Expert: John Locke - 9/13/2008

Question
Im not sure if you will be able to answer my question. although it is fairly general question. I am completing an assignment that requires me to design an experiment, including null hypothesis, alternative hypothesis, dependant and independant variables, controls etc etc. in regard to the question "do low temperatures effect the cane toads life cycle". It says it must be an economical and feasible experiment. I am unsure what this means.

Would it be an economical design, if i place cane toads at the same stage in the life cycle as well as the same size etc, in a controlled temperature environment. I know that cane toad ideally live in 23-28 degree celcius conditions, so this would act as a control temperature.

any help you are able to offer would be greatly appreciated!!
thanks

Answer
Thanks for using AllExperts.

The phrase "economical and feasible" will depend heavily upon the particular parameters surrounding the experiment; a herpetologist would probably design a more complex experiment to test this same question than is expected of you for this assignment. Cost and time are obviously the two major factors to consider when designing an economical and feasible experiment: is there some kind of resource limit for the experiment that you are expected to create? Virtually any biology experiment will require you to work with live organisms, and that means attending to their basic needs for food, water, and a stable environment; this in turn means expenditures of time and money. To make an experiment feasible, you will again have to consider what kind of commitment could be made to this experiment. Could you monitor these toads for a week, a month, six months? Cane toads can live up to 20 years in captivity, just as a point of reference.

Part of designing a good experiment is making sure that your question is as clear as possible. The life cycle of a cane toad is fairly complex--what characteristics of the life cycle are you going to monitor? What kind of developmental milestones? What will you need to monitor those characteristics (this is part of designing an economical experiment; you need to know what you're measuring in order to know what you need to measure it)?

That's what I would recommend. Narrow your question so that it is more obvious what exactly you're looking at, then decide what you'll need to monitor those characteristics. Then figure out how you will proceed to carry out the experiment. Specifically, your suggestion of keeping control toads at their normal 23-28 C environment is certainly feasible (helpfully, this is equivalent to room temperature; that would decrease your need for specific temperature control). I'm not sure if cane toads are commonly available as research animals--that is, I'm not sure how hard it would be to find cane toads from animal supply companies. That's something more to consider, as you'd probably want to buy toads in order to control their position in the life cycle, size, etc.

This question does not have to be difficult or troublesome. It could very much be an opportunity to exercise your creativity in the scientific field. Feel free to write me again if you have further questions. Good luck.