How to conduct primary research:  

Before the main research sessions begin, Dr. Matthews would like you to make a research plan with your teammates.  This plan should list the proposed changes to features that each team member will be researching, along with the two hypotheses to be explored for each change.

During the main research sessions, you will search out answers to the six bulleted questions in Dr. Matthews’ email and take detailed notes.  These questions are designed to lead you to a point where you can predict whether the worm would be viable, or able to survive as an organism, with the change.  Since you cannot prove for certain whether your predictions are right or wrong, you will have to use whatever evidence you can find to argue that your predictions are accurate. 

Team Planning Session

1. Meet with your team to develop a research plan.
   
   
   • Download a copy of the Research Plan Template to use for your planning. It is attached to Dr. Matthews' email.
     
     
2. On the template, list the one or two change(s) that each team member will research.
   
   
   • You may not have enough time to research every idea on your list, so prioritize carefully. Mark the ideas that your team agrees are the best so that you can tackle them first.
     
     
   • Divide the list of proposed changes to features so that each person on the team has one or two ideas to start researching.  Record each team member’s topics on the template.
     
     
     • If there are too many potential changes to consider, you may want to eliminate the ideas that the team agrees are the least promising.
       
       
     • If, on the other hand, you find you’ll have time to research more than two changes apiece, you may print out additional sheets, as needed.
       
       
3. List the two hypotheses that will be explored for each change.
   
   
   • For each change, Dr. Matthews has asked you to investigate two main hypotheses.  For more background on hypotheses, review Hypotheses and the Scientific Method. Find this FAQ page under Basic Concepts in Science in the Resources, above.
     
     
   • For this project, you cannot test your hypotheses adequately; it would take years to design and carry out experiments as a real scientist would. Bill Clark and Dr. Matthews simply want you to make the best predictions you can, based on conclusions you make from information you discover.
     
     
   • The hypotheses you should write for each change are:
     
     
     • Hypothesis 1: The change to <your feature> will improve the soil.
       
       
     • Hypothesis 2: The change to <your feature> will not impair the earthworm's ability to survive.
     
     
   • Remember to tailor each hypothesis to the specific feature you are investigating. For example, if you are proposing that toughening the earthworm’s skin would protect the earthworm from predators, you might write:
     
     
     • Hypothesis 1: Toughening the earthworm’s skin will improve the soil by protecting the worm from predators.  This will allow more worms to live and to do their work for longer periods.
       
       
     • Hypothesis 2: Toughening the skin will not impair the earthworm’s ability to survive.
       
       
4. Complete Part II of the Research Plan Template, the projected timetable.  Show how long you expect it to take to complete all parts of your work.
   
   
   • In this research project, you need to address the six bulleted questions for each feature. Use the template to plan how much of this you’ll accomplish in each work period.
     
     
   • Estimate how long it will take to complete all pieces of the research. Make sure your work goals for each session will enable your team to meet the specific deadline set by your mentor. 
     
     
   • The work plan is complete when each team member has reviewed it and agreed to it.
   
   
   
   • For additional help with time management and work planning, see Project Management in the General Skills Resources in the left menu.
     
     
5. Submit your team’s research plan to your mentor for feedback.
   
   
   • Each team must submit one completed Research Plan Template to the mentor.
     
     
   • You may begin the next phase of work before you get feedback from your mentor on the Research Plan, but meet with your mentor as soon as possible. 
     
     

Main Research Session A

1. Get organized to do the individual portion of the research.
   
   
   • Download the Main Research Template, attached to Dr. Matthews' email, and then make a copy for each change you are investigating. You can alter the template to give yourself more room under each question to write the evidence you find. You may want to give each question one whole page for notes.
     
     
   • Review advice on Taking Notes in the General Skills Resources link in the left menu.
     
     
   • Review your work from earlier tasks for information you’ve already gathered about how specific earthworm features and functions help the soil. You might choose to include some of this information in your Main Research or to revisit old sources for more details.
     
     
   • Locate relevant websites in the Resources link above for new sources of information; Resources are listed by topic. Mark any sites that will provide details about your particular earthworm feature(s), which you listed in the research plan. You may want to print out the entire resource list so you can make notations and remember where you found helpful information.
   
   
   • You can also search the Internet for websites on your own or gather books for additional information.
     
     
2. Start to address the questions about how your feature works and how it supports life in the earthworm.  Record your notes on the Main Research Template.
   
   
   • Return to the Resources that you marked earlier as relevant to your research topic. 
     
     
   • Download the Sample Research Notes, attached to Dr. Matthews' email. Review the document to guide what information you should include for each of your team's changes.
     
     
   • Take detailed notes about each body part you are considering for change and how it works within its organ system. (An organ system is a group of two or more organs that interact physically and/or chemically in a common task.  For example, the esophagus, stomach, small intestine, and large intestine are some of the organs in the human digestive system.)
     
     
   • Use your chosen note-taking method consistently to organize your information. Be sure to note the sources where you find different pieces of information.
     
     
   • As you come across unfamiliar words or concepts, decide if this information may be needed to answer the questions. If so, do some more reading and research to find out what they mean.
     
     
   • Pay attention to visual information as well as text information.  For example, you may find it helpful to study the anatomical drawings, diagrams, photographs, and video that you may find in the Resources. Sketch pictures in your notes if it will help you describe the structure of your body part and where it is located in the body. 
     
     
     • To see how the earthworm's circulatory system works, see the video Earthworm "Hearts" (listed under Video Resources).
     
     
     
     • To see how the worm's digestive system works, see the Virtual Worm Tour and also Earthworm Animation (listed under Specific Systems of the Earthworm).
       
       
3. Explain how the change to this feature would increase the earthworm’s ability to improve soil. Continue to use Dr. Matthews' Sample Research Notes as a guide.
   
   
4. Address how the feature (and the system it is a part of) works in concert with other systems of the earthworm’s body to keep the earthworm alive. Using the evidence you find, predict whether the proposed change to the feature would affect the earthworm's systems and affect its ability to survive.
   
   
   • Think about the earthworm’s body as a machine with interacting parts.  How does one part connect to another?  What would happen if one part were broken?  Would the “machine” be able to continue working?  Think about how the earthworm’s parts connect and decide whether the earthworm will be able to keep working. 
     
     
   • As you think about the earthworm, also consider how the human body works and about how other animals’ bodies work. Use the Resources link to access additional pages that describe how living things work.
     
     
     1. Read Some Fundamental Scientific Concepts (especially the section on energy in living things) to see the connection between nutrition, digestion, the work of muscles, and movement (locomotion). 
        
        
     2. Read Some Comparison Organisms and some of the other websites for commonalities in how all animals’ bodies work. Keep in mind some of the major organ systems that help to sustain life in animals, including:
        
        
        • Digestive system
        • Circulatory system
        • Respiratory system
        • Muscular system
        • Skeletal system
        • Excretory system
        
        These are defined and explained in Some Comparison Organisms. Consider any possible effects these systems may have on one another and how different systems work together in the body.
        
        
   • Use Dr. Matthews' Sample Research Notes as a model of how to answer these questions.
     
     
   • Keep track of any questions or problems which you want to bring to your team and your mentor. When you meet, you’ll need to show which points you have resolved and explain any problems that you may still have.
     
     
   • Make an appointment to meet with your mentor if you are completely stuck and need assistance to make further progress.

Team Meeting

1. Check in with your team members to share your progress and support one another.
   
   
   • Give each person the floor for several minutes to describe his/her work process and findings thus far.
     
     
   • Encourage team members to discuss any roadblocks or problems that they are experiencing. Wherever possible, respond with ideas, suggestions for resources to explore, and encouragement.
     
     
   • In addition, respectfully challenge each other's thinking by questioning pieces of the argument or the evidence. To be most helpful, push team members to ask deeper questions and to dig further into the resources. For example, check the logic that the presenters are using: do the conclusions follow from the evidence? Have the presenters clearly explained the connections between their evidence and their conclusions? 
     
     
   • The mentor may check in during your team meeting to observe and offer some advice as needed. Pay close attention to any comments the mentor makes.

1. Complete your research by addressing suggestions from your teammates and your mentor.
   
   
2. Review your notes to be sure that you have a strong argument for each feature you intend to recommend or reject changing.
   
   
3. Before the end of this session, write a summary of your findings to present to your teammates in the next task. This summary should include hypotheses, your predictions for whether the changes would be viable, and your supporting evidence for your predictions.
   
   

Preparing for the Main Research

• Do familiarize yourself with the resources that have been made available to you.  This is a smart strategy because you'll be able to find information more easily when you are confronted with difficult questions.



• Do develop a plan for how you’ll take notes.  You will need to have a methodical process for gathering information.  This is an opportunity for you to use your own note-taking strategies and tailor them to the task at hand.  Use the General Skills Resources on taking notes, in the left menu, to help you.



• Don’t take on too many potential changes to features in the time available. If, while researching, you find that this has happened, you should communicate with your team as soon as possible. Either redistribute the work or eliminate one of the features you study.

While Researching

• Do take detailed, organized notes about each feature you are considering for change and the organ system of which it is a part.  Find the names for different parts of the earthworm’s anatomy and describe how the parts work.



• Do seek out information about the importance of each relevant organ system; determine how it supports the earthworm’s ability to live.



• Do compare the earthworm to other, more familiar animals.  There are systems that many animals have in common. Doing some research about more familiar animals may help to clarify the organ systems and how they interact.



• Do remember to think analytically about the facts you are gathering so you’ll be ready to answer the questions ahead.  Ask yourself these questions:  Based on the information I am finding, would changing this feature be workable for the worm? Would it be valuable for the soil?



• Don’t be intimidated by unfamiliar terms, causing you to rush through those points or skip them entirely. Take control; look up any terms that are new to you. Your presentation will be stronger as a result.



• Don’t become overly frustrated by the fact that there is nowhere you can just “find” the answers. Remember that you are dealing with a new problem. There are no correct answers, only ones that are well-reasoned and well-supported by the available evidence.

In this task, you need to go beyond basic anatomy and physiology and figure out how the earthworm’s body parts and systems work together to support its life and enable it to do work.  There are two new categories of resources to help you do this: Basic Concepts in Science and Comparing the Earthworm to Other Organisms.  The rest of the resources are the same as those in Task 2.

Note: When referring to a Wikipedia resource, note that while Wikipedia is a valuable resource, unlike some other websites anyone can contribute to or modify the site (whether they're knowledgeable about the topic or not). As a result, the site is subject to constant change by questionable sources. Be sure to cross-check information on Wikipedia with other reputable sites to ensure accuracy.

Video Resources

• A Lively Earthworm - This video from YouTube shows a nice, big example of Lumbricus terrestris, moving around on a man's arm. Ignore the talk about it just being "an intestine"-- there's much more to the earthworm!  
  
  
• Decomposers - This video segment from Interactive NOVA: "Earth" describes the role of decomposers in the environment. Fast forward about halfway through to see the earthworm-- "perhaps the king of the decomposers"-- doing its work. (Note: You don't need to register to view; just click on "Take a Test Drive." Use the progress bar to fast-forward, and be sure to click "on" to read the captions.)
  
  
• Earthworm "Hearts" - Earthworms are built rather differently than humans are. For example, they have five pairs of "hearts," or aortic arches. You can see them beating, one after another, in this video. The order of “squeezing” of the aortic arches contributes to the efficiency of this circulatory system.
  
  Here's what you'll see in the video: You are looking at the worm from its left side, with the head off the screen to the left. The aortic arches are the narrow bands in the lower-right portion of the image. Beginning at the head end (left) and proceeding to the right, the aortic arches darken as they fill with blood and become light again as the blood is squeezed out of them. They pump blood down into a blood vessel near the bottom (ventral) surface of the worm. From there, the blood flows toward the tail end. It eventually returns by way of another blood vessel lying near the top (dorsal) surface of the worm—ready to be pumped back down to the ventral blood vessel and on toward the tail end. (Note: If you make the video window smaller, you can see this text at the same time that you view the video.)



• Wowed by Worms - This video, from PBS's The Shape of Life series, shows a researcher and students from Colgate University searching for two different species of annelids.  The first is a marine annelid; the second is Lumbricus terrestris.

Basic Concepts in Science

• About Some Fundamental Scientific Concepts - There are three parts to this FAQ: (a) Energy, (b) Chemical Terms, and (c) Hypotheses and Science.
  
  
  1. Energy- This section explains what energy is, why it is important to living things, and how animals obtain energy. Earthworms (as well all other animals) can’t do anything without a supply of energy.
     
     
  2. Chemical Terms- This section defines some basic terms in chemistry that are important in life science.  Animals are made up of certain chemical substances, and body processes such as digestion involve chemical reactions.
     
     
  3. Hypotheses and Science- This section introduces the concept of scientific hypotheses and their importance.
     
     
• Hypotheses and the Scientific Method - This FAQ supports you in creating and testing scientific hypotheses, with examples and explanations. 
  
  
• The Chemistry of Animal Life (from About.com) - Click on this link for some basic chemistry terms related to animal life. Click on Next Page for a list of the structural elements that make up an animal, from the smallest and least complex (atoms) to the entire animal.

Comparing the Earthworm to Other Organisms

• About Some Comparison Organisms - This FAQ explains how the organ systems of the earthworm compare to those of other animals. There are FAQs on the digestive, skeletal, excretory, respiratory, muscular, and thermoregulatory systems of earthworms, showing how these compare to the systems of humans and other animals.
  
  
• Anatomy of Animals - This page describes how the important organ systems (or, in simpler organisms, specialized tissues) work in a number of different groups of animals. You can see how these systems operate differently in various animal groups, but also see what all animals have in common. To go directly to the information on annelids, either scroll down or click on “annelids.”
  
  
• Animal Digestion Chart - This chart compares the processes of ingestion, digestion, and excretion of food in a number of different animal groups, including annelids.

Introduction to the Common Earthworm

• About Lumbricus - This FAQ page will help you to get started. It will introduce some key concepts and terms that may help you seek out other specific information from the Web.
  
  
• Earthworm (from Wikipedia) - This entry provides a solid introduction to facts about the earthworm. There is a list of links for further research on earthworms at the end of the article.
  
  
• Earthworms and their relatives (from the University of Michigan) - This page provides answers to some basic questions about earthworms, including:
• What do they look like?
• Where in the world do they live?
• What kind of habitat do they need?
• How do they grow?
• How long do they live?
• How do they behave?
• How do they communicate with each other?
• What do they eat?
• What eats them and how do they avoid being eaten?
  

Definitions are provided for all of the key biology terms used on the page to describe the earthworm; just right-click on the terms in blue to open the glossary.

• The Earthworm (from G.J. McKenzie of Middleton Grange School, New Zealand) - This page provides basic facts about the earthworm’s key systems.
  

Earthworm Anatomy and Physiology (General)

Note: Anatomy means the animal’s “structure” and physiology means “how the parts function.”

• Earthworm (from World Book) provides some anatomical diagrams of the earthworm and simple, clear explanation of how the earthworm moves, breathes, and reproduces.
  
  
• Earthworms (unique features) - This is another reader-friendly page with interesting facts about the earthworm’s anatomy and physiology and some useful diagrams.  It answers the following questions:                                      
• Are earthworms important?
• How do earthworms travel? (Describes the features that enable them to move.)
• How are earthworms constructed? (Points out some of the earthworm's unique adaptations.)
• How do earthworms reproduce? (Illustrates the locations of the reproductive organs.)
  
  
• About Earthworms - This page answers the following questions:
• How does an earthworm eat?  (Includes a diagram of the digestive system.)
• Where do earthworms live?  (Describes some adaptations and survival strategies for their environment.)
• How do earthworms reproduce? (Contains an illustration of earthworm reproduction.)
• What do earthworms do?
  
  
• Glossary - This page lists definitions for over 50 vocabulary words related to earthworms, including the scientific names for many anatomical features. Use this as a tool to help you read the resources on earthworms.
  

• About Earthworms (Anatomy) - This page contains a diagram of the earthworm’s external anatomy and describes important anatomical features. 
  
  
• Earthworm Anatomy - External Features - This page provides more detail about the earthworm’s external features. It breaks down the external anatomy into its different parts and clearly explains and illustrates each feature.
  
  
• Meeting An Earthworm - This site offers a number of activities that involve working with live earthworms to learn earthworm anatomy, including doing a scientific sketch of the features of a live earthworm. Try this if you can gather live earthworms in your area. Even if you don’t wish to do this activity, there is useful information on anatomy here.

• Locomotion - This webpage describes four different methods of locomotion used by invertebrates. Click on “hydrostatic” for a detailed description of the method of locomotion used by earthworms.
  
  
• Virtual Worm Tour (digestive system) - This site gives a "virtual tour" of the earthworm's digestive system, with animation. (Warning: the tour is terrific, but do not take the quiz following the tour, as there is an error in the answer key.)
  
  
• Earthworm Animation (digestive system)- In addition to seeing the way the worm’s digestive system works, you may be interested in looking at this site to learn about a career in scientific visualization.
  

• About Soils and Agriculture -See this FAQ page to start to learn about soils, their functions for plants, and what earthworms do to soils to make them more supportive of plant growth. This page also explains some common problems with soil.
  
  
• Earthworm (Benefits) - The Wikipedia entry on earthworms contains an excellent section on the benefits of earthworm activities to soil fertility.
  
  
• About Earthworms (Ecology) - Scroll down this page to the section titled What do earthworms do?  See Figures 6 and 7 on the relationship between earthworm activities and soil quality, soil productivity, and ultimately food quality, environmental quality, and health.
  
  
• Introduction to Earthworm Science - This page explains what the earthworm does that improves the soil. Skip the introduction on earthworm investigations and scroll down to the following sections:
  
  • Earthworm Science Background Information
  • The Living Soil: Earthworms
  • What do earthworms do?


• Earthworms: The Agriculturalist's Friends - This journal article explores how earthworms influence soil fertility and how agricultural activities affect earthworms.
  
  
• Agronomy Guide: Soil Management (from Penn State) - This guide discusses some of the key properties of soil health. There is a section about earthworms and soil toward the end. Click on Next Page for an excellent chart you can use to evaluate and monitor soil health.
  
  
• Soil Health and Drought - Look at this slide show to learn the characteristics of different kinds of soils and strategies to preserve the health of the soil in places where there is risk of drought.

Annelids

The common earthworm Lumbricus terrestris is one species that belongs to a larger group of segmented worms, called Phylum Annelida. Here is some information on the Annelids:

• Annelida (from The Columbia Encyclopedia) - This is a well-organized encyclopedia entry that describes the characteristics of annelids, including information on the major organ systems. Note that earthworms are members of the subgroup of annelids called Oligochaeta.  Skip the section on Class Polychaeta and scroll down to the section on Class Oligochaeta for information relevant to earthworms.
  
  
• Annelid (from Wikipedia) - This entry about annelids is informative; however, the writing is dense with scientific terminology. 
  
  
• Phylum Annelida (from Animal Diversity Web) - This entry on Phylum Annelida is another science-heavy resource.
  

Related Topics

• Genetic Engineering: Human's Playground (from ThinkQuest) - To see what genetic engineering is all about, go to this website, designed for high school students.  The History section gives some interesting background, showing how long people have been trying to alter organisms and some of their actual scientific achievements. (You do not need this information to complete the tasks in this rotation, but you may find it interesting to see the broader context.)