Documentary Day: The Serengeti Rules
Natural Resources Management Unit 5: Ecology
1. What are the first two things naturalists are trained to do?
2. What small ecosystems did Bob Payne manipulate to test his hypotheses, and why did he
choose them?
3. What top predators did Payne remove from some tidepools? What species over populates
when he does?
4. Explain how having the densest fur on the planet both helped otters’ survival and threatened it.
5. If sea otters do not regulate the sea urchin population by consuming a large number of urchins,
what happens to the kelp and the ecosystem it supports? Can the situation be easily
reversed?
6. Describe the quality of the water where Mary first went snorkeling; why is our experience
snorkeling in the Chesapeake so different, do you think?
7. How quickly did the absence of largemouth bass change the ecosystem in the green pool? Do
you think it happens that quickly in all ecosystems - why or why not?
8. Why did the predators move out of Guri, Venezuela?
9. Describe the two species of ants that help illustrate the important roll of predators and the
species’ relationship with one another.
10. What is “downgrading” in ecosystems?
11. What is the “browse line”? How does the presence of high populations of deer affect the
temperate deciduous forest ecosystem?
12. What was the cause of the first crash of the wildebeest population? Were humans involved?
13. How were the first two naturalist’s skills (see question 1), plus patience, essential to solving
the wildebeest mystery?
14. How are wildebeest different from white-tailed deer, and how did that influence the change in
the ecosystem?
15. One of the scientists says “It was only by talking to each other that we realized we were
talking about the same thing.” What do scientists need in order to effectively communicate?
16. Describe the role of a keystone species, using one of the species discussed in the
documentary as your example.