Marine Biology Research Experiment

Population Dynamics of Barnacles in the Intertidal Zone

May 27, 2007 Wesley Rouse

A how-to article for students learning experimentation. It is based on the scientific method--Observation, Hypothesis, Experimentation, Conclusions

Studying the oceans is one of the most fascinating activities a student can do. Once a person learns how to do it, it can become an obsession. This article should be considered a how-to endeavor for a person just learning experimentation; however, if the steps are followed, there is no reason that the resulting data would not be reliable (can be replicated with the same results) and valid (true measure of used parameters). Below is a discussion of a population dynamics research investigation that anyone who lives near a rocky shore of the ocean can complete with little equipment. There are many parametric directions that the researcher can take, but the following are some simple-to-control methods for the learning researcher.

Observation: This is the part of research projects on why this research is being done. In the present case—barnacles live on the rocks in the Intertidal Zone and there are different species of barnacles at various places on the rocks. Do a literature search on relevant research that has been done previously and cite each paper when you write your paper. Learn to identify the different species of barnacles. Learn about the rock formations. Always keep notes on whatever information you find. It will be invaluable when the paper is written on the experiment.

Hypothesis: This is an educated speculation that will either be proved true or false. It should be stated in an answerable way leading to a negative or positive answer. In this case—on rocky shorelines more barnacles live closer to the low tide line than the high tide line. This is simple and easy to statistically verify. Keep in mind that whatever your Hypothesis, it must be proved by the experimentation. If it can’t be, then change it.

Experiment: This is the heart of all research. Make sure there is a methodical, realistic way of collecting the data. In the present case, the following could be parameters used.

(1) All data will be collected monthly at the lowest tide of the day on the first day of the month. (Note: this might be in the middle of the night, but the projected methods must be followed exactly.)

(2) Set up a sequential grid of three-foot squares from the highest high tide mark to the lowest low tide mark. However it is done, the counts must be the exact same squares each time the accounting is done. (Tip: Make up a rope ladder with enough three foot squares to reach from the high tide line to the low tide line, and use the resultant squares to make measurements.)

(3) Count the number of each species of barnacles in each three-foot square and record these numbers each month for 12 months. Always do the recording in exactly the same way.

(4) Record the date, the air temperature, the water temperature, the height of the low tide, and the time of the measurements. Some of these will not be a part of the calculations, but they should be reported. When the report paper is written, the findings of this experiment will be the Results section. It is best to present the results in a statistical manner. In this case, simple graphs of mean numbers, one graph per month, of counts in each square might be adequate. However, if you have other data, persent it to the reader an make conclusions from it.

Conclusions: Once the project is completed, the results must be studied and rational conclusions deduced. Furthermore, if the hypothesis was properly stated, the results should prove the negative or positive answer. A paper will be prepared—Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusions, Literature Cited. The paper must reflect everything that was done in the experiment. Theorizing is permitted within the conclusions, but all assumptions must be strongly based on the results which contain no conjecture. It has become common to speculate on future research projects at the end of the paper; however, this should not be considered a part of the project and is not a requirement.

The copyright of the article Marine Biology Research Experiment in Marine Biology & Oceanography is owned by Wesley Rouse. Permission to republish Marine Biology Research Experiment in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

Barnacles

Barnacle Researcher