Below is a short research proposal. Review the proposal. Identify the research question, weaknesses, and propose changes as appropriate. Many butterfly species are known to have long migrations, with some species showing spectacular movements of millions of individuals. One of the ancient tropical species is the Monarch butterfly. Thought to have originated in the Mexican and Central American mountains and valleys, it eventually invaded warming northern regions driven by its search for its valuable food source, the milkweed plant. During the falls season, monarchs from Canada and the United States will start their longest journey known as “The Great Monarch Migration” to Mexico. How the Monarch can accomplish the 3000 miles journey is still puzzling. Your friend, a lepidopterist, wants to develop a proposal to understand how genetics influence Monarch’s ability to sense changing environmental signals aiding them to get to their destinations in the fall. She believes that the Monarch has genetic components giving them advantages to identify temperature fluctuation as well as other adaptations while in migration. She plans to start the study by randomly capturing monarch butterflies with nets in two different locations and seasons. The first set of samples consisting of 1 male and 1 female butterfly will be collected from Pismo Beach, California, which is a known Monarch location during the spring. The second set of samples will be collected from Piedra Herradura Sanctuary, Mexico, in the middle of the fall. Once the sample collection process is completed, she will extract DNA from the butterfly wing’s clip and send it for Sanger Sequencing. Complete genome sequences will then be analyzed through eQTL analysis to determine any SNP that is in linkage disequilibrium with the causal polymorphism. Any significantly associated SNPs obtained from this study will be validated with Monarch butterflies from the next migration cycle. She is intent on sharing the results with her friend, who is studying the migration of locust’s species in Africa.
Below is a short research proposal. Review the proposal. Identify the research question, weaknesses, and propose changes as appropriate.
Many butterfly species are known to have long migrations, with some species showing spectacular movements of millions of individuals. One of the ancient tropical species is the Monarch butterfly. Thought to have originated in the Mexican and Central American mountains and valleys, it eventually invaded warming northern regions driven by its search for its valuable food source, the milkweed plant. During the falls season, monarchs from Canada and the United States will start their longest journey known as “The Great Monarch Migration” to Mexico. How the Monarch can accomplish the 3000 miles journey is still puzzling.
Your friend, a lepidopterist, wants to develop a proposal to understand how genetics influence Monarch’s ability to sense changing environmental signals aiding them to get to their destinations in the fall. She believes that the Monarch has genetic components giving them advantages to identify temperature fluctuation as well as other adaptations while in migration. She plans to start the study by randomly capturing monarch butterflies with nets in two different locations and seasons. The first set of samples consisting of 1 male and 1 female butterfly will be collected from Pismo Beach, California, which is a known Monarch location during the spring. The second set of samples will be collected from Piedra Herradura Sanctuary, Mexico, in the middle of the fall. Once the sample collection process is completed, she will extract DNA from the butterfly wing’s clip and send it for Sanger Sequencing. Complete genome sequences will then be analyzed through eQTL analysis to determine any SNP that is in linkage disequilibrium with the causal polymorphism. Any significantly associated SNPs obtained from this study will be validated with Monarch butterflies from the next migration cycle. She is intent on sharing the results with her friend, who is studying the migration of locust’s species in Africa.
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