I need to think of 3 long term research projects for my science research class. its cant be comparative and we cant use vertebrae. i was thinking of doing something wit plants, but all i need right now are some topics. btw this is due the 2nd day of class which is the 6th. so if any1 can help that would be awesome
What are your resources? Do you have specific plants, animals, instruments, etc? Do you have a microscope? We need info dude.
How long term are we talking about here? As spuriousmonkey asked, what kind of resources do you have? Is it a project you're going to actually going to continue with or are you just coming up with ideas for a basic report or something? Well, based on the info you gave (which isn't much Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! ) I suggest a battery of ecological surveys of a plant species in your vicinity. In ecology lab I did a survey of reproductive success in plantain in a local graveyard. You can also look at spacial distribution of plants, competition and resource allocation etc... If you don't have anything other than time and a computer, ecological surveys are your way to go Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! As for a specfic study, you might see if there are any restored natural areas near you (prairie, woods, fen etc...) and compare species diversity in these restored sites to non-restored remnant natural areas. This is a common study performed by restoration ecologists to determine the success of their restoration efforts. Visit the nature conservancy's web site nature.org for areas near you. Try looking up some primary literature in the area of study you're interested in to see what kinds of experimental designs they used. If you give more details I'm sure we can be of more help. Jessica ~Oo~
ok, i dont kno wut plant i'll use right now. but it'll probably cheap and fast growing. 2nd it should last time late may
Thanks, that helps, I suggest Arabidopsis thaliana then. It comes in many mutations and has a short generational time. Are you trying to do a genetic experiment or an experiment dealing with plant physiology (photoperiod etc..)? For more information try arabidopsis.org They have a large supply of seed stocks in mutant and wild type. Its a fun website, you can order by phenotype or allele. If you're wanting to do genetic crosses, it would be a good place to start. ETA: Now that I've looked at their catalog more, I think I'm going to have to get a few mutant lines and start some crosses for fun Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image! Now see what you've gotten me into LOL
I've worked with Arabidopsis and I do not like it at all. They were extremely difficult to work with and I made every effort to maintain a suitable environment. I like working with Limax maximus, personally. Or bacteria. They aren't so finicky...
if you dont find any suitable plant, you can try making antfarm or grow bacteria in chicken soup(jelly)
You could go with selective breeding/cloning of any particular plant. Preferably a plant that can be crossbred with another plant in it's sub-species category.
