1. Animal studied: Eastern Cotton Tail (Sylvilagus floridanus).
2. The two variables you intend to use, and the two states of both.
a. Variable 1: 10 Grams of food and 1.5 Liters of Sand of covered and
uncovered trays
b. Variable 2: 10 Grams of food and 1.5 Liters of Sand at different times
3. Major topic that the variables are related to (one or two words. Big topics like
caloric efficiency, nutrient efficiency, handling time/ accessibility, anti-predator
behavior)
4. Short Species Summary or Information (about 5-10 sentences) related to relevant
facts about your species. i.e. when do they forage the most? If a food choice
related experiment, what do they usually forage on? If anti-predator behavior,
what kind of predators are present in this urban environment? What local species
might compete for your proposed food?
5. Use info above for your proposed Alternative and Null Hypotheses
6. One for each variable AND the interaction
7. Which ones for each do you expect to be the case
8. Methods
9. What kind of food?
10. How much food per tray? 10 grams of food. How much sand per tray? 1.5 Liters of
Sand
11. Briefly describe (1-2 sentences) data analysis: Two-way ANOVA
12. Map (mark tray locations
13. Mock-up Data Sheet
The following variables are not a good idea unless you are intensely interested in the logic of
how GUDs work. Each of these violate the basic assumptions of a GUD study and will require a
much more detailed interpretation and probably time spent in office hours consulting with your
TA.
• Varying the amount of substrate (sand)
• Varying the amount of food
• Varying the placement of food in the substrate