Comparative Physiology

Question

Responses should be typed and double-spaced in 12pt Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial fonts and limited to no more than 2 pages. Responses should be submitted as a Word Doc or a PDF attachment to an email sent to my faculty account.

Conservation biologists working with alligators in Oklahoma have noticed that fewer alligators are being born each year. Data from field studies indicate that food availability has declined for local populations, females are producing fewer eggs, and both females and males have lower body condition indices relative to neighboring populations in Texas and Louisiana. The biologists suspect that energy allocation to reproduction is limited and constrained by other activities.

What is a reasonable hypothesis for the decline in reproductive effort observed in the alligator population if energy allocation is a driving factor? Propose a study to test this hypothesis focusing on details of experimental design. You do not need to provide an introduction, but clearly state your hypothesis and describe how you will test it. Be sure to mention specific techniques and variables you would use. To receive full credit, your proposed study must include all the basic elements of experimental design, directly relate to your stated hypothesis, and address the issue of energy allocation.