Reference no: EM132858381
Population Ecology
Ecologists are often interested in a population (a group of individuals of one species that live in a particular area). Populations of many species fluctuate from year to year. One of the best studied cycles of populations involves wolves and moose on an island (Isle Royale) in Lake Superior.
A) Web site name: Wolves and Moose
Read "About the project"
1). How did wolves arrive on the island in the 1940s ? ___________________
2). For the first five years of the study were the populations of moose and wolves increasing, decreasing, or staying pretty stable?
3). Why did the moose population increase in the 1960s (click through the graph for information)? _________________________________
4). What happened to the wolf population between about 1969 and 1980?
5). Which disease caused a sharp drop in the wolf population around 1982?
6). Why were the low numbers of wolves in the early 1990s "difficult to explain"?
7). Why did the moose population collapse in 1996? ______________________
8). What happened in 1997 that helped the wolf population increase?
If the population of a species becomes very low, the federal government often tries to protect the endangered species.
B) Web site name: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Read "Endangered Means There's Still Time" (click on the arrow at the bottom of each page to go through the pages).
9). What is the difference between "endangered" and "threatened"?
Endangered: __________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
Threatened: __________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________
10). When did the dusky seaside sparrow become extinct? ______________
11). Why did the dusky seaside sparrow become extinct?
12). What is the main reason for species becoming endangered? __________________________________________
13). What is "old growth"? ___________________________________________
14). Why are different aged trees important for owls? ______________________ _____________________________________________________________
15). Where do whooping cranes feed? __________________________________
16). When did Florida first pass a law to protect manatees? ________
17). How many other species can be eliminated by a disappearing plant? ______
C) Web site name: BBC News
Read "Extinction alert"
18). Roughly how many species are on this list? ___________________
19). How much would it cost to protect some of the sites? _________________
Click on "Open" In Pictures to see some of these species. Give some information on two of these species below:
20). Species: ____________ Information:____________________________________________________________________________________________
21). Species: ____________ Information:____________________________________________________________________________________________
22). How many sites contain at least one species classified as "endangered" or "critically endangered"? ___________________
Click on "Open" to enlarge the map of Sites of Imminent extinction.
23). How many unprotected sites are in the US? _____________________
24). Which part of the world has the greatest concentration of unprotected sites?
__________________________________________________________
25). Which two species are being captive bred by Durrell Wildlife?
____________________________________________________________________
26). How does the community benefit in Madagascar? ___________________
D) Web site name: U.S. Geological Survey
Read "Patterns of Population Change in Birds"
27). How many bird species are covered by this survey? ___________________
Click on "controversial" and read "Are birds declining?"
28). Why is it hard to work out if a species is declining? ____________________
Click the "Back" button on the top left of the screen. Scroll down to the "Maps of Population Change". Click on the appropriate "Trend Map" to find out if a population is increasing or decreasing, or click on the "Species Richness Map" to find out where in the country a group of bird species is most abundant.
29). Are Grassland birds increasing or decreasing in your state ? _____________
30). What part of the country has the most species of Grassland birds ? _______________________________
31). Are Wetland bird species increasing or decreasing in the southern half of Texas? _______________________________
32). Are Open-cup birds increasing or decreasing in Florida? ________________
33). Which two states have the highest number of Permanent Resident species? _____________________________________________________________
34). What part of the country has the highest number of Neotropical migrants? _______________________________
In natural environments, species will increase or decrease in population for a variety of reasons. The next website concentrates on birds in Hawaii.
E) Web site name: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Read "Endangered Species in the Pacific Islands"
35). Look at the diagram of the Nuku pu'u. What is unusual about its beak? _____________________________________________________________
36). What does the Nuku pu'u feed on? _________________________________
37). What is the estimated population of these birds? _____________________
38). What are reasons for the decline of native forest birds?
Click on "Endangered species" then "Threatened and Endangered Species". Pick two different birds from the list.
39). Which bird did you pick? ________________________
40). Describe the bird: ______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
41). Summarize the "Habitat and Behavior" section: _______________________
42). Summarize "Past and Present": ____________________________________
43). Which bird did you pick? ________________________
44). Describe the bird: ______________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
45). Summarize the "Habitat and Behavior" section: _______________________
46). Summarize "Past and Present":____________________________________
Pick a different organism from the list (mammal, reptile, snail or plant)
47). What organism did you pick? _____________________________________
48). Summarize the information on this organism: ________________________
Attachment:- population.rar