Assignment
Topic/question - The Biology and Ecology of a Plant
Choose one plant from the following list; Blackberry, Potato, River red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), Waratah (Telopea speciosissima).
This essay will encourage you to think about how all the aspects of biology of an organism are linked - from the basic anatomy and physiology, through its interactions with other organisms, to its human significance. It will also give us an opportunity early in the semester to assess your grasp of biological concepts, so that we can provide you with specific help during the Intensive School.
Sources of information:
You should aim to obtain information from at least 4-5 sources, preferably print rather than web-based. You should include at least 1-2 articles from scientific journals. The online version of a printed journal counts as print-based rather than web-based! All sources of information used in the essay must be cited (and references provided, see below). Your textbook will provide only limited help - do not be tempted to include lots of general information about plants from your textbook to pad out a poorly researched essay!
Good initialsources will be books about the general type of plant. For example, lantana is a weed and you will find information on lantana in most books that describe weeds.
You are unlikely to find a book specifically on the plant. For more detailed, scientific information, use Chapter 2 of Knisely (2009) to guide you on how to do a literature search. Web of Science is accessible as part of the Web of Knowledge package through the library. If you access Google Scholar through the library page, it should give you direct links to articles available in full text through the library.
If you do use information from the web, make sure that it comes from an authoritative source, such as a state Department of Primary Industries, a botanical garden, research organisation, university and so on.
Structure of the essay:
You must use headings within your essay to help organise the material in logical sequence. The headings you should use are:
Introduction
This should be brief - one (or two short) paragraph(s) that indicate to the reader what the essay will be about. Do not include too many specific facts - this may lead to repetition later on.Unit Information
Taxonomy
Here you should give the scientific name (if not done so already) and say something about how the plant is classified. This will include the family that the plant belongs to, and whether the plant is a gymnosperm, monocot, or eudicot. You should say something about the genus - for example, is this plant one species in a large genus, or the only speciesin the genus, or does the common name include a number of related species.
Growth form and appearance
Provide a word-picture of the plant that would allow someone to imagine what it looks like - its general appearance (e.g., herb, shrub, vine, tree), size, what the leaves look like and so on. There is no need to include detailed measurements.
Reproduction and dispersal
Think first of the natural means of reproduction and dispersal - you can mention human intervention later. When does it flower? How is it pollinated? What are the fruits like? How are the seed or fruits dispersed? Are there any environmental factors that influence seedling establishment? Does asexual reproduction play a role?
Distribution
This must include where the plant occurs in the wild, or centre of origin for a crop species. For crops and weeds you should also indicate where it is currently found or grown. For most plants this will be a general description of geographical extent, but for some you may be able to relate distribution to climatic or other factors.
Natural habitat
This heading includes the specific situations in which the plant would be found in its natural range. For example, this could be rainforest margins, along river beds, as part of the understorey in an open forest, etc.
Ecological role
The main points to cover here are the place of the plant within the community in its natural habitat. Is it a dominant tree, or a colonist of disturbed spaces? What other organisms does in interact with, for example by providing habitat or food?
Human significance
This can include any role as a crop, weed, ornamental, or in the landscape. Obviously more can be written here about crops and weeds than most natives, but keep this section in balance with the rest of the essay.
Management of populations and/or genetic resources
Again the size of this section will vary greatly, but for weeds in particular you should avoid writing too much! You can include things like conservation of rare or threatened plants, weed management, or conservation or prospecting for genetic resources of crop plants. Try to link these to the features of the biology, ecology and distribution you have described earlier.
Conclusion
Your essay should have a short conclusion (one paragraph) to indicate that it has finished. Do not leave the end ‘hanging'.
Length: 1500 words