What is the difference between a PCV [answer1] and a hematocrit [answer2]?

ScLi12- Identify the elements in the methods that allow researchers answer their research question A hypothetical study aimed to investigate the factors that affect white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) abundance in the Northwest US will assess population size in  5 semi-urban environments. Researchers will measure- vegetation density, plant species diversity, age structure of individuals, and presence of predators. They will use capture-recapture methods to estimate population size. They will sex, age and measure all individuals captured. They will divide each area by 10-m-10m transects and sample all plant species found in 30 transects selected randomly.   Which of the following statements are correct?

ScLi5- Identify the purpose of introduction in scientific papers This is are some paragraphs in the introduction of Ecosystem Services and Human Well-Being: a Participatory Study in a Mountain Community in Portugal. The authors assessed which ecosystem services were provided by a mountainous ecosystem “The well-being of present and future generations depends on the continuous flow of ecosystem services, which are the benefits people obtain from ecosystems (Daily 1997). Links between human well-being and ecosystem services are multiple and complex (Salzman et al. 2001). Improvements in the well-being of present generations can have negative impacts on the supply of ecosystem services to future generations if those improvements are based on unsustainable exploitation of the environment.  […] In our study we use a participatory approach to examine both the local criteria for well-being and the links to ecosystem services. (…) We ask four questions: (1) What are the local criteria for human well-being? (2) Which ecosystem services are recognized and valued by the community? (3) What are the main trends in those services and their impacts on well-being? (4)  Which of the functions that should be fulfilled by an introduction are MISSING?

ScLi-2 Identify research and review articles What kind of article is this? Click here to open link (access by selecting FIU as the institution and log in with your FIU credentials) Click here to download PDF

Before starting your exam and proceeding to question 2, please complete a thorough environment check.   This includes recording: (1) your clutter-free workspace (desk, table, etc.) that is free of any papers, books, devices etc., (2) showing underneath your workspace, (3) showing a full 360-degree view of the room, (4) you must record yourself turning off your cell phone, show the screen to confirm it is off and place it behind you, out of reach.   If any part of this environment check is missing or incomplete, it will result in a zero for the exam grade, as outlined in the syllabus.   Type your full name indicating that you completed the scan of your environment, did not manipulate anything in your environment, and that you understand that skipping this will result in a zero for the exam.

ScLi-3 Perform a successful literature search   A new research lab-mate has asked you for advice about how to perform a literature search about epigenetic regulation of flowering time in plants. They are proposing to use the following keywords for their search. Which ones would produce the best results?  

ScLi10- Identify study variables in research articles A real study aimed to test whether the pattern of resource distribution in an environment affected how many individuals of the same species could be maintained by such 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 96 plates with Trp . 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 population in each well was quantified every 24 h as the optical density (OD600) until an asymptote was observed.

ScLi14- Interpret graphs, charts and statistics in results of research studies The following figure 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) The objective of the study was to determine if algal turfs or a mix of algal turfs and their sediments affected the presence of juvenile corals and settlement of new corals of two important coral species in South Florida     Which of the following statements are true?

ScLi-2 Identify research and review articles What kind of article is this? Click here to open link (select FIU as your institution and log in with your FIU credentials) Click here to download PDF

ScLi-3 Perform a successful literature search A lab-mate has given you the following 5 papers for you to decide which to present to your research mentor. Your mentor has asked you both to bring two papers with information about mosquito borne diseases in the Everglades.  Here are titles and excerpts of each paper. Choose the ones you should bring: Article 1 Emergence potential of mosquito-borne arboviruses from the Florida Everglades “In this study, we obtained baseline data on the distribution and abundance of both mosquitos and arboviruses occurring in the southern Everglades region during the summer months of 2013, when water levels were high, and in 2014, when water levels were low. ”   Article 2 Mosquito-borne diseases “Despite centuries of control efforts, mosquito-borne diseases are flourishing worldwide. With a disproportionate effect on children and adolescents, these conditions are responsible for substantial global morbidity and mortality. Malaria kills more than 1 million children annually, chiefly in sub-Saharan Africa. Dengue virus has expanded its range over the past several decades, following its principal vector, Aedes aegypti, back into regions from which it was eliminated in the mid-20th century and causing widespread epidemics of hemorrhagic fever.”   Article 3 The effect of global change on Mosquito-borne disease “Here, we show, through a review of contemporary modelling studies, that no consensus on how future changes in climatic conditions will impact mosquito-borne diseases exists, possibly due to interacting effects of other global change processes, which are often excluded from analyses. We conclude that research should not focus solely on the role of climate change but instead consider growing evidence for additional factors that modulate disease risk.” Article 4 Seasonal Dynamics of Mosquito-Borne Viruses in the Southwestern Florida Everglades, 2016, 2017 “Mosquitoes were collected for 12 consecutive months beginning June 2016, from 11 locations in the Florida Everglades […] Seven species of virus were identified from 110 isolations. […] Everglades, West Nile, Tensaw, and Mahogany Hammock viruses were most frequently isolated. […] Viruses were isolated from mangrove, cypress swamp, hardwood hammock, and sawgrass habitats.”   Article 5 Mammal decline, linked to invasive Burmese python, shifts host use of vector mosquito towards reservoir host of a zoonotic disease “We used historic and current data to investigate potential impacts of these community effects on contact between the reservoir hosts (certain rodents) and vectors of Everglades virus, a zoonotic mosquito-borne pathogen that circulates in southern Florida. The percentage of blood meals taken from the primary reservoir host, the hispid cotton rat, Sigmodon hispidus Say and Ord, increased dramatically (422.2%) from 1979 (14.7%) to 2016 (76.8%), while blood meals from deer, raccoons and opossums decreased by 98.2%, reflecting precipitous declines in relative abundance of these larger mammals”