Deer Model Lab Exercise

A. Go to the following web sites and read through the information listed there; don't worry about answering questions or doing the activities listed on that page:

Background information

S-curve information

J-curve information

Go to the following website and complete the activity listed below, including answering the questions:

Deer Population Activity

1) Read the introduction (click the button)

2) Run the program with the parameters given.

3) For every 5th year shown, list the deer population as shown on the chart.

4) Describe what the graph tells you about the deer population in the next 40 years. Based on your background reading, what kind of growth curve is illustrated?

5) Find a birth rate and death rate combination that will result in a decline in the deer population in spite of having unlimited habitat. Describe a real-world scenario in which this outcome is possible.

6) Relative to the scenario shown in question number 5, the reality is that the habitat size for the deer population in a particular geographic area is limited by humans and their cities, towns, homes and farms. When the deer over-populate a region, deer attempt to migrate to a new habitat where they can find new food sources. (6A)How does this affect the population in the area where the deer are currently located? (6B) How does this affect the deer population in the area into which they migrate? (6C) How would the genetic makeup of the population of the area into which the deer migrate be affected? (6D) As the deer migrate away from their current location, what would the effect be on the genetic makeup of the population that remain in their current location?

7)Input a habitat size based on your computer number multiplied by 5,000, (MAKE SURE you properly place a comma in the number or it will not display properly - an example would be 5,000 instead of 5000) then run the model and describe the outcome as illustrated by the graph. What kind of growth does this illustrate?

8)What is the carrying capacity of your habitat?

9) Use the habitat area which you calculated, and change the number of deer by multiplying the initial population by 10 (If you have computer # 3, you will change the number of deer to 30; if you have computer #4, you will change the number of deer to 40 and so forth)

Run the model and describe the outcome as illustrated by the graph. What kind of growth does this illustrate?

10) What is the carrying capacity of your habitat?

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