Problem 2
The variety of microorganisms that live on your teeth have an ecology like any other community. What do you think might be the similarities in the forces determining species richness (the number of species present) in your oral community as opposed to a community of seaweeds living on boulders along the shoreline?
Problem 3
Why do some temporal patterns in ecology need long runs of data to detect them, while other patterns need only short runs of data?
Problem 4
Discuss the pros and cons of descriptive studies as opposed to laboratory studies of the same ecological phenomenon.
Problem 5
What is a 'natural field experiment'? Why are ecologists keen to take advantage of them?
Problem 6
Search the library for a variety of definitions of ecology: which do you think is most appropriate and why?
Problem 7
In a study of stream ecology, you need to choose 20 sites to test the hypothesis that brown trout have higher densities where the streambed consists of cobbles. How might your results be biased if you chose all your sites to be easy to access because they are near roads or bridges?
Problem 8
How might the results of the Cedar Creek study of old-field succession have been different if a single field had been monitored for 50 years, rather than simultaneously comparing fields abandoned at different times in the past?
Problem 9
When all the trees were felled in a Hubbard Brook catchment, there were dramatic differences in the chemistry of the stream water draining the catchment. How do you think stream chemistry would change in subsequent years as plants begin to grow again in the catchment area?
Problem 10
What are the main factors affecting the confidence we can have in predictions of a mathematical model?
