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WLF 316: Wildlife Ecology
Spring 2003
Lab 1: INTRODUCTION
I. Teaching Assistant:
Jason Hicks |
Office: |
CNR 109A |
Office Hrs: |
Monday 9:30-10:30 am |
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Wednesday 1:30-2:30 |
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Other times by arrangement |
Phone: |
(208) 885-7239 |
email: |
jason_hicks@hotmail.com |
II. Location and Meeting Time of Lab Sections:
Sec. # |
Day of Week |
Location |
Time |
1 |
Tuesday |
Admin 225 |
4:30-6:20pm |
2 |
Thursday |
Admin 225 |
1:30-3:20pm |
3 |
Friday |
Admin 225 |
11:30-1:20pm |
A. Purpose of Lab
The purpose of the laboratory is to give you experience in the
quantitative aspects of population ecology that are essential for both understanding the
dynamics of populations and for managing populations of fish and wildlife. At the end of
this course, you should be able to wisely use models and data to address pressing
questions involving the management and conservation of fish and wildlife populations.
B. Computer programs will be used to:
Explore the quantitative methods for estimating population parameters
such as abundance, density, survival, and growth rate,
Illustrate principles of population ecology (e.g., population growth,
population regulation, demography, species interactions), and
Demonstrate practical uses of concepts presented in lecture.
C. Problem Sets
You will receive weekly problem sets (assignments)
worth 20 points each. Lab assignments are due the following week
at the beginning of class. For each day that an assignment is late, 2 points will
be deducted from the respective grade up to a maximum of one half the points.
In most cases, your answers to the problem set will consist of :
Hard copy (printout) of data and/or command-file,
Condensed or edited output (in some cases, output can be turned in on a
3.5"HD diskette), and
Answers to questions.
NOTE: Output for problem
sets should be neat and organized. Answers to discussion questions should be
typed, double-spaced, and consist of complete sentences and thoughts. Points will
be deducted for repeated misspelling, incomplete sentences, and poor grammar. Consult with
each other on program applications but work independently otherwise (i.e., do your
own work when answering questions and interpreting results).
D. Software
You will need a Novell account to store files on the g: drive. If you
do not have a Novell Account, go to the HELP desk, Rm 22, Administration Annex. They will
set up an account, give you a password, and allocate 4 Mb on h: for your personal
directory.
It is a good idea to backup your files on a regular basis, especially your data
and document files. Every computer in Admin 225 has a 100Mb ZIP drive, which may
be your best option for backing up large or many files. ZIP disks can be purchased from
the bookstore. If you want to copy files for use on a personal computer at home, you will
need to provide your own 3.5" diskettes or ZIP disks.
15-20 min. review/discussion of the previous weeks topic and assignment
(student presentation - 1 group of 2 students each week)
30-45 min. introduction to the current lab topic. Note:
lab topics may not always coincide with lecture topics. When this occurs, the TA may need
to spend more time discussing background information and theory.
10 minute break
Demonstration of computer program/simulation
In-class exercise
Problem set (due the following week)
Students are responsible for all material covered in labs,
including material presented by T. A.s or Brian Gilbert.
If you must arrive late or leave early due to other commitments,
please inform the TA's a priori. In such cases it is your responsibility
to get notes from another student. Do not expect the TA to spend an hour of their office
time repeating the lab presentation or demonstration that you missed.
A. Purpose
The purpose of the student presentation is to give each student experience in: (1)
organizing and preparing technical information, (2) making oral presentations, (3)
answering technical questions, and (4) using audio-visual equipment. In addition, the
presentations will serve as a concise review of the previous week's topic and methodology,
and provide opportunity to discuss and debate answers to the problem set.
Note: some students in the past have
viewed the review session/student presentations as a "waste of time" because the
problem set was already completed. Furthermore, students often do not like to ask
questions of other students because they know they will have to present a topic also.
However, asking questions and discussing completed work can be a valuable educational tool
for both students and working professionals. We encourage you to view the student
presentations as a chance for class discussion and debate about the merits of a topic.
Consequently, we encourage you to ask questions of the student presenters, the TAs, and
Dr. Garton.
D. Format:
Presentations will be 10-12 minutes long, with an additional 5 minutes for questions
and answers (total time = 15-17 minutes). This is similar to time limits for presentations
at professional meetings. The TA will act as a moderator to make sure each group stays
within their allotted presentation time and the class discussion does not dwell on any 1
question for too long. Because your time is limited, you must present the information in a
concise, organized manner (i.e., only the most pertinent information should be presented).
How you organize your presentation is up to each group. However, we
recommend the following approach:
Introduction (e.g., brief review of main ecological concepts or
principles),
Problem identification (i.e., brief description of problem set),
Methodology (e.g., describe data collection, analysis methods,
assumptions, etc.),
Results (usually presented as tables and/or figures), and
Discussion and Conclusions (e.g., interpretation of results, validity of
results, potential applications, discussion questions, new questions, etc.).
Several visual aids will be available for your use, including an overhead
projector, a liquid-crystal-display (LCD) screen, and an old-fashioned chalk board. The
LCD can be used to project computer-generated text or graphics onto a screen at the front
of the classroom. Note: computer-generated presentations do not cost you
anything except an investment of your time. You can use overheads if you prefer but they
will not be provided and must be produced at your own expense ($0.50 per overhead?). We
encourage you to experiment with different media (computer, overheads, chalkboard) but the
final choice is yours.
Note: If you use overheads
or the LCD, make sure your text is large enough so that people can read it from
the back of the room when it is projected on the screen. Consult with the TA if
you have questions about making overheads or preparing computer-generated slides (but do
not wait until 1 hr before your scheduled presentation!).
E. Grading
The presentation will be worth 40 points. You will be graded on content and
organization of the presentation, presentation skills, contribution to group effort, and
participation in class discussions (both as a presenter and as a member of the audience). Do
not get uptight about this presentation -- just make sure that your group is organized and
prepared, and you contribute equally to the presentation. Use it as an opportunity to
learn and experiment!
Student account (see HELP desk, Rm 22, Admin. Bldg)
You must log in before you start working so that you can save
your files to the h: drive
You can temporarily use 'labuser' to log in without an account and
temporarily store files on the h: drive but you will not be able to save material (except
on floppy disks).
Log off when finished (drag on the Start button and let
go at Shutdown).
Location of student labs and list of available equipment (see bottom of
WLF448 homepage)
Access the WLF448 on-line class by double-clicking on the Netscape icon
in Windows. The University of Idaho homepage should come up as the default.
You can call up the Wlf448 homepage by doing one of the following:
(a) typing http://www.its.uidaho.edu/wlf448 in the location box;
(b) clicking on the Academics icon (UI homepage), selecting on-line
classes, and moving down the page to Wildlife; or
(c) clicking on the Academics icon (UI homepage), selecting Colleges,
selecting Natural Resources, and then moving down the page
to the box entitled On-line Course Outlines and Information.
Key pages in the WLF448 web:
Page Topic |
Page Name |
Information and Links |
WLF448 homepage |
wlf448 |
Provides links to course information, lecture and lab outlines,
announcements, question form, etc. |
Lecture Outline |
lectout.htm |
List of lecture topics and dates, exam dates, and assigned readings. Also
provides links to more detailed information for each lecture topic. |
Lab Outline |
labout.htm |
List of lab topics, dates, and recommended readings. Also provides links
to more detailed information on lab notes, in-class exercises, and problem sets. |
Announcements |
announce.htm |
List of important class announcements for both lecture and lab (e.g., exam
dates, links to help files for specific lab topics, etc.) |
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The first 3 pages provide links to the rest of the web pages. The
lecture and lab outlines are the pages you will use most often to navigate within the web.
You can access these pages from the WLF448 homepage, or you can type their URL in the
location box (e.g., http://www.its.uidaho.edu/wlf448/lectout.htm).
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4. Printing pages of the web:
Use the File pull-down menu and select Print Preview
to view the pages (make note of the page numbers if you do not wish to print all pages).
Use the File pull-down menu, select Print, and then
"all" or type in the page numbers you want to print.
You can use File - Page Setup to adjust your margins, page
length, etc. of the printed page.
Log in
Copy appropriate files from k: drive to g: drive
USING WINDOWS:
Open the "My Computer" icon. Click on the "Classes on
Hawthorne\Class [K:]" icon. Scroll to WLF. Then click on 448. All class software
folders should be visible. To copy files, drag the desired icon(s) (for example
"Arcmaps" folder) to your novell ([G:]) account icon. You can also do these same
operations in Windows Explorer which is available under Accessories under
Programs under the Start button at the bottom left of
your screen.
Notes:
(a) you should only need to copy files once for each lab (but you may want
to delete all files in your subdirectory and try the copy procedure again if the
program fails to run properly and you cannot figure out the problem).
(b) Remember -- you cannot run the software from the k: drive. You
must copy it to your personal directory/subdirectory on the g: drive or to the c: drive if
you don't want to save the output automatically to g:.
(c) Keep your disk space organized -- use subdirectories and standard
file-naming conventions (e.g., *.inp or *.inp for input files, *.out for output files, and
*.txt for text files).
(d) Backup your files on a regular basis -- especially your output and
document files.
X. Insights/Thoughts on Population Ecology Lab
In most cases, we will spend 1 lab-day on each topic and corresponding
estimation or simulation program. Obviously this is not enough time to become totally
familiar with the programs, their strengths and weaknesses, and the many options
associated with certain programs. However, you will gain a working understanding of the
various programs and estimation techniques, and will know where to go for more detailed
information. In addition, you will learn to be a "problem solver" when it comes
to running and applying ecological software to your specific population-ecology question.
Caveat: "If all factors were known for a
population, understanding its dynamics would be straightforward... Population analysis
often requires modeling of some sort, especially to bridge gaps in knowledge. A model
is some abstraction of a real system that enables us to think more clearly about the real
one... Modeling logically precedes estimation, because modeling can tell us which
variables are important. Conversely, the availability of useable estimates often dictates
the kind of model that can be constructed, so modeling and estimation go hand in
hand" (Johnson 1994:419-420). However, output from computer modeling and/or
estimation is only as good as the data that goes into it. Careful consideration must be
given to data collection, experimental design and/or sampling methodology, sample size,
statistical and biological assumptions, knowledge gaps and uncertainty, validity of the
estimates, and application of the results.
In Class Exercise and Lab Assignment
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