Dr. D. McShaffrey
Homework 1-3 2013
Page 1 of 6
Homework 1 (chapters 1-3):
1. Using Figure 2c on page 53 as a reference, determine the percentage increase in CO2 concentrations in the
atmosphere from 1960 to 2000.Show your work (interpolation, math skills)
2. List the main pathways of heat exchange for an organism. (reinforce important concepts)
3. Several species of Arctiid moths emit clicks when in the presence of bats. Bats, of course, locate their prey
by sound. Several hypotheses exist as to the purpose of these clicks. Locate online (through the Dawes
Library, OhioLink and the Ohiolink Electronic Journal Center) the following article:
Arctiid moths and bat echolocation: broad-band clicks interfere with neural responses to auditory stimuli in the
nuclei of the lateral lemniscus of the big brown bat.
From the introduction, list 4 hypotheses for how the clicks may protect the moths. Then, read the
last section “Relevance for bat/moth interactions” and determine which hypotheses are supported
by the authors’ work. You don’t have to read the rest of the article. (interpretation of literature)
4. Locate a distribution map for the distribution of the red mangrove, Rhizophora mangle. Electronically cutand-paste the map into your homework, and add a paragraph describing the worldwide distribution of the
plant and explaining that distribution. Be sure to cite sources properly in answering this question.
(information retrieval/basic computer skills)
5. Go to: http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=marietta+ohio+climate and look at the climate data for
Marietta. Use this site to produce Walter diagrams of climate (temperature and precipitation) for Marietta,
Ohio; Tuscon, Arizona; and Chilliwack, Canada. Be sure to use the same units as are used on page 94 of
the text (you can get average temperature values by clicking on more, but you will have to interpolate
average precipitation from the graphs provided). Based on the figures on page 94, assign each town to a
biome. (information retrieval/math skills/reinforcement)
6. Bats are said to be useful in the control of adult mosquitoes. Choose a bat species (preferably one that
eats insects) and determine how many mosquitoes it would need to eat to satisfy its caloric needs in a 24
hour period. Compare this to the production of mosquitoes from a 1 hectare wetland.
You can start your search and practice your math here:
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/spring/BatsNectarCalories.html
Document all your assumptions by citing source and page numbers. (information retrieval/critical
thinking/math)
Study questions (these might appear on a test; do not turn them in as part of your homework:
1. For each chemical, list the primary uses in organisms: C, N, O, P, K, S, Mg, Fe, Na, Cu.
2. Prepare a table comparing ammonia, urea, and uric acid in terms of the amount of water used in
excretion, the toxicity, and the amount of energy used to synthesize each. Use ratings of low medium,
and high.
3. Describe the ecological differences in a mouse’s and a frog’s approach to life.
4. Why is the electrical sense only found in aquatic organisms?
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February 16, 2016
Dr. D. McShaffrey
Homework 1-3 2013
Page 2 of 6
Homework 2 (chapters 3-6):
1.
In 1995-1996, John Goold, a senior at Marietta College, set out to determine the diel periodicity of dragonfly
activity. At a selected site in Washington County, Ohio, he observed the number of dragonfly species active
under varying light and temperature conditions at various times of the day. Among his findings were the
data in the table below. Take the data, and plot separate scattergrams for temperature vs. number of
species flying and light intensity vs. number of species flying. Insert trendlines (and their equations) on the
graphs. Answer the following questions:
A. Which variable shows a stronger correlation with the number of species flying?
B. How do you know this?
C. Does correlation always imply causation? What about in this case?
(math skills/computer skills/statistics/critical thinking)
Data from Goold, 1996, and a sample graph showing what I am looking for in question 1.
13
14
17
18
19
21
23
23
23
24
24
28
29
31
31
380
420
470
350
300
360
295
580
595
450
580
680
680
510
645
#
Species
2
4
6
3
2
4
2
7
6
3
8
10
8
7
9
Light Intensity vs. Number of Species Flying
10
Number of Spe cies
Temp (C) Light int. (Footcandles)
9
y = 0.0206x - 5.1088
R2 = 0.7498
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Light Intensity (Candles)
2.
How does the kangaroo rat minimize water loss for cooling (be complete)? Where does a kangaroo rat get
its water? (reinforcement)
3.
Would terrestrial organisms be more or less likely to show temperature compensation in enzymes than
aquatic organisms? Why? (reinforcement/critical thinking)
4.
Find this article on J-Stor:
Stefan, Heinz G., et al. “Simulation of dissolved oxygen profiles in a transparent, dimictic lake”,
Limnology and Oceanography. v. 40 issue 1, 1995, p. 105-118.
From figure 2, plot the temperature profile of the lake in mid-April, July 1, and October 1. Put the
depth on the y-axis and the temperature on the x-axis as in Figure 24.17 in your textbook.
(information retrieval, advanced graphing)
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February 16, 2016
Dr. D. McShaffrey
5.
Homework 1-3 2013
Page 3 of 6
Examine the article at:
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/97/4/1630
a. Examine figures 1-6. For each, tell me how strong you think the correlation is, and on what basis.
b. In a paragraph, summarize the authors’ conclusions.
(information retrieval, statistics, critical thinking, understanding scientific articles)
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February 16, 2016
Dr. D. McShaffrey
Homework 1-3 2013
Page 4 of 6
Homework 3 (chapters 6 -10):
Go to the textbook website http://bcs.whfreeman.com/ricklefs6e/pages/bcsmain.asp?v=category&s=00020&n=99000&i=99020.01&o=|00510|00520|00530|00540|00550|00010|00020|000
30|00040|01000|02000|03000|04000|05000|06000|07000|08000|09000|10000|11000|12000|13000|14000|15000
|16000|17000|18000|19000|20000|21000|22000|23000|24000|25000|26000|27000|28000|29000|99000| (if this
link does not work, go to the main website at http://bcs.whfreeman.com/ricklefs6e/default.asp and navigate to
the data analysis pages. Complete the assignment for chapter 10. The questions from the worksheet are
already included here. The PDF write-up gives you the background necessary to do the calculations.
1. Using the equation for the Poisson function, calculate the probability P(x) for each number of individuals per plot
from x = 0 to x = 6 and fill in the table (DA Table 1):
Individuals per plot (x)
Probability P(x)
0
1
2
3
0.061
4
5
6
2. Make a table (DA Table 2) for M = 2.
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Individuals
per plot (x)
Probability P(x)
3. Generate a random Poisson distribution in excel using the directions for Step 3 in the text. Paste in the results
here.
4: Fill in Table DA 5, and
Mites per leaf
Observed number of leaves
with this many mites
Expected proportion of leaves
with this many mites
Expected number of leaves
with this many mites
0
70
1
38
2
17
3
10
4
9
5
3
6
2
7
1
8+
0
Total
150
1.000
150
5. Test this distribution with a 2 test. State the hypothesis, the null hypothesis, and the alternate hypothesis you are
testing.
6.
7.
From the data above and your statistical test, what can you say about the distribution of mites on these
leaves?
Plot the data on observed number of mites and expected number of mites, with mites per leaf on the x
axis and the number of leaves with those many mites (observed and expected) on the y-axis. Make the
observed values a column graph with the expected values overlain as a line.
(1-7 above – statistics, critical thinking)
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February 16, 2016
Dr. D. McShaffrey
8.
Homework 1-3 2013
Page 5 of 6
Examine Figure 6.20 on page 130. Find the article on which the figure is based. Use the data in table 2
of that article to make a graph similar to figure 6.20. Answer these questions:
a) How did the control groups differ from the experimental groups?
b) Which differences in your figure are significant? Does this affect the way you interpret the
results?
c) The box on figure 6.20 says “Resources available for growth are consistently fewer in New
Jersey. Transplanted Nebraska lizards cannot gather resources fast enough to support
their natural growth rates”. Is this summary accurate – or do the authors suggest a
different explanation? What is going on here? Why do estuaries have such a high
productivity rate as compared to open ocean, continental shelves, lakes, and streams?
(information retrieval, critical thinking, statistics, graphing)
9. In May of 2008, Drs. McShaffrey, Brown and Spilatro accompanied the spring expedition to the dinosaur quarry
in the Utah desert. At the site, they used UV lights at night to located scorpions in the camp and its immediate
vicinity (i.e. all the way to the latrine). On May 17th, they captured and marked 31 scorpions, which were then
released. On May 18th, an informal survey revealed 8 scorpions, one of which was marked. On May 19th, 17
scorpions were captured and examined closely for the markings. Of the 17, 2 were marked. Answer these 4
questions:
A. What estimate of scorpion numbers do you obtain using the mark-recapture formula for May 18th?
B. What estimate of scorpion numbers do you obtain using the mark-recapture formula for May 19th?
C. Discuss the accuracy of these estimates and note any problems with them.
D. Would you wear sandals in camp?
(math skills)
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February 16, 2016
Dr. D. McShaffrey
Homework 1-3 2013
Page 6 of 6
Study questions:
1. A lake has yearly rainfall of 5,000,000 liters; streams bring in an additional 12,000,000 liters. Evaporation
has been measured at 4,000,000 liters per year. The lake’s volume is 135,000,000 liters. The water level
remains constant from year to year. What is the outflow through the stream draining the lake? What is the
residence time of water in the lake?
2. Find this paper:
Contrasting leaf development within the genus Syzygium. G Woodall, I Dodd and G Stewart.
After reading the paper, write a one paragraph summary of what the authors found. Write a second
paragraph focusing on the possible role of anthocyanin in these plants.
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