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Tables are on page 3. QUESTIONS 1) A forest of what type (species and diameter) of oak tree will yield a maximum supply of acorns? 2) Assume a density of 25 oaks per hectare and, using the species and diameter of tree you selected for #1, calculate the acorn potential for each hectare of the forest for one year. 3) Assuming that the average deer requires 3 kilograms of food a day and that 75% of the diet is acorns… a) calculate how many deer each hectare of this forest could support for a year. This is the carrying capacity. NOTE: If the carrying capacity is less than one, this means a hectare is not sufficient to support one deer! b) calculate how many deer the entire forest could support for one year. The forest covers 7906 hectares. 4) Scientists estimate that about 15% of the acorn yield is eaten by birds and others that feed in the trees; only 85% reaches the ground. Adjust your calculations to take this factor into account: a) calculate how many deer each hectare of this forest could support for a year. This is the carrying capacity. NOTE: If the carrying capacity is less than one, this means a hectare is not sufficient to support one deer! b) calculate how many deer the entire forest could support for one year. The forest covers 7906 hectares. 5) What is the relationship between diameter of oaks at breast height and acorn production? If information were available for trees greater than 65 centimeters in diameter, what would you predict for their acorn production? (Blackjack and post oaks rarely grow over 70 centimeters in diameters, and the others rarely over 90 centimeters.) 6) Based on the information about the species, can you offer a hypothesis about why some species produce greater acorn yields than others? 7) Is it realistic to assume that the forest will be made up of only one species of oak? Why or why not? If the forest was made up of a variety of the oak species in Table 1, how would this affect the carrying capacity? 8) How would the presence of other animals that eat acorns from the ground affect the number of deer the forest can support? 9) Squirrels are more dependent upon acorns as a food source than are deer; that is, they have fewer alternative food supplies. How might a high density of deer in an area affect the population of squirrels? 10) Although squirrels can usually find the acorns they have buried, some escape. Deer eat acorns directly from the ground or trees, without burying them. How might succession in a forest that had deer, but no squirrels, differ from one that had squirrels, but no deer? Herpetafuana _Teacher Teacher Copy, Level 3 Name_________________ Teacher Copy, Level 3 Name_________________ Lizards, Iguanas, and Snakes! Oh My! Featured scientists: Heather Bateman & Mélanie Banville from Arizona State University Research Background: Scientist Mélanie searching for reptiles in the Central Arizona - Phoenix LTER. Throughout history people have settled mainly along rivers and streams. Easy access to water provides resources to support many people living in one area. In the United States today, people have settled along 70% of rivers. Today, rivers are very different from what they were like before people settled near them. The land surrounding these rivers, called riparian habitats, has been transformed into land for farming, businesses, or housing for people. This urbanization has caused the loss of green spaces that provide valuable services, such as water filtration, species diversity, and a connection to nature for people living in cities. Today, people are trying to restore green spaces along the river to bring back these services. Restoration of disturbed riparian habitats will hopefully bring back native species and all the other benefits these habitats provide. Scientists Heather and Mélanie are researchers with the Central Arizona-Phoenix Long-Term Ecological Research (CAP LTER) project. They want to know how restoration will affect animals living near rivers. They are particularly interested in reptiles, such as lizards. Reptiles play important roles in riparian habitats. Reptiles help energy flow and nutrient cycling. This means that if reptiles live in restored riparian habitats, they could increase the long-term health of those habitats. Reptiles can also offer clues about the condition of an ecosystem. Areas where reptiles are found are usually in better condition than areas where reptiles do not live. Heather and Mélanie wanted to look at how disturbances in riparian habitats affected reptiles. They wanted to know if reptile abundance (number of individuals) and diversity (number of species) would be different in areas that were more developed. Some reptile species may be sensitive to urbanization, but if these habitats are restored their diversity and abundance might increase or return to pre-urbanization levels. The scientists collected data along the Salt River in Arizona. They had three sites: 1) a non-urban site, 2) an urban disturbed site, and 3) an urban rehabilitated site. They counted reptiles that they saw during a survey. At each site, they searched 21 plots that were 10 meters wide and 20 meters long. The sites were located along 7 transects, or paths measured out to collect data. Transects were laid out along the riparian habitat of the stream and there were 3 plots per transect. Each plot was surveyed 5 times. They searched for animals on the ground, under rocks, and in trees and shrubs. Complete the following questions in full sentences. Scientific Question: What is the hypothesis? a) Find the hypothesis in the Research Background and underline it. b) Formulate a hypothesis statement: What do you predict? Given the hypothesis, explain your predictions for lizard abundance and diversity at the three sites? Scientific Data: Use the data below to answer the scientific question: Reptiles Non-Urban Urban Rehabilitated Urban Tiger Whiptail Lizard 9 12 0 Common Side-blotched Lizard 8 15 4 Zebra-tailed Lizard 4 2 2 Desert Spiny Lizard 10 0 0 Ornate Tree Lizard 5 7 0 Desert Iguana 2 0 0 Long-tailed Brush Lizard 3 0 0 Western Diamond-backed Rattlesnake 1 0 0 Reptile Diversity Reptile Abundance 8 4 2 42 36 6 What data will your graph to answer the question? Independent variable(s): Dependent variable(s): Create your graph below (use Excel or another graphing software so that it is a clean and very good example of your understanding). Interpret the data: Explain a claim that answers the scientific question. Support your claim using data as evidence. Describe the relationship between the dependent and independent variables. Refer to specific parts of the table or graph. Describe your scientific reasoning and explain how the evidence supports your claim. What do the data from this study inform us about the scientist’s hypothesis? Your next steps as a scientist: Science is an ongoing process. a) What new question do you think should be investigated? b) What future data should be collected to answer this question? Meet the scientist! Follow the link to watch a video where scientist Heather explains her research! https://d3dqsm2futmewz.cloudfront.net/docs/explorers/media/riperian-herpresearch10/index.htm Data Nuggets developed by Michigan State University fellows in the NSF BEACON and GK-12 programs 1 Data Nuggets developed by Michigan State University fellows in the NSF BEACON and GK-12 programs 1 Data Nuggets developed by Michigan State University fellows in the NSF BEACON and GK-12 programs 1 Name:________________________________Block: ______Date: _____ AP ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE - HUMAN POPULATION DYNAMICS Many different factors affect the human population: historical population sizes, population distribution, fertility rates, growth rates, doubling times, and demographic transition. The age structure of a population affects current and future rate of birth, death and growth, has an impact on the environment, and has implications for the future in terms of population growth as well as future social and economic conditions. Age-structure diagrams act as indicators of future population trends. The demographic transition model describes the way population growth rates change over time as a country becomes economically developed. It leads to a stabilization of population growth in the more highly developed countries and is generally characterized as having four separate stages: preindustrial, transitional, industrial, and postindustrial. PART I. FORECASTING POPULATION CHANGE Go to Population Pyramid.net 1) Find the world’s age structure diagram and population growth curve. Make two small sketches here: WORLD AGE STRUCTURE GRAPHWORLD POPULATION GROWTH CURVE 2) Find a country with nearly half of its population under the age of 20. Make a sketch of the age structure diagram as well as its projected population growth curve. Country name___________ _____________AGE STRUCTURE GRAPH____________POPULATION GROWTH CURVE 3) Find a country with a declining birth rate and a declining population. Make a sketch of the age structure diagram as well as its projected population growth curve. Country name___________ _____________AGE STRUCTURE GRAPH____________POPULATION GROWTH CURVE 4) Find a country with a high percentage of elderly in its population. Make a sketch of the age structure diagram as well as its projected population growth curve. _____________AGE STRUCTURE GRAPH____________POPULATION GROWTH CURVE 5) Find a country with a stable population size (close to zero population growth). Make a sketch of the age structure diagram as well as its projected population growth curve. _____________AGE STRUCTURE GRAPH____________POPULATION GROWTH CURVE 6) Find a country for each the following four age structure diagram shapes: pyramid, column, inverted pyramid, column with a bulge. Make a sketch of each example age structure diagram and provide the country name. pyramid column inverted pyramidcolumn with a bulge _______________________________________________________________________ 7) Which type of age structure diagram is associated with a population with the potential to grow rapidly? 8) Which type of age structure diagram is associated with a population that is slowing down in growth? 9) Which type of age structure diagram is associated with a population that has some event in the past that caused a high birth rate or death rate for some group but not others? PART II. WORLD POPULATION GROWTH Go to Population Reference Bureau Websitehttps://www.prb.org/worldpopdata/ then launch the infographic Watch movie: https://interactives.prb.org/wpds/2019/ or https://youtu.be/x-hl372PnjM Explain census data and its importance for social programs 7) Watch: http://www.npr.org/2011/10/31/141816460/visualizing-how-a-population-grows-to-7-billion Record one new insight you have about world or human population growth: 8) Watch : http://www.populationeducation.org/content/world-population-video Record one new insight you have about world or human population growth: 9) Watch: