Finding a species-area relationship for island birds using Solver in Excel
Grasping the mathematics underlying the species-area relationship in island biogeography can be difficult for students if they experience it passively. This exercise allows students to take an authentic data set of bird species richness from different islands in the Solomon Islands Archipelago and fit a species-area relationship (S=cAz). Students explore a biological concept in a hands-on fashion and better understand how mathematical models are employed in ecology.
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| Primary or BEN resource type | |
| Secondary resource type | |
| Discipline Specific Core Concepts | |
| General Biology Competencies | |
| Life science discipline (subject) | |
| Keywords | species-area curve, Excel, Solver, least-squares line, biogeography |
| Key taxa | birds |
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| Intended End User Role | |
| Language | |
| Educational Language | |
| Pedagogical Use Category | |
| Pedagogical Use Description | This can be used as an in-class lab exercise, a take-home lab exercise, or a combination of the two. |
| Uniqueness | Students use an authentic data set to apply ecological models. |
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| Structure | |
| Full Name of Primary Author | Matthew R Orr |
| Primary Author Controlled Name | |
| Primary Author Affiliation | OSU-Cascades |
| Primary Author email | matt.orr@osucascades.edu |
| Secondary Author Email(s) | orrma@oregonstate.edu |
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| Submitter Name | Matt Orr |
| Submitter Email | matt.orr@oregonstate.edu |
| Rights | copyright Matt Orr 2018 |
| License | |
| Publisher | |
| Review type | |
| Drought and Water Ecosystem Services Collection | Off |
| Conservation Targets Under Global Change Collection | Off |
| Big Data Collection | Off |
| Editors Choice | No |
| Resource Status | |
| Date Of Record Submission | 2018-08-07 |
| Date Of Record Release | 2019-01-25 18:03:03 |
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| Date Last Modified | 2019-01-25 18:03:03 |
| Release Flag | Published |
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