The article by Evan Richardson discusses how environmental variation influences animal traits and population dynamics; he used polar bear as the sample case of animals. Changes in the environment, climatic patterns and global warming have resulted to threatened animal plant and human life.
Global warming has affected polar life with the bear as the most affected; melting of ice and snow has denied the animal a place to hunt, travel, mate, and live. The writer is of the view that when temperatures have changed, they are having a direct influence on polar life as the habitation of the animals’ changes with melting of snow and ice caps.
The article is a sample of a peer reviewed journal that is written and research according to how a typical academic work should be represented; with the structure, other than the journal discussing an important topic in modern industrialized world, it offers readers the structure of a well-written research material. After reading the article, someone is able to connect the reasons learnt in class and how they can be applied in real life situations.
Sampling design
The sample population came from polar bears conducted in Hudson Bays during the time that the bears come ashore; the period when they are ashore is when the ices have reduced in volume, it is mostly mid-July to mid- November of every year.
The sample population was appropriate considering the limitations that the study was faced with; other than the actual sample, the researcher went further can considered other researches that had been done earlier. The research was able to capture bears of different ages, gender, pregnant ones among others; this made the sample a representative of the situation on the ground.
The main cause of error and biasness in the research might have been when collecting the samples since they were collected from the bears that were coming onshore; there are high chances that there were other animals up the shores that were not considered creating a large room for speculation and generalization.
The validity and reliability of the samples and the population is questionable; the sample was collected from a small number of animals who came offshore , then used for generalization.
Data collection
The writer collected secondary and primary data’s, the main source of the materials was from previous researches that scholars had taken on the issue and the primary research that was conducted on the animals that came onshore.
Another way that information should be collected from primary sources is visiting the polar areas and having some data collection; it possible a certain area that have bears of a certain character or species living should be visited more than once in a span of three years and information collected be analyzed and used to make the final verdict.
When collecting data, researchers should uphold high levels of ethical conduct, the most important one is to ensure they have collected information from the right population after having sort relevant licenses and permission. When they have collected the data, they should be willing to share and use it for the general good; when a research has been conducted, there is a certain population that is expected to benefit; it is thus ethical to put on measures that ensure the intended people get the information when required (Richardson, 2009).
Reference
Richardson, E. (2009). Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) Life History and Population Dynamics in a Changing Climate. InfoNorth, 62(4),491-494.