Exam No. 2

Fall 1996
EXAM NO. 2
(100 points total)

Matching: Match the most appropriate terms from the column on the right with the formulas in the left column by placing the appropriate letter in the blank provided. Use a letter only once. There will be some extra letters. (20 pts total, 2 pts each)

1. lxmx ________ .........................A. Line transect

lo ...................................................B. Finite rate of increase

2. Mi = ZiNi + mi _____________ C. Optimum sustained yield

...................ri...................................D. Logistic growth

3. P = eu ________ ........................E. Unutilized opportunity for growth
...........l+eu
........................................................F. Net reproductive rate per generation
4. r = ln (Ro) ________
....._________ ................................G. Mean generation length
..........G
..........................................................H. Jolly-Seber
5. No - Nt ______________
___________ ....................................I. Instantaneous rate of increase
...........No
...........................................................J. Sightability model
6. K _________
.....2 ...................................................K. Crude mortality rate
^ ^
7. D = nf (o) _________..................... L. Maximum Sustained Yield
.............2L

8. K - N _________
.......K

9. er _________

10. Nt = K _________
............l + exp(a-rt)

True-False: Write T (true) or F (false) in front of each question. If the statement is not completely true, then it is false. For each statement that is false, change it to make it true.
(16 pts)

1. ______ When the finite rate of increase is greater than 0 a population will increase in size.

2. ______ Most fish and wildlife populations have discrete generations with pulse breeding.

3. ______ Begon suggested that most vertebrates are r-selected and most insects are
K-selected.

4. ______ In mammals, the sex ratio shifts toward more females in older age classes.

5. ______ If some animals become trap-shy, the mark-recapture estimate will be too low.

6. ______ In his paper on interpretation of age-ratios, G. Caughley concluded that an upward trend in population growth can be recognized by examining age ratios.

7. ______ Ratti and Garton defined an accurate estimate as one that is unbiased.

8. ______ Pseudoreplication will increase our sample size in expensive field studies.

Fill In and Short Answer Questions: Answer the questions in the space provided.

1. Use information from the graphs below for growth of 3 populations to answer questions a-d for each population. (16 pts)

Nt lnNt Ng+1

t t Ng

(Note: Nt = number in population at time t; Ng = number in population in generation g.)

a. Does this population show growth typical of a limited or unlimited environment?

_____________ ______________ ______________

b. What sort of growth model would be applicable to each population?

_____________ ______________ ______________

c. Which of the following equations would you use to predict future growth for each population?
A: Nt = No t B: Nt = K C: Nt = Noeµt D: R = Pe- P
1+ ea-rt


_____________ _______________ ______________

d. How would you estimate the parameters for each model?

2. The logistic growth model assumes that r (birth-death) decreases linearly with density. Many natural populations don't follow this pattern. On the graph below draw three curves relating r to population density. Label one curve Logistic, a second curve Mammals and Birds, and a third curve Insects and Fish representing the standard patterns for these groups of organisms. (6 pts)

r


K
Density

3. Many managers of fish and wildlife strive for maximum sustained yield of the species they manage. Explain what maximum sustained yield means (in relation to logistic growth), and explain why management for maximum sustained yield may be dangerous. (4 pts)

4. What 2 basic population estimators did Dr. Murray use to estimate the abundance of snowshoe hares in his Ph.D. study? How did he determine which estimator provided the best population estimate for his study and objectives. (3 pts)

5. Complete the following life table and plot a survivorship curve (be sure to label your axes). (12 pts)

6. Given the guidelines of Anderson et al. (1979) for line-transect sampling, name 3 problems in your field exercises that may have led to poor density estimates and describe how you would rectify the problems. (3 pts)


7. Dr. Murray used radio-marked animals to adjust both the L-P and JS estimators for mortality; however, the JS estimator was less sensitive to the adjustments. Why? (2 pts)


8. Name 6 of the 8 assumptions of the logistic growth model and tell what you would do to solve problems where the assumption was not met. (12 pts)

Assumption Solution
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
9. What mark-recapture method would you use to study population dynamics of meadow voles on a 200 hectare pasture during the period May to October? Why? (2 pts)

10. We used program TRANSECT in lab. However, what is the name of the relatively new and powerful program that is now available for analyzing distance-sampling data? (2 pts)

11. Recovery rate is an index to harvest rate. However, it will only be a good index if
_______________ is constant from year to year. (2 pts)