I: Write/Rewrite introduction to your lab report paper on in light of the research literature found in the library session.

What subject areas do you need more background so that you can more fully understand the project you are going to pursue?

Find published research that verifies and expands on questions derived from your sand plain forest field studies.  Find 1-3 journal articles in this session that could be cited in your introduction that do the following.  Also, consider Reference Sources and books as background information about specie and habit information

 A. “Setting the stage” or context for this project - Are there similar studies done and reported on in the research literature?
    - Find background materials on Sand Plain Forests (Vermont and other regions)
    - Find research journal articles covering biodiversity in studies related to the ones you have done.

B. Main Question.- Read the journal articles and give how the authors frame and relate their studies to the larger scientific context - Community Ecology
    For Example:
           Succession
           Community Structure
           Microhabitats
           etc.....
    What other subsets might be addressed in their articles?

C. Predictions: How do the researchers frame and justify their predictions in the journal articles you found?  What background information or direct observations led to their predictions? 

D. Similar or complementary findings:  Do any articles have similar or complementary findings to the results you found and interpreted in your field studies?

Main Outcome of the Library Lab: 

By reviewing the research literature, students expand their knowledge of how their research in the field addresses the scientific principles covered in this course: succession, specie diversity, community & population ecology, etc.  In addition, students gain an understanding of how predictions in the research literature are based on background information and observations made by scientists.

II: How to Find Resources

A. Example Search Statement

B. Journal Databases for Biology

C. Reference Sources

D. Online Catalog

The following simple search statement can be broken down to searchable terms.  Identify main concepts brake them down to synonymous, broader, or narrower terms.

Searchable Terms can be combined by the Boolean search term AND

Sand Plain Forests
sandplain
forest*
pine barrens
pine-oak-heath
pitch pines
rotting logs
dead wood
litter
riparian forest buffer
forest edge
shade tolerance
canopy

Biodiversity
succession
diversity
distribution
specie distribution
specie composition
disturbance history
microhabitat
forest fragmentation
niche
fire
fire ecology
fire history
prescribed fire
vegetation dynamics
natural disturbance


 

Plants
shrub layer
oil
fragmentation
water - tree size
moisture
fire
burning
fragmentation
PH
undergrowth
red maple (acer rubrum)
scrub oak (quercus ilicifolia)
oak barrens

• I. Journal Databases for Biology http://www.smcvt.edu/library/databases/subject/default.asp
  All of the databases and indexes below may be reached from the link above this page. 

Academic Search Premier
Interdisciplinary full-text database containing articles from many major Life Science journals.

Example Searches:
sandplain forest* - 9 hits
"sand plain" forest* - 11 hits
"pine barren*" - 131 hits
"pitch pine*" - 42
"sand plain" and fire*    [out.pdf - article]
forest and fire and succession
forest and succession and PH

("sand plain" or "sand plain" or heath* or "pitch pine" or "pine barrens" or "pine oak heath") and forest and (succession or fire or burning or disturbance)

    ....try other combinations based on your field studies

Science Direct Web Editions
Over 900 full text journals covering the Life Sciences

ProQuest Biology Journals
Provides access to a wide range of biology topics. The database includes over 285 titles, with more than 250 available in full-text.  Journal Title List

JSTOR  Arts & Sciences I, II, and III
Full text archive of scholarly journals, including the following:
[To only search Biology Journals - Choose ADVANCE SEARCH, and select Biological Sciences - 6 journals

Biology //  Ecology

Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 1970-2000

Ecological Applications 1991-2001

Ecological Monographs 1931-2001

Ecology 1920-2001

Journal of Animal Ecology 1932-2002

Journal of Ecology 1913-2002

 

BasicBIOSIS
Indexing and abstracts for 375 core life science journals

 

Google Scholar
Good source to use for finding research articles not found always found in library periodical databases.

Reference Materials for the Sciences can be found in the section: Q.  Species can be found in QL.   Botany and Plant topics can be found in QK and SB-SD.

• Species Reference -  QL section for print

  Plant Reference

  Eastern Trees
  QK115 P46

  The Illustrated Boolk of Trees
  REF QK482 G73 1983

  Mushrooms of North America
  REF QK617 P552

  Flora of North America
  REF QK110 P55

  Dictionary of the Fungi
  REF QK600.35

  Lichens of North America
  REF QK586.5 B76
   

Species Reference -  QL section for print

Grzimek's Animal Encyclopedia
REF QL 3 .g7813

American Beetles  Vol 1-2
REF QL581 A43 2001

American Insects
REF QL474 .A76

An inordinate fondness for beetles
REF QL573 .E89 1996
 

Electronic Reference Sources

AccessScience

Biology  (4 vol encyclopedia)

Other Library Catalogs: UVM, WorldCat
Available @ http://www.smcvt.edu/library/books/other.asp 

WorldCat  The OCLC Online Union Catalog, containing over 50 million records of books, Web resources, and other material owned by libraries worldwide. You may get books delivered via Interlibrary Loan.