Untitled Goose Tutorial (BI111)

This zoom-bases tutorial (zoomtorial) designed for BI111 (Biological Diversity & Evolution) is a role-playing game designed to explore the causes and consequenes of intra- and inter-specific competition for limited resources. If you have any questions, please email Tristan Long, Department of Biology, Wilfrid Laurier University: tlong at wlu dot ca

Transcript

1. BI111: Biological Diversity & Evolution Tutorial 5: Causes and Consequences of Competition (aka Untitled Goose Tutorial)
2. Population growth & competition Eventually in every species a growing population will encounter scarcity of some form due to the finite availability of environmental resources (e.g. food or shelter) If the environment cannot sustain an indefinitely large population, then competition will result
3. Competition Competition can occur between members of the same species (intra-specific competition) and/or members of other species (inter-specific competition), if two species have overlapping niches (resource needs)
4. In today’s tutorial We shall (together) be exploring how resource scarcity and the resulting competition can influence population dynamics under two different ecological scenarios that will allow us to better understand the consequences of intra- and/or inter-specific competition
5. Scenario 1: Goose! We begin by everyone in the possessing one complete set of three “resource cards” which represents the niche requirements of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis). (Hopefully you’ve printed these cards out alredy, or have made your own). FOOD SHELTER WATER
6. GOOSE SWAN
7. The class will be initially divided into 2 groups. One group will be the geese (people whose birthdays are in January, February, March or April). They should take out & hold up their “goose card” The rest of the class will be the resources. The TA/IA will take a Zoom poll to count the number of geese (option “A”) and resources (option “B”) at round “0”. Record this information on the first data page (either digitally or manually).
9. Each individual should place their three cards behind their backs, and randomly pick one card. The TA/IA will send everyone off to a breakout room (be sure to have your camera/microphone on). Your group will have ~8 individuals in it.
10. Once in the breakout group, the geese should hold up their “goose cards” and their desired “resource” card. FOOD SHELTER W ATER SHELTER
11. Once in the breakout group, the geese should hold up their “goose cards” and their desired “resource” card. SHELTER FOOD W ATER SHELTER
12. SHELTER FOOD W ATER SHELTER SHELTER FOOD W ATER FOOD On the count of three, the resource individuals should hold up their cards to the camera….
13. SHELTER FOOD W ATER SHELTER SHELTER FOOD W ATER FOOD …and the geese should try to acquire a matching resource (e.g. a goose in need of water should seek out water resources etc…) by calling out the name of the individual holding the required resource. HONK HONK HONK HONK
14. FOOD W ATER SHELTER FOOD W ATER SHELTER FOOD SUCCESS SUCCESS SUCCESS If you are a goose that finds a resource “match” then you have been successful enough to reproduce and the resource individual will be a goose in the next round of the game J. SHELTER
15. FOOD W ATER SHELTER FOOD W ATER SHELTER FOOD SUCCESS SUCCESS SUCCESS If you were a goose who was *unable* to find a match, you have died L, and thanks to decomposers you have become a resource for future generations of geese in the next round of play J. If you are an unclaimed resource, you will remain a resource in the next round of play J. In a couple minutes TA/IA will bring you back to the main Zoom classroom. (You can message them when your group is done) SHELTER
16. Once the whole tutorial is back together the TA/IA will take a Zoom poll to count the number of geese (option “A”) and resources (option “B”) Record this information on the first data page (either digitally or manually) for round 1. (Let’s all give this a try now)
17. The goose game continues for up to 10 complete rounds. Remember at the start of each round to randomize your displayed resource card At the end of each round the TA/IA will take a poll to count the number of geese/the environment’s resources. Plot this data on the data page
18. Scenario 2a: Duck, Duck, Goose! The niche requirements of Canada Geese (Branta canadensis) are quite similar to those of the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor), which can lead to inter-specific competition FOOD SHELTER WATER
19. In this game there will be ~equal number of geese (initially those born in May or June) and swans (initially those born in July or August), while the rest will be the resources. Initially the number of geese and swans will be about the same Each individual should place their three cards behind their backs, and randomly pick one card (that they will hold in front of themselves). The TA/IA will take a Zoom poll to count the number of geese (option “A”) and swans (option “B”) at round “0” which you should record on the top of the second data page.
21. SHELTER FOOD SHELTER SHELTER FOOD W ATER FOOD The game will be similar to the 1st scenario, except this time there are both geese and/or swans competing for resources in your breakout room… HONK HONK HONK HONK W ATER HONK
22. If you are a goose (or swan) that finds a resource “match” then that individuals becomes new goose (or swan) in the next round If you were a goose/swan unable to find a match, you have died, and thanks to decomposers you have become a resource for future generations of geese/swans. Unclaimed resource individuals remain resources in the next round of the game. The TA/IA will poll how many geese (option “A”) and swans (option “B”) there are at the end of each round, which you’ll record on your data sheet.
23. The goose/swan game continues for up to 6 complete rounds. Remember at the start of each round to randomize your displayed resource card. At the end of each round TA/IA will count how many geese/swans there are using a Zoom poll (geese are option “A” and swans are option “B”). Continue even if one of the two species goes extant (locally extinct)
24. Scenario 2b: Duck, Duck, Goose! In the final scenario we’ll be re-running the geese vs ducks exercise, but instead of Geese and swans being be in initially similar numbers the there will initially be three as many swans as there are geese (Swans born in Sept, Oct, November), geese (born in December). Run the exercise for 6 complete rounds. At the end of each round TA/IA will poll how many geese/swans there are (geese are option “A” and swans are option “B”). Continue even if one of the two species goes extant (locally extinct)
26. Using the data recorded on your sheets draw three time series figures depicting what happened in each of the scenarios you played. Also please (individually) answer each the following questions: 1. During the 1st game, the geese experienced some very good years when the population was large. What happened the following year and why? (1/3 page max) 2. During the 1st game, the geese experienced some very bad years when the population was small. What happened the following year and why? (1/3 page max) 3. In the second game, how did the presence of Swans affect the abundance and dynamics of the geese compared to the 1st game? (1/2 page max) 4. Did changing the initial numbers of geese to swans have an effect on the dynamics of the population change? Why do you think it did/did not? (1/2 page max) SUBMIT YOUR FIGURES AND YOUR WRITTEN ANSWERS TO THE CLASS DROPBOX