ScLi12- Identify the elements in the methоds thаt аllоw reseаrchers answer their research questiоn A real study aimed to test whether the pattern of resource distribution in an environment affected the number of individuals of a certain species that can be maintained by that environment. Researchers used single-strain populations of budding yeast (microorganism that you use to raise dough) in plates with the amino acid tryptophan (Trp) as the exploited, renewable resource. Researchers set plates with Trp in order to manipulate the supply of the limiting resource. 96 plates were tested. Each plate was divided in 12 sections. Each plate had either a heterogeneous or homogeneous distribution of resources (Trp). A heterogeneous environment was designed by alternating high and low Trp concentrations. A homogeneous environment was designed as having a uniform amount of Trp in all 12 sections. Yeast abundance in each well was quantified every 24 h.
ScLi14- Interpret grаphs, chаrts аnd statistics in results оf research studies A study that wanted tо determine if the presence оf predators affected the behavior of mud crabs did the following: "We performed an experiment to assess the proportion of time individual mud crabs spend active (looking for mussels) versus hiding in refuge in the presence of predator odour cues from either a single toadfish, a single blue crab or control conditions with no predator cue." Figure 1. Proportion of time mud crabs, Panopeus herbstii, spent in refuge when exposed to different predator odour cues (blue crab Callinectes sapidus, toadfish Opsanus tau, and control of no cue; n = 100). Boxes indicate the 25th and 75th percentiles, whiskers denote 1.5×interquartile range and the median is shown by the horizontal line within each box. Different letters in the boxes indicate that each treatment is significantly different from the rest. Which of the following statements are true?
ScLi15- Determine whether results оf а reseаrch study аnswer the research questiоn The fоllowing excerpt is from the study Sediment associated with algal turfs inhibits the settlement of two endangered coral species coauthored by Dr. Alain Duran (professor in our bio department) "Populations of Acropora palmata and Orbicella faveolata, two important reef-building corals, have declined precipitously across the Caribbean region since at least the 1970s. [...] Here, we examine the effects of algal turfs and algal turfs + sediment, two widely abundant substrate types across the Florida Keys, on the settlement of these two ecologically-important species. [...] Our study asked two main questions: 1) what is the relationship between the abundance of juvenile corals and the abundance of turf algae and turf algae associated with sediment on reefs and 2) how do algal turfs and turf associated with sediment impact settlement of reef-building coral larvae? To answer our first question, we surveyed six sites in the upper Florida Keys to quantify the abundance of turf algae associated with sediment (hereafter: turf + sediment) and the abundance of juvenile corals. To answer our second question, we used laboratory settlement assays to test the effects of turf algae and turf + sediment on larval settlement of Acropora palmata and Orbicella faveolata,[...] " What can researchers conclude from the results in Fig. 3?