ill use the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University displays as a point to
investigate some of the information and tools about species conservation research and status.
In a typical year, I would have you visit the Academy of Natural Sciences. Students who have
never visited there find it a fun experience. As this quarter isn’t typical, and you may not want to
go to a museum or any public spaces, I am giving you a remote option.
In person Option: Visit the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University. It is now open
Fridays-Sundays.
(the Academy can be reached on the Drexel Dragon Route Bus – get off at the 19th and Arch stop – which
is one block north of the Academy). Any Drexel student is allowed in free with a Drexel ID.
http://www.ansp.org
Step 2: view the public galleries – dioramas, live butterflies, outside in, shells on
Mezzanine stairs, etc.
Step 3: Pick out a recent species (no dinosaurs!) to investigate further. The recent species
can be extinct (for example, the Passenger Pigeon)
Step 4. Photograph the species AND any posted information in a placard/signage about
the species or habitat – you need the photographs for the paper
Step 5: Research and write the paper.
Remote Option: View the images of some of the Academy’s dioramas and their signage as
posted on Learn.
Steps 2 and 3: Pick out a species to investigate further. The images are mostly from
African and Asian Hall
Step 4. Use the photographs of the species AND posted information in a placard/signage
about the species or habitat
Step 5: Research and write the paper.
DETAILS
Paper consists of:
- (30 pts) One page dealing with the species nomenclature (Family, Genus, Species, Subspecies
if any), state of taxonomic knowledge, worldwide distribution, some key features on how to
identify this species compared to similar species.
You should answer whether there are subspecies? is the taxonomy in dispute (think of the
African savanna and forest elephant research I presented)? What is the latest taxonomic status of
the species? Cite your information (author, year) – it will likely come from multiple sources.
You will likely use Wikipedia, Encyclopedia of Life, Tree of Life, IUCN, as well as primary
journal articles for this section. You can find some additional websources listed at
http://libguides.asu.edu/c.php?g=263766&p=1765361 - (30 pts) One page with a summary of the conservation status of the species or community.
For the species, check the world’s IUCN Red List http://www.iucnredlist.org for a global
perspective, also worldwide groups like World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International but
also find out the status for at least one of the countries the species occurs in.
If the species is stable regarding conservation, why?
If threatened, what are the main threats?
What is the latest information you can find documenting the extent of the threats?
Is there any organization that is focused on this species?
If not, any focused on the ecosystem it dwells in?
Note the ecosystems depicted in the dioramas and how the feature animals (and others) fit into
those ecosystems. Is the ecosystem threatened?
Also, use iDigBio https://www.idigbio.org/portal/search or
GBIF https://www.gbif.org/
and search for all digitized records for your species of interest. Summarize the number of
records, the earliest and most recent years of those records, and do a screenshot of the map
showing the distribution of the species based on those records. - (20 pts) Half page on what individuals (like you) can do to conserve the species or its
community.
If the species/community is stable or conservation status unknown, what research do you think
might be needed on the species? - (30 pts) Re-write the placard of information you found at the Academy (refer to your photo).
Include what you think it should read and what should be said about the conservation status,
threats, and recovery programs for the species – write it for comprehension by a typical museum
visitor (junior to high school level).
Is the existing placard inaccurate?
If you think the placard is good, then tell me what the strengths are and do any edits.
If there is no placard, create one.
Make this set of text about 100 words, which is a new guideline for museums – museum visitors
don’t spend a lot of time standing and reading signage, so you want to make it enjoyable to read,
interesting, but concise. Include this in the report as you have written it. This is your original
draft.
Now take that text and submit it to measure the label’s readability by grade level
at https://readable.io/text/. Your goal is for readability to be junior to high school level (FleschKincaid Grade Level test 8-10), with a grade of A or B. Now revise your approximately 100
word label based on this feedback, keep revising until you reach that level.
So you will have two 100 word labels you submit to me – the original draft you created, and the
revised draft through the label readability program. Try to convey the same message and
information you had in your original draft, but the revised draft with a readability level of 8-10th
grade.
For more information on simplifying for comprehension, you might find this short article of
interest:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/58fa260a725e25c4f30020f3/t/594d16c51b631be4c390c593
/1498224358446/11_Exhibition_LessIsMore.pdf - (20 pts) One or more pages with photographs, diagrams, drawings of the species and or
community.
You could include distinguishing characteristics of the species, distribution maps, graphs from a
scientific paper, etc whatever you think might be helpful for someone (like me) to understand
your paper. Include your photos from the museum visit. - (20 pts) References – At least 10 and one of these is a Primary Journal article and all are
standard format.
Use a standard style for citing and listing references – I attach one I am familiar with (CBE), but
you might want to use MLA or APA but be consistent! I want at least 10 and these can include:
• Textbook if desired
• IUCN and other conservation biology groups
• Wikipedia if needed and other internet sources
• Primary journal article – like from Conservation Biology, Science, PLOS One, etc
• Popular press – like New York Times, etc
You must use at the least ONE primary journal articles. If you can’t find ones on your particular
species/community, then find ones that deal with a topic in your paper. You may need to be on
campus to access some of the electronic scientific journals.
If you quote text directly (this should be limited), then put it in quotes, with the author and year
cited.
Any statements of fact should be backed up with citations.
Also for your own recommendations on conservation, you should try to back them up with
citations.
As an example – Here is one citation in your text (I have highlighted the citation in yellow):
Molecular evidence supports the morphological, habitat and behavioral evidence that there are
two elephant species in Africa, the African savannah elephant Loxodonta africana Anonymous
1827 and African forest elephant L. cyclotis (Matschie, 1900) (Rohland et al. 2010).
In Literature Cited it would be:
Rohland, N., Reich, D., Mallick, S., Meyer, M., Green, R. E., Georgiadis, N. J. and Hofreiter, M.
(2010). Genomic DNA Sequences from Mastodon and Woolly Mammoth Reveal Deep
Speciation of Forest and Savanna Elephants. PLoS Biology,8(12), e1000564.
doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000564
The above citation would count for the minimum of one primary journal article (I would hope
you would find more than one).
PAPER FORMAT:
Paper is single spaced, with double spacing between paragraphs.
Paper should be a minimum of 4 pages plus references, but you may add as much as you want –
no limit on size.
Submit electronically via Learn,
[if there are problems, then submit directly to [email protected] ]
LAST:
The Asian and African dioramas will be undergoing reinterpretation and the Academy’s exhibit
department would love to read your papers on these animals and the ecosystems they inhabit.
No extra points for choosing these, but if you want your paper to have some possible added use
outside this class, then consider allowing me to share your papers with them. They are also
interested what species are MISSING from the current dioramas. Especially appropriate insects,
snails, birds etc. that are distinctive for the ecosystem represented. So they can ADD them if
possible during a renovation
Here is nice 2 min explanation about dioramas
https://ansp.org/exhibits/diorama-renovations/