Independent Project Rubric
Individual Projects – EBIO 3190, Tropical Marine Ecology
(20% of Total Grade)
These individual projects will focus on the current challenges the ocean is facing, from changing conditions based on anthropogenic (human-based) challenges. The goal of this project is to gain a wide breadth of knowledge about the overall issues, and then take an in-depth look at one chosen issue.
Reading Assignment and Summary: 20% of grade
Please read the Special Report on “Impacts of Humans on the Marine Environment”. Students are required to write a summary of the above reading that is half a page (250 words max). This will account for 20% of the project grade.
From these reading sections, you may choose a topic for your individual project from the list below, or come up with your own topic based on what you have read and what you are interested in.
Potential Topics:
- Pollution & Microplastics
- Changing Temperatures & Bleaching
- Ocean Acidification
- Coastal Development
- Algal Blooms
- Noise Pollution
- Offshore Development
- Illegal / Unregulated / Overfishing
- Abandoned Fishing Equipment
- Habitat Destruction
- Sea Level Rise
- Tourism
*Or come up with your own topic! (subject to approval)
References: 30% of grade
Students are required to utilize 5 original peer-reviewed sources. Each source should be summarized in 200 words or less, and the original documents should be provided to the instructor via PDF. A document should also be provided with the 5 references in MLA format. A guide for MLA format can be found on Canvas.
Paper: 50% of grade
Each paper should contain the following content:
- Source/history of the challenge – how did it begin / what provoked it?
- Evolution of the problem – how has it changed / worsened / improved over time?
- Damage done / potential damage of the challenge – what resulted from the issue?
- Research on the challenge – brief overview of studies surrounding the issue.
- Solutions / advancements to ameliorate the issue
Papers should be no more than 3 pages double spaced (no more than 750 words). Please use Times New Roman size 12 font and 1” margins.
Grading
Grades will be broken down as follows:
20% Summary of textbook material
30% Use of primary literature (5 sources) and reference document
50% Paper content – must include the 5 topics listed above
