Author: Dr. Park

ECOL 4000/6000 Population and Community Ecology

Guidance for Group Presentations

Assignment: Each group is expected to give a 10-minute presentation on their biodiversity project, and be prepared to answer audience questions for 3-5 minutes. Presentations should be accompanied by no more than 10 PowerPoint, PDF or Google slides. Files should be sent to/shared with instructors in advance of the presentation.

When preparing your presentation, keep in mind

1. You will need to introduce your theory, ideas or questions to the class in a way that is intuitive
2. You will need to explain your methods clearly, so that the audience can ask critical questions
3. You will need to present your results in a way that directly addresses the theory, ideas or questions laid out in step 1
4. Conclude with research findings and future directions

Presentations will be evaluated according to the following criteria

• Participation by all group members
• Logical progression of ideas
• Evaluation of evidence and contextualization of findings
• Effective use of visualization
• Responsiveness to questions
• Adherence to these guidelines

posted here

Reading on “Latitudinal diversity gradients” is posted to the ‘Schedule’ page. There will be a short quiz on Tuesday about this reading.

Topics that are eligible for exam 2 are posted here. Please email the appropriate lecturer if you have questions about this posted material (lecturer name associated with each topic).

Please complete and turn in the following by Oct 20:

From Reading Chapter 12 – Q1

From Reading Chapter 13 – Q1 and Q2

Class on Tuesday, October 11 will consist of a discussion of the paper by Krebs et al. Please be sure to read before class! See here for a handout to guide discussion.

Please make sure to have thoroughly read the Krebs et al. paper BEFORE coming to class on Tuesday 11 Oct. You will discuss various aspects of this paper in small groups before reconvening to share your findings with the class. The paper is posted in the ‘schedule’ part of the web site under 11 Oct.

ECOL 4000: Q1-3 from R* reading, Lotka-Volterra competition question (see below) and Q1-3 from predator-prey reading (bonus Q4-5)

ECOL 6000: As above, but including predator-prey reading Q4 (bonus Q5)

Lotka-Volterra competition question: In eastern Africa, lions and hyenas are in competition with one another. For the lion, K₁ = 75 and for the hyena, K₂ = 300. Competition parameters are α₁₂ =2.5 and α₂₁ = 3.5 (where α₁₂ represents the effect of species 2 on species 1). Suppose the initial population sizes at a site are 30 lions and 75 hyenas. Plotting lion abundance on the x-axis, and hyena abundance on the y-axis, plot the isoclines (a.k.a. nullclines, ZNGIs) for each species, and plot these initial population sizes paying attention to details such as intercepts on the x and y-axis and accurate placement of initial conditions. Predict the short-term dynamics of each population and the final outcome of interspecific competition.

Email solutions to Dr Park by 5pm, Thurs 13 Oct 2016