RECENT ASSIGNMENT

Name: G Number:
Assignment: Population Ecology Lab
1. Can you think about a few situations where either of these models would apply?
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2. Can you think of a few situations where an established population may vary from year to year?
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3. Your first step will be to produce a plot of the population size (N) by time (years). Make sure you make a SCATTER PLOT for the type of graph. Be sure to label the appropriate axes. Add a trendline to your figure, including the equation.
4. Plot of the natural log of population size over time, with a fitted linear model including its equation and R2 value. Put your answers below your figure. Was the mute swan growing exponentially over this time period? How do you know? What was the intrinsic rate of increase, r, over this period?
Address these questions using the Hubbard Brook data.
5. Produce plots of population growth over time for both species. Label all axes appropriately. Do you think these populations are experiencing density dependence? If so why? If not, why not?
6. Following the steps from before, can you estimate what the intrinsic rate of increase, r is for both of these populations? If so, what are these values?
7. Use what you learned about Excel formulas to make new columns showing the per capita rate of increase for both species, fit a linear model, and paste your figures below.
8. Use this information to determine whether the populations are experiencing density dependence. Are they both? Is one? Was this what you expected?
9. Define density dependence as it applies to a feature of a population?
10. In retrospect, was there any evidence in the figures you produced for question 5 that may have indicated density dependence? If so, what?