RateMyProfessors com versus formal in-class student evaluations of teaching

Using data for 426 instructors at the University of Maine, we examined the relationship between RateMyProfessors.com (RMP) indices and formal in-class student evaluations of teaching (SET). The two primary RMP indices correlate substantively and significantly with their respective SET items: RMP overall quality correlates r = .68 with SET item, Overall, how would you rate the instructor?; and RMP ease correlates r = .44 with SET item, How did the work load for this course compare to that of others of equal credit? Further, RMP overall quality and RMP ease each correlates with its corresponding SET factor derived from a principal components analysis of all 29 SET items: r = .57 and .51, respectively. While these RMP/SET correlations should give pause to those who are inclined to dismiss RMP indices as meaningless, the amount of variance left unexplained in SET criteria limits the utility of RMP. The ultimate implication of our results, we believe, is that higher education institutions should make their SET data publicly available online. Accessed 23,821 times on https://pareonline.net from May 29, 2007 to December 31, 2019. For downloads from January 1, 2020 forward, please click on the PlumX Metrics link to the right

Identification of the subspecies of Oreochromis niloticus (Pisces: Cichlidae) using restriction endonuclease analysis of mitochondrial DNA

Restriction endonuclease analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) was used to characterize differentiation among the seven described subspecies of Oreochromis niloticus from East Africa and Egypt. Mitochondrial DNAs of 14 populations were examined with 42 restriction endonucleases. Two subspecies of Oreochromis spilurus were also examined. Approximately 8% of the mitochondrial genome of O. niloticus (17 070 ± 40 base pairs) was assayed; 29 (70%) of the 42 restriction enzymes that were examined displayed restriction phenotypes that varied among the samples analyzed. Several endonucleases produced restriction phenotypes which were diagnostic for the described subspecies of O. niloticus, though a few samples did not agree with the conventional taxonomy of the group. Extensive differentiation of some populations suggests that additional taxonomic recognition is warranted. Because all subspecies of Oreochromis niloticus could be distinguished by their unique restriction enzyme profiles, analysis of mtDNA can be used to identify the origin of cultured stocks. This study provides the first molecular key for the objective identification of this taxon

Phylogenetic Relationships of Clawed Lobster Genera (Decapoda : Nephropidae) Based on Mitochondrial 16S rRNA Gene Sequences

Approximately 350 base pairs (bp) of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene were used to study the phylogenetic relationships among 5 genera of the clawed lobster family Nephropidae (infraorder Astacidea), including Homarus, Homarinus, Metanephrops, Nephrops, and Nephropsis. Maximum-parsimony analysis, using a hermit crab, Pagurus pollicaris (infraorder Anomura), as an outgroup. produced a tree topology in which Homarus and Nephrops formed a well-supported clade that excluded Homarinus. The same tree topology was obtained from both neighbor-joining and maximum-likelihood analyses, Some morphological characters that appear synapomorphic for Nephrops and Metanephrops may be due to convergence rather than symplesiomorphy. The current taxonomy, therefore, does not reflect the phylogeny of this group as suggested by the molecular data. More molecular data and studies using homologous morphological characters me needed to reach a better understanding of the phylogenetic history of clawed lobsters

Phylogenetic Relationships of Clawed Lobster Genera (Decapoda : Nephropidae) Based on Mitochondrial 16S rRNA Gene Sequences

Approximately 350 base pairs (bp) of the mitochondrial 16S rRNA gene were used to study the phylogenetic relationships among 5 genera of the clawed lobster family Nephropidae (infraorder Astacidea), including Homarus, Homarinus, Metanephrops, Nephrops, and Nephropsis. Maximum-parsimony analysis, using a hermit crab, Pagurus pollicaris (infraorder Anomura), as an outgroup. produced a tree topology in which Homarus and Nephrops formed a well-supported clade that excluded Homarinus. The same tree topology was obtained from both neighbor-joining and maximum-likelihood analyses, Some morphological characters that appear synapomorphic for Nephrops and Metanephrops may be due to convergence rather than symplesiomorphy. The current taxonomy, therefore, does not reflect the phylogeny of this group as suggested by the molecular data. More molecular data and studies using homologous morphological characters me needed to reach a better understanding of the phylogenetic history of clawed lobsters

Collaborative Research: Origins of Cods on Georges Bank: Contributions of Early Developmental Stages for the Scotian Shelf

Recent work in the Georges Bank-Gulf of Maine area has documented significant, and apparently episodic, fluxes of Scotian Shelf Water (SSW) from the Nova Scotian continental shelf to Georges Bank. SSW is a relatively cold and fresh water mass with a significant component from the St. Lawrence River, and is commonly identifiable with temperature-salinity analyses of hydrographic data and in satellite images of sea surface temperature. One such flux episode was observed last March (1997) in satellite imagery and from shipboard hydrographic sampling on Georges Bank. Qualitative at-sea analyses of ichthyoplankton sampled on the March cruise revealed a remarkably tight association between abundances of gadid eggs and the distribution of SSW suggesting, along with other lines of evidence, that most of those eggs were spawned on the Scotian Shelf and were advected with the SSW water mass to Georges Bank. The fundamental question thus arises: to what extent are cod on Georges Bank imported to the Bank as early development stages by advection from Canadian waters to the east? The goal of this research is to answer the above question. The approach will be two tiered: (1) Drs. Townsend and Radtke will perform retrospective elemental analyses of otoliths from archived larval cod samples, as well as of ichthyoplankton samples to be collected in 1998 and 1999 as part of the continuing Georges Bank GLOBEC project, analyzing them for Sr/Ca ratios, using an X-ray electron microprobe, and elemental fingerprints , using UV lazer ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICPMS). (2) They will also assess the genetic identity of the larvae relative to larval and adult populations from Georges Bank and from the Scotian Shelf using nuclear DNA microsatellite techniques. They will first verify the elemental composition of otoliths from cod larvae known to have been spawned in the two locations. This elemental analyses will be combined with laboratory rearing experiments of larvae to determine the effects of temperature, salinity, feeding, and growth rates on the incorporation of elements in the otoliths. DNA based techniques will be used to identify individuals in these common-garden rearing experiments. The second step will be to identify the origin of larvae based on individual DNA profiles generated by characterizing nuclear DNA microsatellites, a new class of genetic markers that they have used to differentiate Georges Bank cod from those of Scotian Shelf waters.The intent in using the two different, independent approaches is to be able to identify the spawning locations of the larvae and track their transport in relation to hydrographic characteristics of water masses in the region

Molecular Phylogenetics of Mole Crabs (Hippidae : Emerita)

Mole crabs of the genus Emerita (Family Hippidae) inhabit many of the temperate and tropical sandy beaches of the world. The nine described species of this genus are rarely sympatric, and most are endemic to broad biogeographic regions. The phylogenetic relationships among the species have not yet been investigated. Based on presumed morphological synapomorphics, it has been suggested that the species inhabiting the New World constitute a monophyletic group, as do the species inhabiting the Old World, The relationships within the New World species were previously studied using sequence data from Cytochrome Oxidase I and 16S rRNA mitochondrial genes; the results strongly suggested that one of the species, Emerita analoga, was very divergent from the other taxa examined. This observation prompted uncertainty about monophyly of the New World species. The goal of the present study was to elucidate the relationships among the species within the genus Emerita. Partial sequences for the mitochondrial COI and 16S rRNA genes for all nine species of the genus (and several outgroups) were examined. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that E. analoga is closer to the Old World taxa than to the other New World species; thus the New World Emerita species do not constitute a monophyletic group

The Utility of SATA Satellite DNA Sequences for Inferring Phylogenetic Relationships an1ong the Three Major Genera of Tilapiine Cichlid Fishes

The SATA satellite DNA family of sequences, composed of three size variants of approximately 237, 230, and 209 bp, is conserved in the genomes of tilapiine and haplochromine cichlid fishes. In the present study we examined the utility of the SATA sequences for inferring phylogenetic relationships among the three major genera of tilapiine fishes, Oreochromis, Sarotherodon, and Tilapia. Hybridization of the monomer SATA repeat to genomic DNA of representative cichlid species established conservation of the sequence in the African tilapiine and haplochromine lineages and its absence from other cichlid lineages. Bootstrapped DNA parsimony and neighbor-joining analyses of derived consensus sequences revealed two distinct clades, one containing the mouthbrooding genera Oreochromis and Sarotherodon, and the other containing the substrate spawning genus Tilapia. These results are consistent with recent independent studies using mitochondrial DNA and establish the utility of the SATA satellite DNA family for phylogenetic reconstruction. Concerted evolution of the SATA sequences was also demonstrated within the tilapiine tribe

Genetic differentiation among Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) from Browns Bank, Georges Bank, and Nantucket Shoals

This study examines genetic variation at five microsatellite loci and at the vesicle membrane protein locus, pantophysin, of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) from Browns Bank, Georges Bank, and Nantucket Shoals. The Nantucket Shoals sample represents the first time cod south of Georges Bank have been genetically evaluated. Heterogeneity of allelic distribution was not observed (P>0.05) between two temporally separated Georges Bank samples indicating potential genetic stability of Georges Bank cod. When Bonferroni corrections (α=0.05, P<0.017) were applied to pairwise measures of population differentiation and estimates of FST, significance was observed between Nantucket Shoals and Georges Bank cod and also between Nantucket Shoals and Browns Bank cod. However, neither significant differentiation nor significant estimates of FST were observed between Georges Bank and the Browns Bank cod. Our research suggests that the cod spawning on Nantucket Shoals are genetically differentiated from cod spawning on Browns Bank and Georges Bank. Managers may wish to consider Nantucket Shoals cod a separate stock for assessment and management purposes in the future