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BIOL 1014 Biodiversity for the Environment Assignment - University of South Australia

Topic - BIODIVERSITY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

Title - The title of your report is very important, it tells the reader exactly what the report is about; "species study" is not an adequate title. The title should not claim something that the report does not do. Use bold type and font 12 Times New Roman.

There is no formula for writing a good title; they can be written in many ways, and will depend on your paper (keep it simple and direct).

Structure and Organisation - It is very important that your report is structured logically, flowing from one section to the next. Remember that you will be the expert on your species by the end of this assignment and you need to communicate the information you gave gathered in a detailed and logical way. For example, don't start writing about conservation threats to your species from deforestation until after you have written about the relationship of the species to forests. Or don't write about the microhabitat required for spore dispersal until you describe the lifecycle of the organism - so we first know that it has spores! Make sure you structure each paragraph and each sentence so it makes sense. Don't assume the reader knows what you know about the species; your job is to communicate the information to the reader in a clear and precise manner. Use appropriate subheadings, which match the content.

Subheadings: similar to the title, the subheadings should be bold font 12 Times new Roman and be clear and concise; they tell the reader what each section is about. "Special characters" "essential part" or "personal part" are NOT good subheadings. Introduction, General description, Pollination biology, Biogeography and evolutionary history, ecological relationships, Conservation threats, Summary/Conclusion, and Bibliography - are examples of subheading that you may want to use. Only use subheadings that are appropriate for your species and cover exactly what is in the text. DO NOT have a "Biogeography and evolutionary history" section if you do not describe these aspects exactly. (Subheadings may be useful for forming your title).

Content - Choose carefully which "parts" to include: DO NOT include everything ever discovered or written about your species! There is not enough time or space; instead you should be selective (choose the most interesting and important aspects) and cover a few key areas well - use these areas to organise your report (subheadings) and create your title. The report should be interesting and relate back to the course.

If you use an image or a table it MUST be referred to in the text, and it needs to be appropriate and relate to the study. Pretty pictures are great, but they are not normally used in scientific reports; however, a "pretty picture" showing the striking image of a peacock's tail (for example) may be used if you are writing about the role of the decoration in mating rituals.

Figures: images should be labelled and referred to in the text; all images are called figures (and include photos) - they have a label underneath. Somebody who has not read your report should be able to look at the image and understand it from the label ("scales" or "habitat map" or "distribution" are not sufficient; "Migration map of Sterna paradisaea (Arthural 1977, p. 3)" is a good caption. If you use somebody's image, list the source in the figure caption; if it is your own photo use "feeding behaviour of Sterna paradisaea; photo by J. Bhook 2012"

If you use a table, put the caption above (again give sufficient detail in the caption).

All tables and figures are numbered (Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Table 1, Table 2 etc) and referred to in the text e.g. "...modified scales form the rattle of rattlesnakes (Fig. 1)"

Writing Style - Language should be professional and scientific. Write concisely. Put active verbs into your sentences. For example, don't say "a study of a variety of behaviours was undertaken ......." say "foraging, idling and aggressive behaviours are reported for some populations". Don't make sweeping statements you can't support without an appropriate, specific reference. For example, don't say "loss of the Eucalyptus forests will result in devastation of Australian wildlife", but something like "clear-felling of Eucalyptus open forests in Australia severely impacts on the 116 species of birds living there, 12 of which have a restricted distribution (Read 1987, p. 71)".

Don't write like you talk, and don't use casual, informal language. Be efficient; don't say "the face of the earth" just "the earth"; don't say "it was found to be", rather "it was" (examples from Topa, 2012). Use 'do not' instead of 'don't'. Each sentence should be logical (just because it has big words or sounds impressive is no reason for keeping it - make sure the meaning is clear). The taxonomic classification, including binomial name, must be correct; including all spelling, punctuation, abbreviations, and formatting. It is not necessary to reference the source from which you got the scientific name, but make sure it is the currently accepted version and include common synonyms if they exist (use authoritative sources such as text books and IUCN to get the correct version). You should write the full the species binomial name at first mention (in the title or introduction) then abbreviate subsequent mentions. Include the name of the person who described your species and the year in which it was described at first mention in the introduction (e.g. Notopteris macdonaldi Gray 1859).

Common names: it is good practise to provide the "common name" of the species as well as the scientific name - and to do so early in the report, preferably in the title or introduction. Don't use the common name throughout the report; use the correctly abbreviated scientific one instead. Note that all the letters in the common name are lower case unless a name or a place is involved: New Zealand fur seal, ornate kangaroo tick, Sturt's desert pea.

Referencing (Bibliography) - Use the Harvard form of in-text referencing (author, date and page number generally in brackets after the piece of information you use).

Attachment:- Biodiversity for the Environment Assignment File.rar