This exercise, intended as homework or an in-class exercise, provides a guided inquiry approach to understanding continental scale patterns of species richness and patterns of relative abundance within community species assemblages. Students are introduced to the concept of latitudinal gradients in species richness. They are also introduced to the concept of evenness of relative abundances within...
During two lab periods, students collect demographic data on perennial plants and then use these data in a matrix model to perform population viability analyses. During the first lab, students tag and record data on individual plants in the field. During the second lab, students compile these data to build transition matrices and then use R to run simulations. In the first year that instructors...
Ecological processes and patterns interact at various scales across landscapes. Spatially explicit consideration of pattern and process can better inform ecological questions. This Figure Set introduces students to the variability in scales of pattern and process and to the fundamentals of Landscape Ecology. TIEE
During a single lab period, students simulate colonization and drift in artificial communities to understand how these processes affect distributions of biodiversity in small versus large communities with varying degrees of isolation. Plastic bins represent islands, and are situated to represent different degrees of isolation. Ziploc bags of candy represent individuals in the communities and...
This game is one of three submitted for use in an upper level course that focuses on animal behavior. The games are paired with a published article from the primary literature, and students should read and prepare to both discuss the article and explore the hypotheses on which the studies have been based. This active learning helps to engage students in the course material and especially to see...
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