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The research article had a slightly different structure. Rather than using an abstract, it began with a summary that provided the overview of the study. The introduction and proceeding paragraphs were not numbered, but were instead simply named, ‘Materials and methods’ and ‘Results’. There were no sub-paragraph headings either. This is most likely because the paragraphs in each section did not need to be organized as precisely as in the review paper. Additionally, the review paper had a significantly shorter introduction than the research paper, but this is a consistent pattern with other papers I have looked at in the past. As the review paper looks at multiple findings, it is more likely to be longer in overall length than a research paper.

            The in-text citations differed between the two texts. The review paper used citations without the author, while the research paper used citations including the author and publishing year. I noticed that the review paper cited over 170 papers. Therefore, it was not surprising to me that they did not cite the last name of every author. Overall, I learned that review articles seem to have a broader range of information regarding a field of research whereas research articles are more specific to one study.

In the research article, the sections are broken down into the generic sequence: introduction, methods, results, discussion, and conclusion. In contrast, the review article starts with an introduction, but then moves on to sections classified by content-based topics. The sections of the review article contain content that may be found in the results section of a research article, albeit less formal. In the research article, the first paragraph of each section serves as an introduction to the section itself and summarizes it to a degree. The first paragraph of each section in the review article addresses certain research studies and begins to critique and compare them with one another. The in-text citations of each article also differ in the manner in which they are presented. In the research article, the in-text citations are used in the introduction to provide background information and context in an effort to inform the reader about the scope of the project. In the review article, the citations are utilized throughout each section for factual evidence and to give the reader a perspective on the studies being reviewed.

A. Draw how a species in the Southern hemisphere will shift due to an increase in temperature.

A species in the Southern hemisphere will move south due to an increase in temperature as a result of climate change.

B.  How and why does this shift differ from the way a species in the Northern hemisphere would shift?  

A species in the Northern hemisphere would shift more northward in an effort to maintain the climate they are accustomed to.  The temperature is usually colder towards the poles due to the sun’s interaction with the surface. (Maybe in the session ask why it is colder by the poles- the sun has to travel through more atmosphere and the same amount of energy from the sun is distributed over a relatively larger area than it is at the equator.)

C. What are some factors that could prevent them from shifting effectively?

The organism’s rate of transition may be too slow to keep up with the rising temperatures.  If the organism cannot move towards the poles or up a mountain fast enough, they could potentially become extinct due to their environment becoming too harsh for them to tolerate.  Another factor could be that their food source could not shift at the same rate that the organism did. The new area that the organism shifts to may still not suit the organism’s ideal climate either.  

2. How and why do carbon levels fluctuate throughout the year?  

Atmospheric carbon levels are higher during the fall and winter months and lower during the spring and summer months.  Carbon levels fluctuate throughout the year due to the fluctuating level of plant activity. During the spring and summer months, the plants are thriving and therefore more photosynthesis is occurring.  During photosynthesis, the plants take in carbon dioxide, reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. During the winter months, the plants are less active and therefore more carbon is left in the atmosphere.

Often a debate that arises among biologists is whether or not viruses are considered organisms or if fall into their own categorization. Viruses exist alongside all domains of life. While the presence of viruses is undoubtedly influential on life on Earth there is still heavy debate as to how to we view them, with arguments on both sides of this debate. Viruses are quite unique in their physical structure, as they are in essence very simple, consisting of genetic material either DNA or RNA wrapped in a protein capsule. The presence of DNA or RNA in viruses is often used as an argument as to why they could be considered alive as the presence of genetic material and the use of that material to reproduce is a characteristic of life. However, while they may have genetic material, viruses cannot reproduce without a host cell to infect. They also do not have the ability to generate their own energy, respond to stimuli (outside of injecting a cell with their genetic material), and nor do they have a cellular structure that biologists recognize as the baseline for all organisms.

Electrons are subatomic particles. They are one of the three subatomic particles alongside protons and neutrons that make up an atom. Neutrons and protons are found in the nucleus of an atom, making up an atoms atomic weight, while electrons are found in the electron cloud. The electron cloud surrounds the nucleus of an atom and alongside the number of protons is indicative of the atomic number of an atom. Electrons are the main mechanisms of molecular interactions being either transferred or share respectively in ionic and covalent bonds to create molecules. Electrons have a negative charge when to compared to other subatomic particles. They as are found in different orbitals that make up the electron cloud.

Waves exist in a wide variety of forms. However in physics the most commonly referenced types of waves can be found on the electromagnetic spectrum. The electromagnetic spectrum deals with several different, distinct types of radiation that each have their own wavelength. Included in the spectrum is radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, UV rays, X-Rays, and Gamma rays. Each of these forms of radiation have different characteristics of a wavelength.

Among the many diverse ecosystems on Earth, cloud forests are one of the most unique. Cloud forests are typically tropical or subtropical forests that exist throughout the world at higher elevations. They are characterized by their high levels of biomass and their constant cloud cover due to high elevation and humidity. These unique conditions create interesting circumstances for a wide range of organisms that often vary from cloud forest to cloud forest as they can be found on a wide range of continents and can differ from one another greatly.

Coral bleaching is an extremely important environmental issue. Coral are invertebrates that are large colonies, with these colonies being made up of individual polyps. Coral derives most of its energy from photosynthetic algae that live on the polyps of coral. When conditions become unsuitable for these algae to live on coral reefs they vacate their homes, evacuating into the surrounding waters, often dying without protection. Conditions can become unsuitable for these algae due to the increasing acidification of ocean waters and increasing temperatures of ocean water, both of which can be attributed to anthropogenic emissions. With the lack of algae coral reefs can become bleached and eventually die. With the death of coral reefs, they can no longer function as ecosystems for other organisms and nor can they act as vital environmental barriers to oceanic activities.

Often a debate that arises among biologists is whether or not viruses are organisms or fall into their own categorization. Viruses exist alongside almost all designations of organisms, across all domains of life. While the presence of viruses is undoubtedly influential on life on Earth there is still heavy debate as to how to we view them, with arguments on both sides of this debate.   Viruses are quite unique in their physical structure, as they are in essence very simple, consisting of genetic material either DNA or RNA wrapped in a protein capsule. The presence of DNA or RNA in viruses is often used as an argument as to why they could be considered alive as the presence of genetic material and the use of that material to reproduce is a characteristic of life. However, while they may have genetic material and reproduce, viruses cannot reproduce with a host cell to infect. They also do not have the ability to generate their own energy, respond to stimuli (outside of injecting a cell with their genetic material), and nor do they have the cellular structure of what we consider to be life.

In DNA replication, the enzyme RNA primase adds a RNA primer to both DNA strands available. These primers serve as a basis for DNA polymerase III to bind to in order to begin adding new base pairs. DNA polymerase III works along both strands of parent DNA, not only adding new bases but also proofreading along the way by removing incorrect ones and replacing them with the correct ones. Once both strands have been replicated, DNA polymerase I replaces the initial RNA primers with the corresponding DNA sequence. A final molecule, DNA ligase, works to seal the gaps between any remaining base pairs.