Mike Case
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Biodiversity

View the "398E course outline".

View useful Biodiversity Links.

Announcements

1. The "End Game" Schedule

Dec 11 or before: Hand in Final Reports on Laboratory Studies
Dec 11: 6-9 PM Student Project presentations (during final slot)

Note: 30 minutes is allotted to each student presentation. Both an oral presentation and substantial written document are required.

We appear to have a majority consensus to forgo the final exam in the course. Since the final exam was originally weighted 30% of the grade, those points would have to be reapportioned to the final presentation (as oral 15% and written 15%) and the mini essays as 50% that you have been writing.

Assignments

1. In laboratory you examined/enumerated the benthic invertebrates to family in your Susquehanna River samples (stations 1-3). You should compute appropriate biotic indices to investigate whether or not there is a shift in biological diversity on a flow velocity gradient. In addition, you should consider ecological role of the periphyton you that you examined in lab. Specifically:

a. What factors control the distribution and diversity of benthic macroinvertebrates in flowing waters?
b. Do your data and index calculations provide any indication that supports or refutes Huston's hypothesis that the highest biological diversity is found in moderate disturbance regimes?
c. What is periphyton and what factors control the distribution of periphyton in flowing water ecosystems? What are the linkages between periphyton, benthic macroinvertebrates, and detritus?
d. Do you think that the primary and secondary productivity processes at your field site tend more toward equilibrium or non-equilibrium conditions? Why?

This formal report is due no later than December 11th. Format is introduction, methods, results and data analysis, discussion, and conclusion.

Remember, I have placed several useful resources on reserve at the library: "Ecology of Running Waters" by Hynes, Stream Ecology, EPA Benthic Invertebrate Protocol, and the "Ecology of Freshwater Invertebrates" by Covitch.

In your reports, I expect you to demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles controlling biodiversity of the community under discussion. In other words you are to synthesize the Huston material into other reading material used for the report.