Honors BIOL 1108K Dr.

Orfinger Spring 2024

Assignment 3
Questions to answer for this assignment:
1. What are primary producers in the ecosystem we are exploring?
2. What are primary consumers?
3. What are decomposers?
4. What are the biotic factors in this ecosystem?
5. What are the abiotic factors?
6. When the population density of brine shrimps is low there is abundant food, how can you
measure the amount of food?
7. Are you able to see the brine shrimps mating?
8. What are the trophic levels of the two organisms?
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Honors BIOL 1108K Dr. Orfinger Spring 2024

Begin formatting your oral presentation (your rough draft will be checked in a few weeks):
There are several parts to the oral presentation. See the template in Georgia View as an example
framework. One strategy to complete the task would be to assign roles and have each member do
a share of the work. You may be asked at the end of the experience to confidentially grade your
fellow team members on their involvement in the project.
Oral presentation components:
Introduction: The introduction is where the importance of this research is discussed. What is the
Problem? Why is this project of interest. Who are the stakeholders? What is known about the
problem, what are solutions to the problem already being discovered, and how is this research
contributing to the solution. Include enough background to understand the problem and purpose
of this project. In this section, discuss the aquatic model. Characterize the algae: include the
name, size, morphology, color, where it is found in the environment, its optimal growth
conditions discussed in literature, what is its food source and anything you find interesting about
the algae? Discuss the brine shrimp characteristics. What are brine shrimp? Where do they live?
What do they look like? What do they eat? How do they reproduce? What eats them? What is
their environment like physically? Where is it found in nature, what is its food supply and what
is already known about it? Discuss the research question and explain the purpose of what is
being done in this CURE. What has been done and what is known about the capacity of this
organisms as an aquatic model for toxicity? Include the research questions to be answered by the
research conducted.
Material and Methods: Describe where you obtained the aquatic kit. A pamphlet came along
with the kits. More technical information about the organism can be obtained through the website
Algae Research Supply https://algaeresearchsupply.com/. Also on the website, find information
about the growth media for the original algae. Describe the initial inoculation process and where
it was grown. Describe the growth conditions, the temperature, light, growth tents. What was
done about the gas exchange? Be as specific with the details of the protocols so if another lab
wants to repeat the experiment there are no questions about the protocol.
Results: Describe the results by explaining the process and what happened. Tables, figures,
pictures are perfect for this section. This is where the data from the experiment is presented. The
dependent variables are described.
Discussion and Conclusions: Describe the process and discuss the findings of this research. In
this section, compare your results with the literature. Use at least two resources to compare your
results. Discuss issues with the protocols, what can be done better, and the next step in the
research.
References: Cite all references used in the research using APA style.

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Honors BIOL 1108K Dr. Orfinger Spring 2024