BMCC Comparative Animal Physiology Questions

Stevenson – 2023 HW03 Reading Primary Literature Comparative Animal Physiology Biology 337-339 Due 6 Feb Midnight 5 points Reading Primary Literature Assignment I. Complete an analysis of structure and content of two scientific papers about animal physiology from the primary literature. At least one of the papers should be one not used in assignment 1. These papers are about how animal works. They can focus at one or more levels of biological organization – the cellular, tissue, organ, organ system or whole organism level and they can focus on any of Tinbergen’s four questions. Due Monday Feb 8th by midnight uploaded to blackboard. Check before hand to make sure you know how to upload multiple files. Step 1. Locate two scientific papers following the same procedures as in Assignment 1. Get at least one paper from one of the following 3 journals: 1) Journal of Comparative Physiology A & B 2) Physiological and Biochemistry Zoology 3) Journal of Experimental Biology The remaining paper can come from the following journals as long as they are about Physiology. Science, Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS), Journal of Physiology, Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology, American Journal of Physiology (many sections), Conservation Physiology, Functional Ecology, Biological Bulletin, Journal of Thermal Biology & Journal of Insect Physiology, Thermal Biology, or one not on this list but that I have OKed. Step 2. Analyze the two primary scientific data paper. Turn in your evaluation the papers (remember these papers must be original research papers from the primary literature, not a news article, a review, commentary or perspectives paper) First skim the papers. Read the title, then the abstract and look at the tables and figures in the results. Then just follow your instincts and curiosity. Placement of the paper within the area of Comparative Animal Physiology: Approach/ Topic Some options to consider. What is the nature of the comparative element – Comparisons across species, Implicitly or explicitly phylogenetic analysis, Allometric analysis, non NIH model organisms investigated (not rat, mouse, Drosophila, yeast, E. coli, C. elegans, Arabodopsis, etc. the heroes of cell and molecular biology), topics such as Thermoregulation, Metabolism, Feeding and Digestions, Neurology, Endocrinology, Feeding and Digestion, Nutrition, Growth, Reproduction, Locomotion, Circulation, Respiration, Water Balance, Ionic Regulation, and Excretion are the ones to focus on. Your review describe each of the paper’s elements listed below. The questions after the elements are meant to guide your analysis and writing. You should not try to answer every single question in a row but instead read the paper carefully to provide a written synopsis of each section of the paper. Title: Is the title effective and informative? See https://plos.org/resource/how-to-write-agreat-title/ as a guide to writing a title. Introduction What topic(s) are the scientists addressing? What is the area or topic of physiology? What are the levels in the biological hierarchy from molecule to whole organism being studied? What fundamental physiological processes and themes were they studying? What other physiologists and biologists would be interested in this paper? Who do the authors hope will read the paper? How do they introduce the subject? How do they relate their specific experiments to other studies that have been published? How did they justify doing the studying? Why did they say their paper was new and interesting? Just at the end of the introduction, the last paragraph before the methods, authors usually list the specific questions or topics they are going to address in the paper. What are those questions or hypotheses? Methods and Materials What is/are the experimental organism, organ system, tissue or cell type? Was this work done in the laboratory, in the field or in both places? What techniques were used for this study? What instruments were required for these techniques? Is there anything especially novel or unusual about their methods that would suggest why these experiments have not been done before? Results To summarize the results, go paragraph by paragraph in the Results section and ask yourself “What are the authors trying to show?” For each result, study the supporting figures and tables the authors reference in the text. Describe how the order of the results match the order of the questions posed at the end of the introduction? What is their logic of presentation? After you have thought about these questions, write you paragraph about the results. Discussion In what order are the results discussed? Does the order parallel the order in the presentation of the results? How has this research changed the way people think about the world? Were there any new “facts” discovered? Do they discuss the implication of their findings for other research? Did they suggest what kinds of studies might be done next? Who funded the research? Could that influence the work? Your interpretation How important do you judge this paper to be? Do you think the techniques were difficult? What ideas or techniques were difficult to understand? List any terms you were unable to understand or had to look up in a biology textbook or online. After reading the paper, would you like to participate in this research? To upload 2 PDFs 1 response document Tips and Mistakes to avoid. 1) Look for papers that say “Research Article”, NOT a commentary article or review article. It needs to have methods, results and discussions sections 2) Recommend that you name the PDF files with the author, year and title: For example, Harano et al 2020. Adjustment of fuel loads in stingless bees (Melipona subnitida) 3) Do not forgot to upload all 2 journal articles 4) Make sure the PDFs match the papers you write about 5) Please do not upload papers in a zip file. I do not have time and space to down the zip file, unzip and the read the papers

• Grid View