Guidelines for the Ecology Microtheme
For this assignment, you are to read one of the following papers and than
apply that ‘ecological theory’ to the environmental issue of preserving
biodiversity.

Island Biogeography
Robert H. MacArthur; Edward O. Wilson. An Equilibrium Theory of
Insular Zoogeography. Evolution, Vol. 17, No. 4. (Dec., 1963), pp. 373387.

Ecological Succession
Joseph H. Connell; Ralph O. Slatyer. Mechanisms of Succession in
Natural Communities and Their Role in Community Stability and
Organization. American Naturalist, Vol. 111, No. 982. (Nov. - Dec.,
1977), pp. 1119-1144.

Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis
Joseph H. Connell. Diversity in Tropical Rain Forests and Coral Reefs.
Science, New Series, Vol. 199, No. 4335. (Mar. 24, 1978), pp. 13021310.
You can access the papers electronically by clinking on the link (from
JSTOR, Journal Storage: The Scholarly Journal Archive). These links can
only be accessed from an on-campus computer. Note that the entire
paper can be printed (if desired) at one time by clicking on ‘PRINT’ near the
upper left-hand corner of the web page, or instead print desired pages
individually by scrolling to those pages and printing from the browser’s menu
bar.
The paper should have three paragraphs (and be a total of between 1 to 2
pages in length):

Paragraph #1: Summarize the paper of your choice. Do not just copy
the abstract or summary; provide additional information.

Paragraph #2: Provide your thoughts on how this ‘ecological theory’
could relate to preserving species diversity. Specifically, you should
explain how one or more concepts could be applied in designing and/or
managing a ‘bio-reserve’ (i.e. a conservation park, wildlife preserve,
protected area…) to save, preserve, or enhance species diversity. Be
sure to explain specifically how theory supports your idea(s). Also
discuss at least one potential negative consequence of your proposed
design/management strategy. You may use a hypothetical example to
explain your ideas.

Paragraph #3: Find an example (other than those cited in the paper)
that supports (or refutes) your idea. This should involve an
application of ecologic theory to preserving and managing biodiversity.
You may use web sources but if so try to ascertain their authenticity.
Be sure to cite your source.
Hints on reading these papers (don’t get discouraged; scientific papers are
difficult to read):
1. In the paper on Island Biogeography, concentrate on the graphs (don’t
get over-focused on the equations). What you need to get out of this
paper is what physical attributes of islands affect the number of
species that occur on those islands.
2. In the paper on Ecological Succession, the introductory paragraphs and
the ‘Summary’ at the end provide a good overview.
3. In the paper on Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis, concentrate on
the graphs and on examples. What you need to get out of this paper is
what the trend is in diversity along a disturbance gradient and why
such a trend occurs.
Work alone on this project. Plagiarism will be obvious. Plagiarism includes
re-arranging sentences, clauses, and words of your fellow students.