Population Growth and Endangered Species Laboratories

by Sheryl L. Soucy, Steven D. Carroll, and Lev R. Ginzburg

(formerly known as RAMAS Primer)

        This set of 2 units is designed as a teaching tool for introductory undergraduate or advanced high school environmental , biological, or ecological courses. Give your students a chance to save the spotted owl population from probable extinction or tackle population growth issues (including the effectiveness of fertility control and immigration control programs) by working with real Census Bureau data!  Population growth and endangered species are the focus of these two units--a teaching tool which is suitable for high school and undergraduate (freshman/sophomore or non-major) level courses in:

• General Biology
• Environmental Studies
• Ecology
• Conservation Biology

        Real problems in population biology are explored using software which can be understood even by students without strong mathematical backgrounds.  There are eleven exercises that should take 5-6 hours of class time to complete.  Population Growth and Endangered Species Laboratories comprises a 60-page manual with background information, exercises and suggestions for additional work, as well as RAMAS EcoLab for performing simulations.

        An instructors' edition of the manual contains answers to questions and additional notes in the margins.  It also presents and explains the mathematical equations underlying the basic concepts of population biology and demography.  Each laboratory contains all of the necessary background information for teaching a unit on population biology independently of a textbook.

• Laboratory 1: Population Growth
  • Factors affecting population growth
  • Projections for the United States population
  • The effectiveness of immigration control programs
  • The effectiveness of fertility control programs
  • Additional activities
• Laboratory 2: Endangered Species Analysis
  • Variability in Populations
  • Probability of Extinction in Populations
  • Projections for an Endangered Species
  • The Accuracy of Long-term Predictions
  • Management of a Threatened Species Population
• Appendix 1: Installing and Invoking RAMAS
• Appendix 2: RAMAS Age Function keys
• Appendix 3: Glossary
• Appendix 4: Making your graph suitable for presentation

Sheryl L. Soucy is in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University. While her research interests include the genetical theory of species invasions and biological conservation, her primary research is on the population genetics and evolutionary history of social insects.

Steven D. Carroll is in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University. A mathematical biologist working in theoretical ecology, he is currently interested in models of population dynamics.

Lev R. Ginzburg is a Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. Dr. Ginzburg has authored, coauthored, or edited four books and over one hundred articles in theoretical ecology and evolution. He is a theoretical ecologist primarily interested in population dynamics and cycling, maternal effects, and risk analysis.

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FOR COLLEGE OR HIGH-SCHOOL

• Population Growth and Endangered Species Manual
• Disk with RAMAS^® EcoLab
• Instructor's Manual
• Unbound copy for duplication