Biology 625
ANIMAL PARASITOLOGY
Term paper


There are two options concerning how you may accumulate points within the laboratory. Option #1 is to hand in 10 microscope slides of your own making each with an individual species of parasite permanently mounted in resin. Each slide is worth up to 10 points, with a maximum of 100 points possible. That procedure is outlined in the laboratory manual. Option #2 is to make 5 permanently mounted slides which will be worth up to 50 points, and then accumulate the other 50 points by writing a term review paper over a specific subject. Both the TA for the course and myself will each read your paper, assign a point total, and then split the difference in half to assign your final point total for the paper.

If you eventually choose the review paper option, then you MUST notify me by November 15th that you are choosing that option. It takes time to accumulate good papers to write a review paper and it often takes 10-12 days for articles to arrive through interlibrary loan. Thus, after November 15th, you are locked into your decision and no hardship cases will be considered. At the time you pick the paper option, you must also discuss with me your exact topic. I will then be able you help you narrow the focus so you're not being too broad, and discourage you from attempting a topic for which little or no data exists. I will also attempt to provide you with several references to help get you started. You may wish to contact Gayle Willard, director of the Veterinary Medicine library (532-6006), who can help you with your literature search.

There are a number of rules that apply to the term paper in the class, and these are in place to help assure that you produce an accurate, good quality, scientific product. Please disregard any scientific writing classes you took from an English Department since non-scientists are terrible at writing scientifically and the product will most likely be unacceptable. The guidelines are as follows:

  1. The paper needs to be in the form of a scientific review article. You are amassing as much of the scientific literature as possible and then writing a general review for an audience with a wide range of backgrounds. Paraphrase in your own words and DO NOT plagiarize.
  2. The paper must be no less than 10 typed, double-spaced pages with no less than 1 inch margins and a font size between 10 and 12. It may be longer if you choose. Titles and the bibliography MAY NOT be included in the 10 pages of text. DO NOT attempt to use triple spacing, extra wide margins, etc.
  3. Number the pages in the upper right corner and be sure that your 1 inch margins DO NOT begin with the page number (i.e. place your page numbers 0.4-0.6 inches from the top of the page).
  4. Make a copy for yourself. I plan to keep the copy you give to me.
  5. Simply staple the pages together. Do not bind the left hand margin or put any fancy cover on your paper. This is fluff.
  6. You must use a spell checker before you hand in your paper. Points will be taken off for mis-spelling and poor sentence construction.
  7. Footnotes and quotations are not allowed.
  8. URL addresses (i.e. http...) are not allowed as citable sources. However, pdf articles published in on-line, peer reviewed journals are acceptable.
  9. Cite articles within the text of your review article by authors name in parentheses. For instance (Upton, 2003) or (Fayer et al. 2000) or (Fayer et al. 2000; Upton, 2003). Do not use numbers or footnotes.
  10. Do not make any matter of fact statements that are not supported by the scientific data. If you opt to hypothesize, challenge, or make new conclusions based on the data, then make sure it is clear that it represents your own interpretations. Reaching your own, new conclusions from the data is strongly encouraged and it is perfectly fine to be critical.
  11. The bibliography must consist of no less that 10 scientific papers published in peer reviewed journals. All authors must be listed for each article, the full title of each referenced paper must be included, and a correct journal citation must occur. Books or book chapters may be included, but may not be counted as one of your 10 peer reviewed articles since they are not considered a peer reviewed publication. Examples of bibliographic style are as follows:
    1. Fayer, R., Morgan, U., and Upton, S.J. 2000. Epidemiology of Cryptosporidium: transmission, detection and identification. Int. J. Parasitol. 30: 1305-1322.
    2. Upton, S.J. 2003. Cryptosporidium: they probably taste like chicken. In, Crytosporidium: from Molecules to Disease. Thompson, R.C.A., Armson, A., and Ryan, U.M., eds. Elsevier Science B.V., Amsterdam. pp. 38-50.

Some suggested topics

  1. Provide an in depth review, out-lining support both for and against, the Red Queen hypothesis
  2. Write a review article on how acanthocephalan larval stages influence the behavior of their intermediate hosts so that parasite transmission is enhanced
  3. Nesting behavior in birds is sometimes influenced by nest parasites. Review the known literature and provide examples of various nesting strategies and how birds avoid nest parasites
  4. Write a review on the life-cycle strategies within the phylum Nematomorpha, complete with host distribution records for those species known from the U.S.
  5. Review recent literature on tickbirds (Buphagidae), carefully going over the recent findings that the birds may be more parasitic than mutualistic.
  6. Write a review article on the parasitic fish commonly termed the "candiru" (i.e. Vandellia cirrhosa) that (rarely) enters the urogenital system of humans
  7. Write a review article on the species and distribution of sandflies occurring within the U.S., complete with a key to the 14 known species north of Mexico.
  8. Write a review article on the species and known host distribution of beetles parasitic on mammals worldwide, complete with a key to the species of the 4 known genera.

Biology 625


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