Question

Zebrafish are an important model organism used to study genetics and the development of organ systems. In addition to being a vertebrate, zebrafish develop most of their organ systems in about three days following fertilization and during this time the developing fish is clear, allowing easy visualization of developmental processes. Furthermore, it is easy to maintain and breed these fish, and a single female can lay hundreds of eggs that can then be used in studies. You are analyzing the clutch size (number of eggs) laid by female zebrafish in a small biotech company. They have about 1000 breeding females. After counting the number of eggs laid by 100 fish, you calculate that the mean clutch size is 400 eggs, the standard deviation is +80 eggs, and the standard error is +8 eggs. Based on these statistical values, what do you know about the clutch sizes of the zebrafish in this facility? What does the standard deviation value of +80 eggs tell you? What does the standard error value of + 8 eggs tell you? Please be specific in your answer; generic definitions of standard deviation and standard error, by themselves, are not sufficient. Apply those definitions to this situation. You can assume that the data you collected on the clutches has a normal distribution.

Answer 1

From the statistical data I can conclude that every zebrafish lays about 400 eggs on an average. Because of the standard deviation of +80 eggs, some fishes may lay upto 480 eggs. Because of the standard error of +8 eggs, actual clutch size may be 392, which I am counting as 400.