College of Charleston
Journal of Undergraduate Biological Investigationsm (JUBI)
An web-based journal of biological investigations conducted by non-science majors.
This on-line journal provides a forum for non-science majors to present the results of biological investigations and projects conducted in Biology 101 and 102 (Elements of Biology) at the College of Charleston.  These courses explore core concepts in biology using complex science-related civic issues which provide a context and purpose for learning.  The laboratory allows students to explore important biological concepts and processes in the context of how science is done.  The lab curriculum is structured to gradually give students practice doing various aspects of science, and culminates in a multi-week team project in which students propose, design, conduct, write, and present a scientific research project.  Moreover, peer-review of research proposals and articles allows students to experience how the scientific community establishes and agrees upon the validity of scientific knowledge.  In this way students experience the power that science has to reveal the workings of the natural world, and also the limitations, and tentativeness of this knowledge.  These aspects of science literacy are essential if citizens are to use and evaluate scientific knowledge in order to make informed decisions about science-related issues. 

For more information about this project visit Civic Engagement in Non-majors Introductory Biology: Connecting Problem-Based Learning and Scientific Inquiry. 
(NSF DUE 0410720)

Journal Submissions:

Each semester, exemplary articles or project papers are nominated by the lab instructors for publication.  All articles submitted for publication in JUBI have been reviewed/edited by a team of the author's peers, the author's lab instructor, and at least one CofC Biology Department faculty member. The planning, design and implementation of each investigation was completed by a team of students; however, each article is in large measure written by a single author (the first author on the paper).  Subsequent authors are the first author's teammates who participated in the planning and execution of the project.   Guildlines for writing a scientific article for submission to JUBI can be found at http://www.cofc.edu/~petersj/CCLI/JUBI/JUBI_Guide_to_Writing_Sci_Article.pdf

Fall 2006/Spring 2007 Articles

Holt, Dailey, Aton, E. and Colley, R. 2006. The Rate of Change of CO2 Concentration Released During Cellular Respiration Comparing Healthy and Unhealthy Leaves of the Sacred Bamboo Plant.

Abstract       
Scientists have suggested that an organism’s rate of cellular respiration is affected by the health of that organism. The effect of the level of health of an organism on its rate of cellular respiration was studied. The rate of change of carbon dioxide released per gram of both unhealthy and healthy Sacred Bamboo leaves was recorded. Healthy leaves released carbon dioxide at a rate higher than that of the unhealthy leaves. We found a statistically significant relationship between the health of a leaf and the leaf’s rate of cellular respiration. This suggests that the health of an organism directly affects organism’s rate of cellular respiration.

Miller, Emily and Forsell, M. 2006.  The Effects of Increased Temperatures on Cellular Respiration Rates in Snapdragon Plants.

Abstract
Global warming and its possible implications on the future of plant growth and agriculture have recently gained much attention from researchers.  The effect of elevated temperatures on cellular respiration rates in snapdragon plants was investigated.  An experiment was set up to record the cellular respiration rates of twenty different snapdragon plants, ten in an ambient temperature environment and ten in a manipulated elevated temperature environment.  Data from both groups of snapdragon plants was recorded and analyzed.  Results derived from both sets of data concluded that there is no significant relationship between temperature and rates of cellular respiration in snapdragon plants.  The results found in the experiment opposed the popular notion that increasing temperatures worldwide will result in enhanced plant and agricultural growth.   
Younan, R., Foster, S., and Brown, F. 2007. Effects of Fiddler Crab Mass on Metabolic Rate

Abstract
Fiddler crabs play a vital role in the ecology of salt marshes due to their consistent removal of detritus from the marshes through feeding. This removal process helps prevent an anaerobic environment in the marshes as well as increases the growth of grasses and other important wildlife in the habitat. Their role presents one with the question: what makes a fiddler crab work so productively; or at least faster? In order to answer this question, this experiment explores the affect of crab mass on the metabolic output of male fiddler crabs. Five male fiddler crabs per trial were captured, weighed, and tested for their rate of release of CO2 per gram of crab biomass (ppm/min/g). Based on the results of a simple linear regression statistical test, only 12% of the variation in the metabolic rate can be explained by the weight of crab (r2 = 0.346), and the relationship between fiddler crab weight and rate of CO2 release was not significant.  Therefore, we found no evidence to support the hypothesis that metabolic rate is affected by crab weight.
Fall 2007/Spring 2008 Articles

Jones, Emily,  Elle Rich, Esther Kim, Chris Philips, 2007.  The Effect of Pigmentation on Photosynthetic Rate in Two Species of Caladium: Caladium candidum and Caladium bicolor.

Abstract
This study investigated the possible relationship between leaf pigmentation and photosynthetic rate in two varieties of Caladium. Since plants come in all different colors, can the survival of a plant be influenced by the amount of pigmentation (which is a reflection of the amount of chlorophyll)?  Along with other needs for survival, do plants also need a certain amount of pigmentation on its leaves to help it absorb light from the sun?  CO2 uptake for four trials of each species of Caladium was measured over a twenty-minute interval where the leaves were exposed to ten minutes of full-spectrum fluorescent light (simulating sunlight) and then ten minutes of darkness.  The total photosynthetic rate was calculated and then divided by the mass of the leaf being used.  We found that there was no statistical relationship between leaf pigmentation and total photosynthetic rate.  This suggested that in the case of Caladium, the two species contrasting colorings has no affect on their total photosynthetic rate.
Bishop, Jessica, 2007.  A comparison of the photosynthetic rates of wetland plants vs. non-wetland plants based on the uptake of CO2.

Abstract
There are several varying soil types in the Low country of South Carolina.  Each of these soil types has different nutrients to offer many different species of plants.  This experiment investigated the difference between the photosynthetic rates of non-wetland plants and wetland plants.  In this experiment, samples from a common non-wetland plant, Liriope muscari, and samples from a common wetland plant, Spartina alterniflora, were taken.  Then, the photosynthetic rates of the non-wetland plant and the wetland plant were determined.  The results of the statistical analysis determined that there was not a significant difference between the photosynthetic rates of the non-wetland plant and the wetland plant (P(T<=t) one tail was 0.42).  This suggests that the soil type of the common location for a plant does not significantly affect the overall photosynthetic rate of the plant.  However, upon subsequent analysis of the data, we did discover a significantly greater cell respiratory rate in Spartina (p<0.01).  This difference may be due to the energy costs of salt extrusion salt marsh plants.