Me write pretty one day: how to write a good scientific paper

The scientific literature is exploding in quantity even as it stands still in literary quality. In this brief guide, I suggest a few small steps that the individual can take to make his or her writing clear, straightforward, and digestible.     

Functional response: rigorous estimation and sensitivity to genetic variation in prey

Holling's type II functional response is a cornerstone of community ecology and coevolutionary theory. The so‐called disc equation is the most widely used model of the type II response, yet thus far no robust experimental assessment has been achieved in any single system. Fundamental issues that remain to be assessed include whether the assumptions of the disc equation are fulfilled, whether the disc equation yields accurate estimates of predation‐related individual traits, and whether differences in disc equation parameters can capture genetic variation in prey behaviour. This paper provides a rigorous approach to all of these questions. The functional response of the predatory mite Pergamasus crassipes on three genetically distinct clones of the springtail Folsomia candida was measured at six levels of prey density in controlled conditions where prey number and arena size were concomitantly manipulated. A crucial assumption of Holling's disc equation was fulfilled by maintaining a constant prey density for the entire experimental period of predation. The timing of each attack and capture, as well as the duration of the handling time, were recorded by constant observation. We contrasted three different methods to calculate functional response curves: (1) indirect estimation of the disc equation's parameters from the number of prey killed by the end of each experimental run; (2) direct estimation of the parameters via a unique protocol of constant observation; and (3) independently deriving a function based on direct measurements of encounter rate and attack success. The basic assumptions of the disk equation were globally fulfilled. Estimations of the functional response's parameters (type II) were remarkably congruent across approach (1) and (2). A single genetic effect was detected – the relationship between the encounter rate and prey density differed significantly between clones – whereas a direct comparison of functional response across clones failed to reveal genetic variation.     

Using the Value of Information to improve conservation decision making

Conservation decisions are challenging, not only because they often involve difficult conflicts among outcomes that people value, but because our understanding of the natural world and our effects on it is fraught with uncertainty. Value of Information (VoI) methods provide an approach for understanding and managing uncertainty from the standpoint of the decision maker. These methods are commonly used in other fields (e.g. economics, public health) and are increasingly used in biodiversity conservation. This decision‐analytical approach can identify the best management alternative to select where the effectiveness of interventions is uncertain, and can help to decide when to act and when to delay action until after further research. We review the use of VoI in the environmental domain, reflect on the need for greater uptake of VoI, particularly for strategic conservation planning, and suggest promising areas for new research. We also suggest common reporting standards as a means of increasing the leverage of this powerful tool. The environmental science, ecology and biodiversity categories of the Web of Knowledge were searched using the terms ‘Value of Information,’ ‘Expected Value of Perfect Information,’ and the abbreviation ‘EVPI.’ Google Scholar was searched with the same terms, and additionally the terms decision and biology, biodiversity conservation, fish, or ecology. We identified 1225 papers from these searches. Included studies were limited to those that showed an application of VoI in biodiversity conservation rather than simply describing the method. All examples of use of VOI were summarised regarding the application of VoI, the management objectives, the uncertainties, the models used, how the objectives were measured, and the type of VoI. While the use of VoI appears to be on the increase in biodiversity conservation, the reporting of results is highly variable, which can make it difficult to understand the decision context and which uncertainties were considered. Moreover, it was unclear if, and how, the papers informed management and policy interventions, which is why we suggest a range of reporting standards that would aid the use of VoI. The use of VoI in conservation settings is at an early stage. There are opportunities for broader applications, not only for species‐focussed management problems, but also for setting local or global research priorities for biodiversity conservation, making funding decisions, or designing or improving protected area networks and management. The long‐term benefits of applying VoI methods to biodiversity conservation include a more structured and decision‐focused allocation of resources to research.     

Trials to assess equivalence: the importance of rigorous methods.

The aim of an equivalence trial is to show the therapeutic equivalence of two treatments, usually a new drug under development and an existing drug for the same disease used as a standard active comparator. Unfortunately the principles that govern the design, conduct, and analysis of equivalence trials are not as well understood as they should be. Consequently such trials often include too few patients or have intrinsic design biases which tend towards the conclusion of no difference. In addition the application of hypothesis testing in analysing and interpreting data from such trials sometimes compounds the drawing of inappropriate conclusions, and the inclusion and exclusion of patients from analysis may be poorly managed. The design of equivalence trials should mirror that of earlier successful trials of the active comparator as closely as possible. Patient losses and other deviations from the protocol should be minimised; analysis strategies to deal with unavoidable problems should not centre on an "intention to treat" analysis but should seek to show the similarity of results from a range of approaches. Analysis should be based on confidence intervals, and this also carries implications for the estimation of the required numbers of patients at the design stage.     

Universal,easy access to geotemporal information: FetchClimate

Geotemporal information, information associated with geographical space and time, has always been critical to climate and environmental science. However, this information is certainly not universally or easily accessible. In fact, obtaining and using geotemporal information often comes with a considerable technical overheads, impeding research progress. To address this, we introduce FetchClimate: a cloud service designed to provide easy, universal access to geotemporal information. FetchClimate enables and accelerates the use of geotemporal information by enabling it to be accessed programmatically from a Web service (such as the statistical software R) or non‐programmatically using a Web browser. We intend the service to accelerate the pace of ecological and environmental research by eliminating the technical overheads currently needed to obtain geotemporal information. The software, online manual, and user support are freely available at < http://www.fetchclimate.com >.     

Silylation of triacylglycerol: an easy route to new biosiloxanes

A new approach to functionalize triacylglycerol fish oils has been achieved. For the first time, hydrosilylation of various terminal and internal C=C double bonds in ethylenic triacylglycerol was performed under radical initiation sequence, which, after ethanolysis, gave the sol-gel processable triethoxysilyltriacylglycerol P(2). By the use of silyltriflate, new metalated triglycerides P(3), in which silyl fragments are C-bonded in alpha-position to glycerol groups, were synthesized. The sol-gel hydrolysis and polycondensation of triethoxysilyltriacylglycerol led to hybrid materials in which organic and inorganic moieties are covalently linked. These materials open new applications in drug delivery and pharmaceutical formulation.     

Behavioral neuroscience: no easy path from genes to cognition

Two recent studies illustrate the limits of a strictly molecular approach toward understanding learning and memory.     

Stories,fun and games: Teaching genetics in primary school

Nuggets are suggestions with practical advice to help in communicating biology to students. They are shorter than the formal papers and have not been peer-reviewed, but may provide ideas for the classroom. Please send contributions to the editor at: jbe@iob.org