Independent Research Project

During this semester you will have the opportunity to conduct your own short-term independent research project and present it to the class as a PowerPoint presentation during the finals period. The project can be on any topic related to Ecology and Evolution. It can be either experimental (differences in bird behavior at a well-stocked vs. a poorly-stocked feeder) or descriptive (Insects found at two different research sites). In deciding your project, keep the following in mind:

1. You must get an OK from me before beginning the project. This is not to limit your choice of projects, it's just so I can make sure your experimental design is sufficient, that you aren't taking too much on, and so I can point you to some resources. You should make a decision about your project and have it cleared by the end of the third week.
2. Your project will probably run from three to six weeks, depending on your weekly commitment or if the project depends on climate change.
3. The data you collect must be quantitative. You need counts of number of species, duration of behaviors, measurements of plant heights, etc. Your quantitative data must be analyzed and described with a mean. The data need to be plotted using Excel.
4. The data must be comparative: compare insects at two sites, changes in stream chemistry before and after a rain, differences in the behavior of male and female ducks, fossil differences across time or at different sites.
5. In addition to the PowerPoint presentation, you will also provide a written report in Word format.

I am less interested in the validity of your project than in your having the experience of putting together a project and the insights you'll get into scientific research and a topic in evolutionary or ecological biology. Follow the scientific method. Make a hypothesis, and then form a plan to prove or disprove the hypothesis. If your hypothesis turns out to be false, don't worry. That won't affect your grade. If your project gets wiped out by a storm or early snowfall, don't worry; we'll figure out some way of over coming the loss. The main thing is that this should be an enjoyable experience, so don't panic!

Example projects can be found here.

Projects You May Wish to Consider

• Expand the flower communities project to include more sites and time. Actually identify the animals.
• Compare and contrast the number and type of insects on a herbicide-treated lawn vs. a chemically-clean lawn.
• Compare the chemical or biological differences between a clean and polluted stream.
• Behavior of birds at a bird feeder. Also see the Wild Birds Unlimited Feeder CAM (you could actually use this for a study)
• Schooling behavior of fish (in a tank): effects of feeding, time of day, etc.
• Display in Siamese fighting fish: Costs and benefits.
• Differences in insect or plant species found in a field and a nearby forest.
• Effect of lawn depth on number of species that visit an area.
• Insect collection and identification in two different areas.
• The compost ecosystem: effects of temperature and rainfall on diversity.
• Pill bug habitat selection.
• Interactions among animals of the same species (at zoo, in back yard, etc.).
• Expand the fossil communities project.
• Distribution of plants in a suburban lawn.
• Adaptive characteristics of various zoo animals.
• Development of foraging behavior in kittens.
• Comparison of insects trapped by spiders with different webs.
• Spider distributions.
• Human non-verbal communication (this would be an evolutionary project).