Experiment 1, "Dynamics of population growth: exponential and logistic growth" examines continuous population growth by growing duckweeds (Lemna spp.)
Experiment 2, "Resource limitation and population growth" examines the conditions that result in maximum population growth of Lemna by manipulating the resources that limit growth including nutrients, light, and surface area.
Experiment 3,...
In this laboratory exercise, the following issues are examined: 1) why neither predators nor prey go extinct when there is a long period of nonrenewal of the prey population 2) the effects of habitat on foraging speed 3) the advantages foragers can gain from experience in foraging 4) the advantage of exclusive use of an area for foragers 5) the effects of food density on foraging speed 6) the...
In this Experiment, students design an experiment to examine intraspecific and interspecific competition using two species of parasitoid wasps (Nasonia vitripennis and Melittobia digitata). Students examine the effect of both types of competition on reproductive output in the wasps. One or two females are placed on a single host: alone, or a competitor of the same species (intraspecific), with a...
A herd of alpine ibex (Capra ibex) struggles through deep snow. A recent study examined 45 years of census data for a population of alpine ibex in Gran Paradiso National Park in northwestern Italy. Researchers found that in the absence of natural predators and human hunting, density dependence and the severity of winter weather limit the population’s size. Severe winter weather affects populatio...
A juvenile Marbled Murrelet (Brachyramphus marmoratus) sits on its nest platform high in an old-growth Douglas fir. The Marbled Murrelet is an endangered seabird. A recent study used age-ratio analysis of museum specimens collected from 1892-1922 to measure long-term demographic changes in this species. Researchers compared the long-term demography with contemporary estimates and predictions from...
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