The Assignment:
You will conduct research on an important Ecological topic and present it to your class (in pairs). PowerPoint presentation must be about 5 minutes and include 20 slides on causes and impacts including some images.

Magazine Article Write-Up Guidelines:
Article must be one and half pages long, in 12 font size, double spaced. Please organize your write-ups using the following section and number them accordingly.

1. Bibliographic Information: author, journal, article title, publication date and page numbers. Do not use internet articles unless they also are available in a print science journal. For example, most magazine companies also have some of their articles online at their website. (5 points)
2. Introduction: Define or describe the major terms in the title and tell basically why the subject is important. (5 points)
3. 3. Content: What was the article about? What were the main concepts and ideas that were discussed? What was the question the author was investigating? What methods did she/he use? What evidence was uncovered to support a new idea? Were any new ideas overturned? This part of the paper should make up the main body of the paper and be about one page in length. (30 point)
4. Summary/Evaluation: Restate the main areas of importance in the magazine article and discuss the quality of it from your perspective as a biology student. Please explain if you find it interesting? Useful? Readable? Boring? Would you recommend it to other members of the class? (5 points)

Sources for articles:
Use only science magazines i.e. Scientific American, Nature, Audubon, National Geographic, Time and Environment. You may also use the science section of the New York Time or Newsweek.

Description:
Locate a science journal article that is at least two full pages long (not including pictures) on an ecology-related topic, and have it approved by Dr. Harsh by October 23. No two students will be permitted to use the same article. A list of journal article topics that are especially related to ecology are listed below.
Topics:
1. Conservation Biology (protection and management of biodiversity) Four R’s-Rethink, reduce, reuse, and recycle
2. Biodiversity (species diversity) and its importance; may include extinction etc.
3. Food webs in different habitats (you can make a game using pictures) link to the magazine articles
4. Water pollution (point source and nonpoint source) control/prevention
5. Air pollution
6. Land pollution
7. Hazardous waste and its disposal
8. Nuclear energy-technology, monitoring, historical background etc.
9. Which energy source is most efficient?
10. Population and the problems associated with it
11. Natural resource and their consumption
12. Sustainability
13. Nitrogen cycle
14. Agriculture-different types of agricultural practices and their effect on the environment: pros and cons