Many biological processes involved in growth, reproduction and dynamic homeostasis include temporal regulation and coordination.

Students must evaluate the data that they and their classmates collected in order to evaluate the evidence for and against magnetoreception in pill bugs. Students are introduced to and can use circular statistics, introducing them to likely novel ideas that are related to more familiar statistical measures, such as the mean.Р”В®valuate the evidence behind explanations or solutions to determine the merits of arguments. Use mathematical and/or computational representations of phenomena or design solutions to support explanations.

Using mathematics and computational thinking: Additionally, we provide and describe online resources for using the R coding platform during statistical analysis. Students collect their own data and then analyze it using circular statistics. Students can work together and/or independently to carry out an experiment, in which they build an apparatus and collect all the data, with opportunities to alter the experimental specifics to answer additional questions.Р”Р„pply concepts of statistics and probability to scientific questions and problems, using digital tools when possible. Plan and conduct an investigation individually and collaboratively to produce data to serve as the basis for evidence and in the design of further experiments. Planning and carrying out investigations: Therefore, it is important that students are familiar with pseudoreplication and its consequences. Pseudoreplication, or incorrectly treating data points as independent, has to be properly addressed when performing statistical tests and has been a point of concern among scientists ( Hurlbert, 1984). Third, the problem of pseudoreplication can also be incorporated into the activity's discussion (see below). Although it is difficult to control for all confounding factors in any experiment, promoting an awareness of how these variables may affect animal behavior will highlight good scientific practices. Second, the activity emphasizes the discussion of issues that can arise from external confounding variables or influences РІР‚вЂњ for example, hunger level, temperature, health, previous experience, and personality. First, the orientation assay has no defined or expected result, but rather emphasizes the importance of observing and recording behavior as it arises, noting differences within and between individuals, and keeping notes of sufficient detail for use in later analysis РІР‚вЂњ all crucial tools in the study of animal behavior ( Altmann, 1974). This activity will also introduce students to basic principles associated with designing and conducting studies of animal behavior. This type of analysis, called circular statistics, is often unfamiliar to most biologists, which suggests that an initial familiarity with circular statistics during secondary and/or postsecondary education is needed. The recorded data are directions, or angles, and must be analyzed using methods intuitively familiar, but mathematically different, from canonical statistical techniques (reviewed by Lee, 2010). Indeed, this effect has been observed in several species (e.g., sea turtles, birds, and lobsters Wiltschko & Wiltschko, 1995 Irwin & Lohmann, 2005 Ernst & Lohmann, 2016). This magnetic pulse is believed to alter the pattern of magnetization of iron oxide (magnetite) particles in the body, in turn disrupting a possible magnetic sense and orientation ( Johnsen & Lohmann, 2005).

One common treatment is a strong, brief, magnetic pulse. Orientation, or a preferred direction of movement, is often compared in animals exposed to various magnetic fields or treatments in the absence of other cues. The interdisciplinary and biophysical nature of this experiment engages students in concepts of electromagnetic induction, magnetism, animal behavior, and statistics.Р”Р„ majority of the behavioral evidence supporting magnetoreception is based on orientation experiments. Finally, students analyze their results with circular statistics using the open-source R coding platform, providing them experience in coding languages and statistical analysis. Afterward, students examine the orientation of pill bugs both before and after being subjected to a magnetic pulse. The first part of the experiment includes the construction and visual testing of a pulse magnetizer built using low-cost and easily obtainable materials. We then outline an exercise that uses common pill bugs ( Armadillidium vulgare) to examine whether a pulsed magnetic field affects their directional preference. We first provide an overview of the current understanding of magnetoreception РІР‚вЂњ the ability of some organisms to sense magnetic fields.

We present a novel laboratory activity to introduce students to experimental approaches often used by biologists to study orientation in animals.

Circular statistics in biology