First Paper Response Assignment

Cassar et al. 2007. The Southern Ocean biological response to aeolian iron deposition. Science 317: 1067-1070.

Cassar supplemental information also is available from Science magazine.

Respond to the following questions about this paper. Your response and summary should be about three pages in length. You do not need to number the points in your paper, but the order of topics should match the following list.

• What is the general, theoretical framework that makes this study interesting?
• To what audience is the paper addressed?
• What is the specific objective of the research reported here?
• Are the methods descriptive, experimental, based on modeling, or some combination of these? Summarize the methodological approach. (Note: you need not describe every detail of methodology to understand the "structure" of the study. For example, outline the experimental design if that is the approach.)
• In view of the objectives, what are the most important results? (Give some specific numbers here, and be sure to distinguish between the direct results of the authors' research and their discussion of the results, which may incorporate other scientific findings.)
• Do their conclusions support or contradict patterns or conclusions from previously published research? How?
• What new questions, if any, are raised by the new results presented in this paper?
• To what degree can these findings be generalized to other systems? Are the authors conclusions justified for the system they studied? Are the conclusions likely to be valid for other organisms or habitats? Why?

A note about style: Your responses should be written in your own words; very extensive direct quotes or paraphrasing cannot indicate your understanding. Sometimes phrases of three or four words are necessarily repeated (especially where technical terms are involved) - beyond that length of phrase, however, you risk plagiarism even when the source is clear. McMillan (1997)⁽¹⁾ points out, "It is still plagiarism if you use an author's key phrases or sentence structure in a way that implies they are your own, even if you cite the source." (Italics from author, and yes, I see some irony in supporting my point with a direct quote!) Unintentional plagiarism is best avoided by being sure that you understand material first, then taking notes carefully and in your own words.

1. McMillan, V. E.. 1997. Writing Papers in the Biological Sciences. Bedford Books, Boston, p. 19.