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Term paper topics – Winter 2009
ENVR 202 (section 01) – The Evolving Earth
TERM PAPER ASSIGNMENT
The term paper project this year exists in four variations, each the responsibility of one of the four
professors. You need to start right away and manage your work effectively throughout the semester to do
well on this project. MORE IMMEDIATELY, YOU NEED TO READ THIS ENTIRE HANDOUT – IT MAKES CLEAR
OUR EXPECTATIONS FOR APPROACH, CONTENT, FORMAT, DEADLINES, AND LATE PENALTIES. We will
mark accordingly. If you hope to do well, pay close attention to instructions and ask for clarification of
anything that is unclear to you. This is definitely not a paper that can be left to the last few weeks of
semester – you already have an important choice to make next week!
Two components, three deadlines
1. Get started right away! Each professor will accept only about 40 students to write on their topic,
approximately ¼ of the class each. Beginning 6PM on Tuesday, January 13 and ending at 2:30PM on
Thursday, January 15, students will be able to sign up for a term paper topic – first come, first served.
This weekend you should review the possibilities described later in this handout. You can then sign up on
webCT by clicking on the term paper topic icon on the course home page and selecting the desired topic.
Please be cautious when making your selection on webCT, since once you’ve signed up, you cannot
modify your selection without contacting one of the instructors or TA’s. ANY STUDENT WHO CANNOT
GET INTO A GROUP WILL BE ASSIGNED A TOPIC TO BALANCE THE MARKING LOAD AMONG THE FOUR
PROFESSORS.
2. Start up assignments (10% of course mark).
There are two components of the start up assignment worth 5% each. The first assignment is simply to do
some reading of the literature (especially the primary literature), choose an appropriate study system (we
will provide a list to choose from) and provide three key references that are different from the ones we
provide. You should be focusing on the questions identified below, relating the papers that you find to
those questions. Realistically, you should have read many more references to find three key ones. Also, in
one paragraph, explain why you have chosen this species system and why you believe that this will be a
good topic choice (no more than 300 words). The first assignment will be due on Jan 29, BEFORE lecture
(2:30PM). Note that professors only allow a given study system to be claimed by a few students. Your
professor will indicate on webCT which systems are no longer available, at which point you will need to
choose another system. Therefore, it is important to do your research early and declare your study system
formally on WebCT as per instructions given below. (DO NOT email your selection to professors or
leave messages in voice boxes).
In the second assignment, due on Feb 19, you will hand in a detailed outline and an accompanying
substantial bibliography. At this point, you should have done enough work to identify the main lines of
your arguments and the main references that will support them. Your outline should be no more than two
pages long, plus a working bibliography of at least a dozen good references, most of which are from the
primary scientific literature. Use 1” margins and a 12 point font. In the outline, you should identify topic
headings and indented subheadings and the major points you want to make under each heading, supported
by references. Your bibliography should report all the sources you reviewed in planning your topic, even
if in the end you use only a subset. The second assignment will be due on Feb 19, BEFORE lecture
(2:30PM).
Assignments must be submitted on webCT BEFORE the time (2:30 p.m.) indicated for each deadline, but
they can be submitted as early as you wish. To view and submit the assignments, click on the assignment
icon, on the course homepage and follow the instructions. LATE ASSIGNMENTS WILL NOT BE
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Term paper topics – Winter 2009
ENVR 202 (section 01) – The Evolving Earth
ACCEPTED, and you will lose the 5% for each assignment. The purposes of these assignments are to
encourage you to start early and research your topic consistently and to give the professors a chance to
provide feedback. Note, that this feedback may be limited to obvious flaws in your assignments. The lack
of comments, however, does not necessarily mean that an adequate plan will lead to a good paper. It is
your responsibility to ensure that all sections of the final term paper are informative and well written.
Completing these startup assignments requires that you explore and consider the available literature and
information. Bundling together a bunch of hits from a Google search the night before the deadline is not a
good idea! The sooner you get started, the more likely you can get on a good track and really work
through the available resources to build a strong case. Note, that once you have chosen your study system,
you will NOT be allowed to switch. The list of systems that we provide has sufficient information to write
high quality papers. Don’t hesitate to seek the advice of the TAs about searching strategies and engage in
discussions with your peers, as well as with the professor overseeing your topic. Follow the discussion in
the private forum for your general topic. The professors will monitor these forums – they will provide
guidance to questions regarding their topics.
3. Final Paper (30% of course mark). The final paper is due in class on April 3. The term paper must
be printed or typed, using a 12 point font and double spacing. Use 1” margins all around. The body of the
term paper must not exceed 2500 words. Use the count tool in Word and give on the title page the total
number of words in the main body of the text. The word count limit does not include the title page, the
references or captions for any illustrations (e.g. map, table or diagram, figure captions). The title page
should also give your name, email and ID, the professor to whom the paper is submitted, and the course
title, number, and year. Put your name in a large font to simplify return of the paper. The references
should include only the publications you actually cite in the final paper; in other words, do not list
anything from your initial bibliography that in the end you did not actually cite in your paper. Feel free to
print two-sided or use recto-verso paper; if you use recto-verso please be sure the old print does not show
through and obscure your own text.
Late final papers will be penalized 10% the first day
and 1% for every additional day late.
e.g., if a student earned 75% on their term paper, but handed it in one day late, they would only
receive 65%.
In other words, there is a cost to being late on any part of this assignment!
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The heart and underlying purpose of this term paper assignment
It may help you approach this assignment if you are aware that this term paper is part of a larger and
purposeful scheme of training in the core courses of the School of Environment. Those involved in
developing the curriculum for the School of Environment have consciously tried to adopt different but
complementary approaches in the core courses. Some of the core courses engage in modeling exercises
that teach important conceptual and mathematical skills. Others draw on large course-packs of readings
and challenge students to integrate these readings in a coherent synthesis -- a good deal of time goes into
the reading. In the Evolving Earth we also emphasize synthesis of information and ideas but especially
concentrate on the challenge of actually finding the information you need to address an issue (lines of
evidence), not just giving it to you in a course-pack. We strive to develop your skills to find the
information you need to extend ideas -- you'll spend somewhat less time reading, but more time looking
for the readings you really need. In your professional life you will inevitably need to exercise both skills:
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Term paper topics – Winter 2009
ENVR 202 (section 01) – The Evolving Earth
finding the information you need, and then critically evaluating it in relation to the problem that concerns
you.
You can find information in many ways: using bibliographic software to search library databases, using
search engines to seek out information from the WWW, and consulting colleagues. See the handout on
“Finding Information” at McGill that complements this handout. The citations in your readings will lead
you to related literature. You can evaluate and synthesize the information partly in solitary introspection
but also in discussion with your colleagues. One thing you should NOT do is frivolously email experts
asking their opinion on your assignment; this is considered poor etiquette as professionals are busy
people with no particular responsibility to help you do your assignment. You definitely should use this
assignment to develop your own library skills, your written communication skills, and your computer and
internet skills. Many helpful workshops on using library databases and bibliographic software are given
by the various libraries. Explore your campus and your libraries! Take advantage of these information
resources!
General Editorial Guidelines
Your paper should be in clear, coherent English (or French) with complete and consistent citation of
references. Citations should be in the usual scientific format: author(s) and year of publication cited in
parentheses in the text and then the full reference given in the bibliography at the end of the essay. In
citing material from the Internet use the same author & year format and give the full URL in the
bibliography plus the date you saw the URL. Reread the WebCT postings on plagiarism, which also
contain useful guidelines for the format of citations. These plagiarism postings also make it very clear
when and how you must give credit for other people's ideas and information in your essay. We have zero
tolerance for plagiarism and will impose the most severe penalties possible for any plagiarized material
in your essay.
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PROJECTS UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF PROFESSOR LAPOINTE
ECOLOGY OF FRESHWATER FISHES
Most fish species do not establish in new locations. Of the ones that do, only a small fraction of them
become nuisance species. Some nuisance fish species may affect mostly plants (or humans), with no
strong effects on other specific animals.
OVERALL PAPER OBJECTIVES
Why is a particular, introduced freshwater fish ‘successful’ as an invasive species? Why and how
(ecologically) does it impact on the population of some other freshwater animal? In this paper you
will answer both these questions based on your choice of 2 target species: the first, an invasive freshwater
fish species and the second, some other freshwater animal such as a fish, an invertebrate, etc, whose
population has been documented to be impacted by this particular invasive fish. The weighting between
these 2 questions in your paper should be roughly of the same order (the second question is not just an
afterthought ; it is also important for a good mark). Be as specific and concrete as possible in analyzing
the interaction of the invader with the receiving ecosystem, all the while presenting evidence for your
assertions taken from your references. How, specifically, do these nuisance fish disturb the receiving
pond, lake or stream ecosystem, either biotically (through predation, competition for resources, disease,
etc) and/or abiotically (by modifying the physical habitat for other species)?
PROCEDURE TO SELECT YOUR STUDY SYSTEM
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Term paper topics – Winter 2009
ENVR 202 (section 01) – The Evolving Earth
To answer these questions, first carefully select one, well documented, invasive fish species and make
sure it has significantly impacted at least one other freshwater animal species resident in the receiving
ecosystem. There are many dozens of documented fish invasives but not all of them have strong and well
documented impacts on another animal species. So, before confirming your selection, you must read
enough about various possible invasive fish choices (using search tools below) to also identify a
significant impact on another specific animal. Once you have identified an animal species impacted by
your invasive fish, and before you confirm your selection, also use Library web sources to make sure
there are good scientific articles on both the invasive fish and the impacted animal and their ecology. In
short, to do well in this paper, you will need to do enough reading upfront to select an appropriate system
of 2 species and one or more ecosystems where their interaction has been well documented. Don’t choose
the first invasive fish you find a lot of web hits for. If you do not put the early effort into a sound choice
of study system, you will be frustrated in writing a good paper.
To find your target pair of species, use web databases and search engines (such as FishBase, Google
Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, etc) to access published case studies and Web sites with lists of
invasive freshwater fish. The following web sites are provided to assist you in starting your selection of
an invasive species to write about. Many of these sites also contain non-fish taxa, as well as invaders of
marine or terrestrial ecosystems -- make sure to select a freshwater fish as your first, focal species for
this paper!
http://www.invasivespecies.gov/profiles/main.shtml#aqanimals
http://www.aquaticinvaders.org/nan_browse.cfm?level=
http://www.issg.org/database/species/search.asp?st=100ss&fr=1&sts=
http://www.issg.org/database/species/List.asp
Some Canadian Great Lakes fish invasives can be found at:
http://www.seagrant.wisc.edu/greatlakesfish/exotics.html
Fishbase:
You will find many relevant bits of information on the preceding topics as well as references to case
studies on your focal species by thoroughly navigating through Fishbase, an indispensable Web resource
that organizes knowledge on fish species: http://www.fishbase.org/search.cfm
also see:
http://www.fishbase.org/LarvalBase/Glossary/Glossary.cfm?TermEnglish=primary%20freshwat
er%20fishes
Other useful fish data bases are:
http://www.briancoad.com/Complete%20List.htm
http://www.tmm.utexas.edu/tnhc/fish/na/txindex.html
PAPER STRUCTURE
Once you have selected your 2 study species turn your attention to answering the following specific
questions, and integrate your answers into a tight, cohesive story in the 2500 words available to you.
Make sure you cite your reference materials. Use informative section headings to help structure your
paper. Your paper will be marked on the basis of how well you research, think through and synthesize
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Term paper topics – Winter 2009
ENVR 202 (section 01) – The Evolving Earth
answers to the following questions, balancing the level of detail you give across these questions within
the page limits. Support each topic with the available evidence (and cite references for each line of
evidence).
Part A. The invasive fish (give its latin and common species name) :
i.
What are the life history characteristics (the life stages and their ecology) of your
invader? What are its habitat characteristics (and tolerances) for reproduction, feeding, as
juveniles or adults, etc?
ii.
Briefly describe the geographical source region of your invader, its pattern of spread and
its current geographical distribution. What were the mechanisms/processes for this
spread?
iii.
Review case studies or general references describing the range of known ecosystem
impacts of your invader. Briefly review the nature of both the biotic and abiotic impacts
of the invader on physical habitat and other organisms. In doing this, make sure to
describe the receiving ecosystems (type of water body, outline of its food web, local
plant, fish or invertebrate species that are most impacted by the invader, etc).
iv.
v.
What is the evidence that your invader’s particular life history and ecological
characteristics contributed to its invasion success (or have they)? What commonalities
exist between your invader and other freshwater fish invaders? Why are these traits
important for successful invasions?
Is there any evidence that prior disturbances to the receiving ecosystem facilitated the
invador’s establishment? What are the processes involved?
Part B The impacted animal (give its latin and common species name)
Focusing now on the selected, impacted animal species:
i. What are the life history characteristics (the various life stages and their ecology) of the
chosen, impacted animal? What are its habitat tolerances for reproduction, feeding, refuge,
etc? What are its natural predators, competitors and types of food sources in the receiving
ecosystem?
ii. What are the biotic or abiotic processes (predation, competition for food sources, for
physical habitat, modification of habitat, etc) that explain why the invasive fish affects the
population of this animal? Discuss the evidence for these interactions between the 2 species.
iii Based on the respective ecologies, discuss why you think the invading fish species
affected the population of impacted animals more strongly than does its natural, local
competitors or predators?
On all these questions, synthesize your ideas, focus on integrating into a coherent narrative and highlight
the main evidence.
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Term paper topics – Winter 2009
ENVR 202 (section 01) – The Evolving Earth
Good reading and organising!
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PROJECTS UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF PROFESSOR LECHOWICZ
EXOTIC SPECIES IN UNDISTURBED NEW ZEALAND FORESTS
New Zealand is an isolated archipelago including two very
large islands on the northern edge of the Great Southern
Ocean, the ocean that surrounds Anarctica. The North and
South Islands of New Zealand were the last large land mass
to be colonized by people – colonists from eastern Polynesia
reached what they called Aotearoa only ~1000 years ago
(King 2003). These earliest colonists arrived in doublehulled canoes that they had navigated across a huge expanse
of the Pacific Ocean, pushing south to the very limits of the
climatic conditions for which their cultural heritage prepared
them. They brought with them various plants as well as rats
and dogs that were an essential part of their food resources
in Polynesia. With the exception of 3 bat species, these
Polynesian people, their rats and their dogs were the first
mammals to exist in New Zealand in 80 million years! When
what would become New Zealand broke away from
Gondwanaland the mammals by chance survived on only the
pieces that would become Antarctica, South America,
Africa, Madagascar, Australia-New Guinea, Arabia and the
Climatic regions of New Zealand
Indian subcontinent. For 80 million years the dominant
terrestrial vertebrates of New Zealand were birds. Birds diversified to fill many niches that we associate
with mammals in other terrestrial ecosystems, and some truly extraordinary species evolved. For example,
there were 11 species of moas (Baker et al 2005), the largest of which stood 3 m tall and weighed in at
250 kg – truly a big bird! The moas were herbivores, and were themselves preyed upon by an eagle with a
wingspan of 3 m, bigger than any eagles that exist today. The earliest European explorers and colonists
arrived in the late 18th century, introducing even more exotic plants and animals and eventually
transforming the landscape almost entirely. New Zealanders have imported over 20,000 different plant
species for use in forestry, agriculture and horticulture of which at least 2100 are known to have become
naturalized (Wiser & Allen 2006). Forests were cut and converted to pasture for sheep, which by 1858
already numbered 1.5 million with a human population of only 115,000 (King 2003); in the last 1000
years forest cover dropped from ~85% to only 23% today (Wiser & Allen 2006). By 1900 the moas, the
eagle and countless other plant and animal species unique to New Zealand were driven to extinction
through competition, habitat loss and exploitation or restricted to isolated remnants of native vegetation.
Most remaining forest patches are small and much colonized by the many exotic plants and animals
brought to New Zealand by people. Only in a few remote places can one find relatively undisturbed large
tracts of native forest. In this topic we will be interested in these large, reasonably intact remnants of the
primeval forest, and in particular in the characteristics of the relatively few exotic plants that have been
able to colonize these forest ecosystems.
What do you need to do to get started on this topic?
I.
Take a quick first look at the five background readings listed at the end of this section. All
of these will be posted on the WebCT-Vista bulletin board for this topic. You should not try
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Term paper topics – Winter 2009
ENVR 202 (section 01) – The Evolving Earth
to work through the details of each paper at this stage, but you want to get a general sense
of the ecology associated with invasive plant species and the general nature of the forest
vegetation of New Zealand.
II.
Go to the bulletin board for this topic on WebCT-Vista where you will find a list of exotic
plant species that have colonized undisturbed forest ecosystems in New Zealand. You must
choose one of the species on this list as the focus of your term paper. Since you cannot
thoroughly research every species on the list at this preliminary stage, your choice will have
to be somewhat arbitrary. You might choose a growth form first and then use Google or
Google Image to identify a few species that you find attractive or interesting in some way.
Then use Google Scholar to do a quick check that there are in fact a reasonable number of
references about the ecology of these species – you can’t write a good term paper based on
a poorly studied species.
Your choice must be approved by Professor Lechowicz before you begin your research, so
identify your top choice plus 1 or 2 alternatives and send them by email to Professor
Lechowicz for approval. No more than two students will be allowed to write about the same
species, so email your tentative choices ASAP – first come, first served.
III.
Once your choice of species has been approved, use web and library resources to find
everything you can discover about the species both in New Zealand and in the region(s)
where your species is native as well as in any other regions where it has invaded. Use the
tools described in the “Finding Information” handout to efficiently gather the information
you need. If you search on the Latin name of the species, it is fairly easy to find
information in Google Scholar and Web of Science, so start with those databases. Then try
AGRICOLA and CAB Abstracts for information from more obscure sources, government
documents, and specialized books about trees, shrubs and herbs that grow in forests.
With this information in hand, prepare your proposal and then write your term paper according to the
guidelines that apply to all the topics.
In this particular topic you have to consider contemporary patterns of distribution and the characteristics
of your species that can account for them. To some degree the interaction between abiotic conditions
(climate, soils) and the evolved adaptations of your species can account for distribution, but such abiotic
factors are rarely the entire explanation. Biotic factors (competition, pollinators, dispersal vectors,
herbivory, disease), or lack of them, may also play a role. Draw on the themes we emphasize in this
course: pattern and process, biotic-abiotic interactions, causality at different scales in space and time, and
the overall influence of chance, necessity and history in explaining present day observations. Your paper
does not have to say "this is the role of chance" and "this is the role of necessity", but you should use the
triad of chance-necessity-history to help you think through and synthesize the evidence you have gathered
to evaluate the characteristics of your exotic species that can account for its establishment in one or
another type of forest within New Zealand.
You may find a recently published book a helpful general reference: Biological Invasions in New
Zealand. If you access http://www.springerlink.com/content/978-3-540-30023-6/ with a VPN
connection, then chapters from the book can be downloaded for free. A chapter by Wiser & Allen (2006)
reviews the colonization of largely intact forest remnants by exotic plants. At the end of their review
Wiser & Allen (2006) identify things we need to know to come to a deeper understanding of which exotic
plants might establish in intact forest in New Zealand, to which I have added some additional points:
 What intensity of propagule pressure exists for the species in New Zealand?
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Term paper topics – Winter 2009
ENVR 202 (section 01) – The Evolving Earth
 What are the traits of the exotic that might influence its ability to colonize intact forest?
-growth rate, competitive ability, dispersal modes, disease resistance, palatability etc.
 What sort of sites does the exotic species favor?
-dry vs. wet, fertile vs. infertile, sunny vs shaded, etc.
 What climatic factors limit the distribution of the species?
-tolerance of cold temperatures, drought or flooding,
seasonality requirements, etc.
Your essay should: 1) gather together and synthesize everything you can discover about the biotic and
abiotic factors that determine the establishment, growth, survival and reproduction of your chosen
species, and 2) discuss how the biological characteristics of your species can help explain its success in
New Zealand forests. To address the latter point you will need to review the characteristics of the type(s)
of New Zealand forest where you have found records of the species colonization if that is possible, or
more generally review the overall characteristics of New Zealand forests and speculate on what types of
forests you think your species might have colonized. Bear in mind this is not a paper about invasion
ecology; the paper is about your species and its ability to colonize undisturbed forest in New Zealand, not
about plant invasions in general. Keep your focus on the topic and support your points with information
referenced in the primary literature. Don’t write a general essay about invasion ecology.
References
Allen RB & WG Lee (Eds.) 2006. Biological Invasions in New Zealand. Springer-Verlag Berlin
Heidelberg
Baker, AJ, LJ Huynen, O Haddrath, CD Millar & DM. Lambert. 2005. Reconstructing the tempo and
mode of evolution in an extinct clade of birds with ancient DNA: The giant moas of New
Zealand. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (USA) 102; 8257-8262
King, M. 2003. History of New Zealand. Penguin, Auckland, NZ.
Wiser, S & RB Allen. 2006. What Controls Invasion of Indigenous Forests by Alien Plants? Pages 195209 in RB Allen and WG Lee (2006.)
BACKGROUND READINGS
This is a useful overview of the basic botany of invasive species in New Zealand
Esler, A.E. 1988. The naturalisation of plants in urban Auckland, New Zealand
4. The nature of the naturalised species. New Zealand Journal of Botany 26: 345-385
This is a good overview about the nature of plant invasions
Richardson, D. M. and P. Pysek (2006). "Plant invasions: merging the concepts of species
invasiveness and community invasibility." Progress in Physical Geography 30(3): 409431.
This classic paper opens the door to the literature on the forests of New Zealand
Wardle, P. (1964) Facets of the Distribution of Forest Vegetation in New Zealand. New Zealand
Journal of Botany2: 352-66
These two chapters from this recent book are most germane to the assignment.
Selected chapters from Allen, R.B. and W.G.Lee (Eds.) (2006) Biological Invasions in New
Zealand. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
Chapter 11: J.M. Craine, W.G. Lee and S. Walker. The Context of Plant Invasions in
New Zealand: Evolutionary History and Novel Niches. Pages 167-177
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ENVR 202 (section 01) – The Evolving Earth
Chapter 13: S. Wiser & RB Allen. What Controls Invasion of Indigenous Forests by
Alien Plants? Pages 195-209
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PROJECTS UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF PROFESSOR LEUNG
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION OF WILDLIFE PARASITES AND DISEASES
What effect will global warming and habitat loss have on disease occurrence and severity?
The current patterns of biodiversity on Earth are in part due to the complex interplay between
different species and between species and their environment. Some of the most important
interactions are between the parasites and their hosts. Disease is the negative effect of parasites
on their hosts, and can range from mild to lethal. Parasites can have dramatic consequences for
individuals, populations and communities (i.e., assemblages of populations of different species).
Yet, environmental conditions are changing and it is relevant to ask what ramifications this will
have for the evolution and ecology of parasites and their hosts. The purpose of this term project
is to use parasites/diseases as a focal point for several of the themes in this course – interactions
between species, interaction between species and their environment, understanding the
distribution of organisms across space and time, and lines of evidence. Your first task will be to
describe the current situation:
1) Select a parasite/disease of wildlife and a host species (wildlife=free-living,
undomesticated animals). I provide a list of possible diseases, but will allow you to
choose an appropriate host. We are focusing on wildlife because human diseases, while
highly relevant, are often controlled. We are interested in the ecology and evolution of
diseases.
2) Identify the geographical ranges of your parasite/disease and its wildlife host.
3) Describe the life history/life cycles of the parasite and the host (or multiple hosts if more
than one are required for completion of the parasite's life cycle).
4) Discuss the history of the disease/parasitism – for example, have there been previous
outbreaks or epidemics? What is known about the evolutionary history of the parasite? If
the parasite was introduced from another area, when did this occur? What happened
afterwards?
5) Discuss the effect of the parasite on the wildlife host in terms of the disease or debility
caused by the parasitism. Be brief here, no more than ½ page – I do not want pages of
veterinary text.
6) Discuss the effect of the parasite on the wildlife host in terms of host population
demographics (i.e., population structure such as age/sex composition, population size,
distribution, etc.).
7) Very briefly identify the possible effects of global warming and habitat loss (i.e., no more
than ½ page). Then focus on the consequences of these environmental changes on the
host-parasite relationship. Remember, the focus of the paper should be on the
parasite/disease/host system, not a review of global change.
These pieces of information form the starting point for your project – they will serve as your
lines of evidence. You also need to familiarize yourself with current theories and ideas. If you
choose this topic, I will provide a few references on some of the major ideas in disease
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ecology/evolution. Use them - they are meant to direct your thinking. However, I expect you to
go further than these references.
Your job will be to go into the literature, tie together theory with the species specific information
you have collected above (this should form the majority of the paper – show me that you
understand the processes involved), and tell me a story – what effect (if any) will global warming
(including more variable severe weather patterns) and habitat loss (including fragmenting
habitats) have on the evolution and ecology of parasites and their hosts. Some of the things you
might want to think about including (but are not limited to):
 Evolutionarily speaking, why might the parasites be at their level of virulence
(virulence=intensity of disease caused by the parasite, e.g., increased rate of mortality)?
 How do the life history traits affect where species exist and their effects?
 Why have we observed the patterns of epidemics/outbreaks that have (or have not)
occurred?
To give a little more guidance, I want you to think about these questions in terms of natural
selection. For parasites, natural selection is dependent upon the ability of parasites to be passed
to new hosts (i.e., transmission), which in turn is dependent upon encountering new hosts, the
mechanism of transmission, and mortality or recovery of hosts (which will remove those
parasites from being able to pass their genes to new hosts).
Regardless of the arguments that you make, I want you to provide the lines of evidence based on
your study system and the logic for those arguments, always citing the sources behind your
ideas. The “A” students will not only present arguments that have been made in the literature, but
will demonstrate understanding and will evaluate whether they agree with those arguments (i.e.,
you do not need to assume that everything you read is correct. Explain why you agree or disagree
with something). Try to use both empirical as well as theoretic literature.
To start into the host-parasite literature you might look at:
 Go to your favorite scientific article database (e.g., Web of Science and Google Scholar).
Some good key words to use include: evolution of virulence, epidemiology (or epidem*),
parasite, infectious disease, disease ecology.
 Start with some of the review journals such as Trends in Ecology and Evolution and
Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics.
A couple of review papers that will be of interest include:
Galvani. 2003. Trends in Ecol Evol. 18: 133-139 – looks at evolution of parasites and
provides pointers to many theoretical studies on which our current beliefs are based.
Harvell. 2004. The American Naturalist 164S: S1-S5 – looks at the general relevance of
disease and parasite-host interactions.
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Term paper topics – Winter 2009
ENVR 202 (section 01) – The Evolving Earth
These are starting references only. You should go beyond these suggestions. Note that for some
species, there may be too much information. You will need to efficiently exclude many of the
irrelevant studies. For instance, from the title alone, many papers will be obviously not
applicable. If it seems promising, read the abstract. If it still seems promising, read the
introduction, discussion, results, and methods. Some of the theoretical papers may be difficult to
get through. Don’t be embarrassed to ask for help. Always remember the story that you are
trying to tell, and how the paper that you read may fit into it. At the same time, realize that your
thoughts should evolve over time and the arguments you make may change.
To summarize: The integrative storyline that I want is: why has your parasite/disease
spread and evolved the way that it has? The environment changes (1/2 page to explain
how). Using knowledge of ecological/evolutionary processes behind diseases, how will
environmental change interact with transmission/natural selection to determine the ecology
(i.e., spread and effect) and evolution (changes in virulence/resistance) of the disease?
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PROJECTS UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF PROFESSOR PAQUETTE
WHY ARE CORAL REEFS SO RESILIENT?
Reef-building corals are hot spots of marine biodiversity and are considered by many marine
biologists to be "early warning" systems that act as monitors of the health of our oceans. The
rapid degradation of coral reefs under the combined effects of natural phenomena and human
activities is attracting the attention of environmental groups worldwide. Yet, over Earth’s
history, reef-building corals have persisted through much greater perturbances than those
observed in the last few decades or predicted to occur due to human-induced climate change.
After predicting the demise of reefs within 50 years, some marine ecologists are now urging that
“resilient” reefs, i.e. those who cope better with environmental change, should be the ones
targeted for study and protection.
Reefs are complex communities of species that interact with each other. When a reef dies, does
its species necessarily goes extinct? Are some of today’s reefs likely to survive, but as different
types of ecosystem? You are invited to explore this question by choosing a specific example of
interaction among reef organisms (a reef builder and any other species) and research how their
relationship affects their potential for survival as a reef copes with natural or human-induced
change.
If you are considering this topic, I recommend that you first check the overview of the changes
challenging coral reefs worldwide written by C.R. Wilkinson (1999) Global and local threats to
coral reef functioning and existence: review and predictions which can be downloaded from
http://www.publish.csiro.au/?act=view_file&file_id=MF99121.pdf
You will also need to find out the basic facts about reef ecology, such as how physical factors
such as water depth and wind directions influence the preference of certain taxa of corals for
specific areas of a reef (biological zonation). Sites such as
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http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/coral/index.html offer links that are useful starting points for
finding out information about coral reefs. Keep in mind, however, that reefs from different
areas of the world are strikingly different in diversity, complexity and size. Reefs in the Belize
Barrier Reef or the Great Barrier Reef of Australia show very high diversity, but reefs in the
Florida Keys and in the Caribbean are also very well studied and offer examples of interacting
organisms.You will quickly want to get in the primary scientific literature.
A search engine such as Google Scholar, and keywords such as “reef ecology” and “resilience”
with a reef’s geographic location (e.g. “Great Barrier Reef”, “Belize”, “Florida”) will quickly
lead quickly to journal articles and scientific reports from which you can select interacting, reefdwelling taxa (a taxon is a distinct species, subspecies or genera, taxa is the plural form). Many
documents can be downloaded electronically for free if you are connected to a campus network
recognized by the McGill libraries. Read the abstracts of documents with promising titles and
look for keywords that indicate their relevance to the topic.
One of the two taxa must be a reef-building coral. The other must interact with that coral. It
could be a predator that feeds on coral, a fish or an invertebrate animal that uses the reef
framework as a “nursery” or a “grazing pasture”. You could even choose the unicellular
zooxanthellae that live in symbiosis inside reef-building corals. Any number of students can
work on a given reef (e.g. Discovery Bay, Jamaica) as long as they do not select the exact same
pair of interacting taxa. Conversely, students can work on a similar pair of organisms (e.g. the
same genus of coral and sea urchin) as long as they do not select the same reef location. Your two
taxa and the geographic location of their reef are your study system. To give you a head start,
examples of suitable systems will be posted to our group’s bulletin board.
When you are ready to claim a system for your term paper, post it to the bulletin board of our
group. Your choice will need to be supported by three sources from the scientific literature.
These sources should show that your taxa are involved in some interaction that has being
influenced (positively or negatively) by recent or ongoing natural or human-induced changes.
Broadly speaking, the first part of your paper might describe the setting of the reef, its age (if
known), the nature of the natural or human-induced disturbances affecting it (e.g. hurricanes,
temperature changes, sea level or salinity changes, eutrophication, overfishing). You will
introduce the reef builder (a type of coral) and the other taxon (e.g. a sea urchin) and the nature
of their interaction (the sea urchin is a predator feeding on the reef-builder).
The second part of the paper should focus on the specific adaptations of the two taxa, to their
physical environment and to each other. How dependent are they on each other? Is their
interaction mutually positive or negative, or are the benefits one-sided? Is the interaction a recent
phenomenon and is it influenced by environmental disturbances? Does the interaction contribute
to the “resilience” of the reef, i.e. its ability to cope with the disturbance? Can that interaction
survive the degradation of a reef until it recovers (or until the reef-builder colonizes a new site)?
If the reef building coral dies, can the other taxon survive?
In closing, consider the implications of these scientific observations for the future of existing
coral reefs, and the value of current or proposed conservation and management programs. Some
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groups argue that conservation resources should focus on coral reefs in areas that are naturally
less vulnerable to global warming. Do your readings for this project suggest that we can identify
the more resilient reef ecosystems and predict which degraded reefs are unlikely to recover?
Some General Advice
We seek clear and concise essays… not a compendium of vaguely related facts
An essay is a formally structured paper on a well-defined topic. Scientific essays usually begin with a
statement of the topic that draws the reader into the issues by offering interesting and informative
background material. This introduction should signal the logical structure the essay will take. The body of
the essay then develops each point in turn, bringing in examples or supporting references as needed. The
essay ends with a reiteration and summary of the argument. Personal style and deviations from this basic
format definitely come into good essays, but for the novice it is best to follow simple forms and concentrate
on clarity of argument rather than style.
The points you make, the lines of argument and supporting evidence should be clear
Essays follow a logical thread to a conclusion, or perhaps interwoven threads of related arguments.
Arguments are not made simply by recording facts and information -- you must spell out the logic of your
argument. A reader presented only with a string of facts will not know what to make of them, or may make
an inference quite different from the one you intend. Clearly separate the facts and information from your
reasoning and assumptions. Do not just report information. Think about the problem and make your own
points; draw conclusions based on your own interpretation and evaluation of the available information.
You need to do a fair amount of background research
Research in the library and on the Internet can be a black hole that consumes huge amounts of time with
little reward. The trick is to think BEFORE you start into your research. What are you after exactly? Where
are you more likely to find it? What search strategies and tools will be most helpful? Whatever you do, do
not just head off and start accumulating information in hopes of stumbling onto helpful material. Come up
with an initial set of ideas, then search for specific material that will help you develop those ideas.
Read the handout on literature sources posted to WebCT -- “Information – 2008” (Finding and Evaluating
Information). This provides a lot of helpful information on how to approach the research and synthesis
required for these projects. Remember to distinguish between primary, secondary and tertiary literature and
be careful of incomplete or incorrect information posted on the Internet. You can also read the postings on
strategies for literature and check out the link on the McGill Libraries home page on judging the quality of
Internet sites.
Distill your essay down to the key ideas and supporting information
When all is said and done, it is always necessary to set aside much of the information you so laboriously
discovered. This takes discipline! A rule of thumb is that only about half the information you search out will
actually find its way into the final essay, and then sometimes only as a passing reference. Do not clutter up
your ideas with lots of extraneous information. Let your own ideas dominate. Anyone can accumulate
information, fewer people can make sense of information. Show your ability to think. But also always give
credit to the ideas of others that you draw on and be sure to cite the references that support the information
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on which your arguments depend. If you have not yet done so, also visit www.mcgill.ca/integrity! Be
concise, but give credit to others -- do not plagiarize!
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