BISC209/S12: Assignment 209 Lab10

Final Paper: Bacterial Diversity and Abundance in a Soil Community: Co-operation and Competition

Due on April 24 if you are in the Tuesday lab or on April 25 if you are in the Wednesday lab. All papers due by 4pm on the day specified.

You will write a full scientific paper on our semester-long project, Abundance and Richness and Community Behavior of Microorganisms in a Soil Community in the Tropical House of the Wellesley College Greenhouses. Required elements are title, abstract (both graphical and in narrative form), introduction, M&M, results (including a narrative as well as figures and/or tables) , discussion, references. This research report should use experimental evidence from your work this semester to explore our topic: abundance, diversity, and community behavior among microbes in a soil community. You will use experimental evidence to answer our investigative questions: "How crowded is this community? How diverse? How do individuals in the community find a niche (compete for limited resources and/or co-operate to provide useable resources for others)?".

In your graded assignments, you have gotten feedback on several partial or draft sections of this paper. Pay close attention your instructor's comments and suggestions and seek clarification if needed. Please refer to information about writing in science style found in the Resources section of this wiki and in Sakai. Particularly helpful is the information found in the Science Writing folder in Resources on Sakai, particularly the Structure of Science Writing Handout. A grading rubric will also be posted there. Please download and refer to it BEFORE and AS you write your paper. Good luck.