Animal physiology

Written Assignments

You are responsible to read all the articles posted on blackboard under Molumby Assignments. In-class exercises based on these papers, will be given in lecture. Keep these papers in mind when you write your written assignments-they are potentially very good sources, and in some cases, the bibliographies might inspire your own research.

There will be two written assignments. Due dates are listed on the syllabus and on SafeAssign. Each written assignment will be with 50 points. We do NOT normally take late work, except under emergency circumstances, so upload these on time, or early. Late papers that we DO elect to grade will usually receive 50 percent credit, so keep this in mind. Each paper is expected to be approximately 5-7 pages long.

Please, 1) cite sources. You are expected to have several (the amount needed to get the job done, but at least five). You are expected to use these sources to support your arguments. Cite scientific papers and books, NOT websites. When citing a paper you looked up online, cite the PAPER, not the url. 2) use in-text citations. 3) write clearly, and make sure all your facts are relevant and accurate. 4) Please, do not copy any significant section of text from another source, including any internet source. 5) Most of these papers imply a thesis statement of your own-keep that in mind. Develop an argument accordingly. If you paraphrase a paper you researched, cite your source. Peer-reviewed papers are the best references. Chegg.com and Yahoo answers are not appropriate sources.

First Assignment. Choose ONE of the following:

Compare and contrast the circulatory adaptations used by at least five different vertebrates to cope with extreme thermal environments. Give details on circulatory physiology (citing sources), and explain the significance of each adaptation. Explain similarities, in terms of evolutionary convergence or shared ancestry.
OR
Compare and contrast the challenges faced by terrestrial plants and animals that live in arid environments. Give numerous examples of actual organisms, and the adaptations that allow them to minimize water loss or cope with their arid habitat. Explain similarities, in terms of evolutionary convergence or shared ancestry.
OR
Discuss the various hypotheses explaining the relationship between allometric scaling and metabolic rate and evaluate the evidence for each one. Which hypotheses are best supported? Which ones are no longer valid. Explain.
OR

Choose a structure in a fossil organism that has been the subject of some controversy, for example, the plates of Stegosaurus sp., the sails of Dimetrodon sp. or Spiniosaurus sp., the neck of Tanystrophus, etc. In terms of the evolution of adaptation, discuss the potential physiological impact of the structure and weigh the evidence for various scenarios of their function.