Biology Now, 2e

Caves of Death ■ 9

patterns in the data and addressing how or

why those patterns came to exist. The tools of

statistics—a branch of mathematics that can

quantify the reliability of data—help scientists

determine how well those patterns support a

hypothesis. Observational studies usually rely

Figure 1.4

Hypotheses are supported or not

supported, but never proved

Although the claim of scientifically confirmed

mildness in this vintage advertisement for

cigarettes seems ridiculous, “science” is still

used to sell products today. Most Americans

see thousands of advertisements every day, and

many of these make “scientific” claims that are

exaggerated or inaccurate.

Q1: State the hypothesis that this

advertisement is claiming was scientifically

tested.

Q2: State a prediction that comes from

this hypothesis. Is it testable? Why or why

not?

Q3: Explain in your own words why the

hypothesis cannot be “proved.”

on both descriptive and analytical methods to

test predictions made by a hypothesis.

In 2009, Blehert, Behr, and Hicks published

a scientific paper in which they described the

results from inspecting 117 dead bats. They iden-

tified microscopic damage caused by a specific

kind of fungus in 105 of the bats, and isolated and

identified the fungus from a subset of 10 of them.

It was a type of cold-loving fungus belonging to a

group of fungi called Geomyces. They named this

new species Geomyces destructans.

Their observational study revealed a correla-

tion between white fungus on the noses of bats

and bat illness and death. Observational studies

suggest possible causes for a phenomenon, but

they do not establish a cause-effect relation-

ship. To demonstrate that the fungus was actu-

ally causing the illness—and not just correlated

with it—Blehert designed and conducted an

experiment. Testing scientific hypotheses often

involves both observational and experimental

approaches (Figure 1.5).

Catching the

Culprit

An experiment is a repeatable manipulation

of one or more aspects of the natural world.

Blehert’s experiment was to take healthy bats

into his laboratory and expose them to the

fungus. Like analytical observational studies,

experimental studies use statistics to determine

whether the experimental results support or

refute the hypothesis being tested.

In studying nature, whether through obser-

vations, experiments, or both, scientists focus on

variables, characteristics of any object or indi-

vidual organism that can change. In a scientific

experiment, a researcher typically manipulates

MELISSA BEHR

Melissa Behr, formerly with the New York

Department of Health, is now a doctor of

veterinary medicine at South Dakota State

University. She conducts research on the

pathology and biology of bats and teaches at

the UW veterinary school.