habitat is where a population lives, and the niche is the organisms activity within that habitat e.g. when it is active, and what it feeds on.
 * A population is a group of individuals from the same species living in one place.
 * A community holds many populations in one place.

Responses
'''Living systems are organised and regulate themselves at the cell, organism, and ecosystem levels. Each of these dynamic systems maintains stability in response to changing environments.'''

Scientific research
Scientists develop new ideas through research, and relate current scientific knowledge into work on the interactions of organisms with the environment (in the lab).

Scientific research always follows the same process, as shown above. Ideas must be presented in some form to the scientific community, and/or the public. Most research is written in a scientific journal article, or presented in a scientific poster at conference before being presented to the public. Scientific publications undergo intense peer scrutiny before being able to be published. The general format of a scientific report is as follows (keeping in mind this is for publication, what YOU need to do is a little less detailed!)


 * Title: This includes a very detailed description of the project e.g. "Intermittent access to beer promotes binge-like drinking in adolescent but not adult Wistar rats"
 * Abstract: This is a paragraph that summarises the most important parts of the entire report. This is useful for scientists, who can then read the abstract first before deciding if they want to read the entire report.
 * Introduction: This provides important background information for the report.
 * Aim: The general aim of the research e.g. To find the effect of light intensity on the growth of pine trees.
 * Hypothesis: The specific guess at results e.g. As light intensity increases it is hypothesised that the pine tree growth will increase.
 * Method: A detailed description of how the research was conducted - in enough detail that you could repeat the experiment after reading it.
 * Results: This includes a visual display of results and a written description of significant trends shown.
 * Discussion: Explanation of results in a scientific bases, comparison with other related reserarch, and analysis of the validity of the method and results.
 * References: A list of references cited during the report.

Other factors to consider in the evaluation of reports, or the planning of your own research are: *Fair testing: Is the experimental method designed in a way that actually tests the aim / hypothesis?


 * Control of variables: Are there other factors in the method that may influence the results?
 * Range of the independent variable: If you are changing a factor e.g. salinity have you got a valid range - having just freshwater and really salty will not allow you to draw valid conclusions from the data.
 * Measurement of the dependant variable: Was this measured accurately?
 * Validity of results: Was you method vaild and fair? Did you repeat your research enough so that you have confidence for your results?

Investigation: Artemia responses
You may want to start your research with some of these websites:


 * http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/W3732E/w3732e0m.htm
 * http://www.petworld.co.nz/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=23&amp;Itemid=26
 * http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/salt/3/1
 * elmu.umm.ac.id/file.php/1/jurnal/J-a/.../Vol244.Issue1.../3378.pdf

Evaluate explanations
As we learnt earlier, peer review is an important part of the scientific process.

Issue: Dairy run-off
Now that you have looked at ecosystems, the scientific process, and the peer review process you are going to examine an issue and apply your understanding to that issue.

Interactions
'''Organisms responses to changing environments in turn impact the environment. '''

Field work
How do scientists study ecology in the field? What different techniques do they use, and how do they know which technique is appropriate for each different organism or environment?

Investigation: Rocky Shore
The ecosystem that we are going to study in the field is the rocky shore. You are going to plan, carry out, and write up a study of an aspect of the ecology of organisms living in this environment. New Zealand has a relatively large amount of coastline compared to other countries. This coastline can be varied - from cliffs to sandy beaches, estuaries, and rocky shores. Life on the rocky shore is not easy; with the rise and fall of the tide the animals and plants are exposed to the air, and then covered by water again. Each time the tide goes out it leaves behind a layer of food on the rocks. On its return, the sea is rich with millions of tiny plants and animals (plankton) feeding the larger animals of the rocky shore. Salinity, water, wave action, competition and predation are all factors affecting survival chances on the rocky shore. Here's a few websites to start your research:


 * National Aquarium of NZ
 * National Library
 * Otago University produced resources
 * Te Ara NZ Encyclopedia
 * Seaweek
 * Goat Island

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Peer review
As we learnt earlier, peer review is an important part of the scientific process.

Issue: Long bay marine reserve
You have examined the tolerance of a sea organism, and studied distribution of populations on the rocky shore. Now you are going to use this knowledge to examine another local area.