Animal Magnetism

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dcnick96
Former Expert
Posts: 533
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2007 7:59 pm

Re: Animal Magnetism

Post by dcnick96 »

Oh, we could spend an entire semester on this topic. For your purposes, it is important to know this:

Paired v. unpaired t tests. You did an unpaired t test, because your two populations (with and without power lines) are independent from each other. Meaning, the behavior of the population with power lines does not affect the behavior of the population without power lines. If these two populations were somehow dependent on each other, you would conduct a paired t test.

T and DF are values used to calculate your "critical value" that will be used to determine whether there is a difference in the population means.

Standard Error (SE), Standard Deviation (SD), and Standard Error of the Mean (SEM) are all ways to evaluate how far away from the sample mean each of your observed values. This is useful to see whether your observed values remain fairly close to the mean or they are spread out more. It is similar to the standard deviation.

I am keeping it simple here because, again, we could spend an entire semester on this. I found a youtube video that I think does a good job of graphically describing the process you just did. Pictures are always better!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oJjkjkY6mmA

Things you should think about for your write up.
- So you found a significant difference in the means. What does that mean in relation to your experiment and the effects of power lines?
- What does your standard deviation values mean? (they are quite large). A good way to talk about this is to plot a box plot or 95% confidence interval. You can do this in Excel. Reference this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tAUbMrXhqsE

I hope this helps. Keep asking questions if needed. Good luck!
Deana
ALANG
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 10:52 am
Occupation: Student

Re: Animal Magnetism

Post by ALANG »

Thanks for the explanations!
dcnick96 wrote: - So you found a significant difference in the means. What does that mean in relation to your experiment and the effects of power lines?
Doesn't it mean that my experiment results wasn't by chance?

dcnick96 wrote: - What does your standard deviation values mean? (they are quite large)
It means that my data points are spread far from the mean. So there may be a lot of outliers? Is that good or bad in this case?

-Alang
donnahardy2
Former Expert
Posts: 2671
Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2005 12:45 pm

Re: Animal Magnetism

Post by donnahardy2 »

Hi Alang,

Dcnick96 has given you some excellent advice on the data analysis. Your abstract and conclusion are great. I really like your conclusion and your ideas for further investigation in the future.

The p values for your latest analysis is 0.016, so change the value at the end of your abstract to match the actual results. This value means that there is a 1.6% chance that the two sets of values are different (or strong evidence against the null hypothesis). . In biological data, a value of less than 5% is considered significant. Be sure to review the links that Dcnick96 provided so you can explain your analysis to the science fair judges.

If you had any extra time and energy before the science fair, you could do additional investigation and increase the number of animals evaluated in both groups until the p value is less than 0.010 (1 %). Perhaps an additional 10-20 animals in each group would be sufficient. However, this is just a suggestion if you have the time. Your project is great as it is.


Donna Hardy
dcnick96
Former Expert
Posts: 533
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2007 7:59 pm

Re: Animal Magnetism

Post by dcnick96 »

Not necessarily by chance. Testing for difference in population means with a small sample size can be dangerous. If you don't pick a large enough sample or pick samples in such a way that your sample doesn't represent the population as a whole, your statistical test could give the wrong conclusion. You ALWAYS risk this in sample testing. These types of errors are called Type I and Type II errors. Part of setting up a statistical test is to minimize the probability of getting one of these errors. However, don't worry about that for your test.

I recommend you examine the data points that are "far" from the mean. Can you explain why? If so, certainly include that in your write up. If you can't, don't worry. This sometimes happens in the experiments and often leads to follow up testing to investigate why. The important thing to do is to keep them in your data set. Sometimes, folks like to remove outliers from a data set to "make it look better." This is poor science and could actually omit important data. Just be prepared to talk about it.

Deana
Deana
ALANG
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Occupation: Student

Re: Animal Magnetism

Post by ALANG »

dcnick96 wrote: I recommend you examine the data points that are "far" from the mean. Can you explain why? If so, certainly include that in your write up. If you can't, don't worry.
Deana
So for example, let's use "With" Power Lines. If the data points are far from the mean, in this case far west or east, then it proves to show that each animal may have a different sense of magnetoreception. If it is closer to the magnetic north, then it may either show that the specific animal doesn't respond well to magnetoreception as others. Just some thoughts there.

-Alang
ALANG
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Re: Animal Magnetism

Post by ALANG »

I know this is a long title, but this is what it is now: Determining the Effect of High Voltage Power Lines on the Magnetoreception of Grazing Animals

How does that sound?
donnahardy2
Former Expert
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Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2005 12:45 pm

Re: Animal Magnetism

Post by donnahardy2 »

Hi Alang,

This is a good title; accurate and very descriptive. You could also just change it to a question, "What is the effect of high voltage power lines on the magnetoreception of grazing animals?" Either title would be good.

Donna
dcnick96
Former Expert
Posts: 533
Joined: Wed Jul 25, 2007 7:59 pm

Re: Animal Magnetism

Post by dcnick96 »

Excellent title! I agree with Donna. Very descriptive and judges / readers will not have any doubt as to what you studied.

Your idea of reasons for the outliers are good conjectures. Unfortunately, they are just that...conjectures. Outliers don't prove anything, because they are a very small sample size. However, it is important to investigate reasons as to why they may be outliers and they would be great for a follow on experiment. I think your idea is a feasible one.

Sounds like you are well on your way to wrapping up. Fantastic work, and good luck!
Deana
ALANG
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 10:52 am
Occupation: Student

Re: Animal Magnetism

Post by ALANG »

Hello,

How do these look? Did I do them correctly?

http://prntscr.com/a0ioj6

http://prntscr.com/a0iopz

Also, I'm having trouble putting together a "Problem" section for my board. Should I say the problem is the controversy whether grazing animals do align with the magnetic north, from that link you sent me a while ago?

-Alang
donnahardy2
Former Expert
Posts: 2671
Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2005 12:45 pm

Re: Animal Magnetism

Post by donnahardy2 »

Hi Alang,

Great job on graphing your results. The color coding for the data points from different pastures is excellent.

Since all of your data is on the top half of the circle, delete the bottom half of each circle, so you will have two half circles on the display board. The titles are good because you can easily see the data from the two groups, To make things absolutely clear, you might want to add a subtitle under "With Power Lines" and under "Without Power lines," on the data stating something like, "orientation of grazing animals relative to magnetic North." . The science fair judges will be able to easily understand what you did and what happened. You also might want to make the font for "Key" slightly smaller than the font used for the title.

If you want to include the controversy about whether there is magneto reception in grazing animals, you would have to do one more analysis and compare the orientation of the control group between 0 and 45 degrees and between 45 and 90 degrees. If the orientation is random, you would expect no difference between the two groups. However, if more animals are between 0 and 45 degrees, then this would help confirm the original authors conclusions that grazing animals do have magnetoreception.

I think it would be good to do the additional analysis and validate the presence of magnetoreception in the control group. That way, you can conclude that the presence of power lines interferes with magnetoreception. With the current analysis, you can only conclude that there is a difference between the control and the power line herds.

For your problem section, you would have two parts:

1. Do grazing animals have magnetoreception?
2. Does the presence of power lines interfere with magnetoreception?

If you don't do the additional analysis, then your problem is just number 2; you would cite the original reference as the source of information confirming that magnetoreception is present.

It's good that you are spending time on the fine details. Do you have any other questions?


Donna
ALANG
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 10:52 am
Occupation: Student

Re: Animal Magnetism

Post by ALANG »

Hello

What exactly do you mean by doing one more analysis? Does that mean simply adding onto my conclusion? Because I already do compare the orientation of the 2 groups by showing the different percentages.

And per the original reference, are you talking about the link you sent me of the controversey?

-Alang
donnahardy2
Former Expert
Posts: 2671
Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2005 12:45 pm

Re: Animal Magnetism

Post by donnahardy2 »

Hi Alang,

You did an excellent job of comparing the control grazing animals with those in fields close to power lines. What you did not do is compare the control group with the expected random results if there were no magnetoreception. If you did this, you would be addressing the controversy surrounding the original paper.

Your project, as it is, accepts the conclusion of the original authors and appears to confirm that power lines affect magnetoreception of grazing animals. If you don't do the additional analysis (which is optional since you have a complete project), you should not mention the controversy about the original reference. It's up to you.

One additional item that you might consider is to do a little more background research and suggest a possibly mechanism of interference from power lines. Do power lines generate their own magnetic field? If so, how does the earth's magnetic force compare to power lines?


Donna
ALANG
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 10:52 am
Occupation: Student

Re: Animal Magnetism

Post by ALANG »

Control Group: Without Powerlines.

Sorry I'm totally lost. So I didn't compare "without powerlines" to the expected random results? So how can I do more analysis? Do I just add on to my results and conclusion? Who are the original authors - Sabine Bengall? :? :?

What were the expected random results? The outliers? :? :?

Also, on my rationale, I stated that a new navigation tool could be created through this research. After completing the experiment, what conclusion can I come to? Could I conclude that it may help cow herders to effectively feed their herds?

Can I also mention that in the future, I could find if the orientation of cow with magnetic north affects milk production??

-Alang
Last edited by ALANG on Thu Feb 11, 2016 5:34 am, edited 1 time in total.
ALANG
Posts: 48
Joined: Sun Jan 17, 2016 10:52 am
Occupation: Student

Re: Animal Magnetism

Post by ALANG »

This is what I have of my Introduction (I usually write up my introduction last due to any changes I may make during the experiment)
Recently, research has suggested that large mammals, such as deer and cows, do, in fact, have the ability to sense Earth's magnetic field. Dr. Sabine Begall, and colleagues in Germany and the Czech Republic, published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), entitled "Magnetic alignment in grazing and resting cattle and deer”. On the contrary, in 2011 , a group of Czech researchers reported their failed attempt to replicate the finding using different Google Earth images3. The Czech team wrote in the Journal of Comparative Physiology A: “Two independent groups participated in our study and came to the same conclusion that in contradiction to the recent findings of other researchers, no alignment of the animals and of their herds along geomagnetic field lines could be found.”
Our senses provide us with information about our environment. They help us find food and shelter, and to avoid danger. Magnetoreception is the ability to detect a magnetic field to perceive direction, altitude, or location. This sense is used by a surprising number of animals, including honeybees, sharks, sea turtles, rays, homing pigeons, migratory birds, tuna, and salmon. The question of whether large mammals are capable of magnetoreception has been controversial, as of late.


How is this introduction, and what else should I add?
donnahardy2
Former Expert
Posts: 2671
Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2005 12:45 pm

Re: Animal Magnetism

Post by donnahardy2 »

Hi Alang,

I do apologize for making this so complicated. You have done an excellent job of analyzing the control herds vs the power line herds, that I think it would be best to omit the controversy about the original published results and just cite the original reference that seemed to confirm the presence of magnetoreception. Your analysis was on the control vs power lines, so your introduction should be on this topic, and you can omit the controversy: .

Our senses provide us with information about our environment. They help us find food and shelter, and to avoid danger. Magnetoreception is the ability to detect a magnetic field to perceive direction, altitude, or location. This sense is used by a surprising number of animals, including honeybees, sharks, sea turtles, rays, homing pigeons, migratory birds, tuna, and salmon. The question of whether large mammals are capable of magnetoreception has been a topic of research.

Recently, research has suggested that large mammals, such as deer and cows, do, in fact, have the ability to sense Earth's magnetic field. Dr. Sabine Begall, and colleagues in Germany and the Czech Republic, published a paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), entitled "Magnetic alignment in grazing and resting cattle and deer”. The authors reported results of over 8500 grazing animals and concluded that grazing animals do have magnetoreception.

Add a paragraph about the magnetic field produced by power lines.

Add a short paragraph stating the purpose of your project.


Donna
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