Wildebeest-StudentHO-DP.pdf

docx

School

Helene Fuld College of Nursing *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

BI122

Subject

Biology

Date

Jan 9, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

Uploaded by JusticeJellyfishPerson10141

The Mystery of the Buffalo and Wildebeest Population Changes This worksheet has been adopted from HHMI Biointeractive Caption: Number of wildebeest in the Serengeti ecosystem (shaded circles, left y- axis) and the prevalence (i.e., percentage) of individuals infected by rinderpest disease (unshaded squares and triangles, right y-axis) from 1958 to 2003. Use the graph provided above, along with the information from your textbook/notes (chapter 4.6 ) to answer the following questions. 1. Describe the trends in the wildebeest population over time. The wildebeest population was quite low during the 1960’s but their population experienced an exponential growth as the years went on as the number of individuals infected with the rinderpest disease dramatically lowered. 2. What are some possible factors that could cause an animal population, like wildebeest, to increase? Most likely due to some genetic mutation, or just a developed resistance to the disease as time went on. It is also possible that the disease itself died out due to a 3 rd party’s intervention (man-made vaccines). 3. Rinderpest is a viral disease that infects cattle, wildebeest, and other hoofed animals. The disease had affected cattle and wildlife in the Serengeti region for decades. Death rates were extremely high, especially among wildebeest calves. A program to vaccinate cattle began in the 1950s, and scientists monitored how the program affected wildebeest populations. Describe the trends in rinderpest prevalence over time as seen on the graph. Due to the program, the wildebeest went from being a bit obscure, to becoming much more widespread. 4. What was limiting (i.e., regulating) the wildebeest population before 1960? Is this a density-dependent or density-independent factor? Explain your reasoning. In addition to the disease, which was a big contributor to the wildebeest middling populations, other things like a limited access to food and maybe predation could also be a reason as to why their species’ numbers were so low. Such results would be density-dependent factors. 5. Based on the trends in the graph, what do you think the approximate carrying capacity for the wildebeest population is? The carrying capacity would be somewhere around 1,200,000 or a bit less; as it went from the 1950’s to the 1970’s the wildebeest population had a big increase in numbers, but then following those years it averaged out.

6. What are some possible factors that could be controlling the wildebeest population after 1980? Are these density-dependent or density-independent factors? Explain your reasoning. Though the wildebeests don’t have to worry about the rinderpest disease at this point in time, the species’ exponential growth in size most likely lowered the amount of food available for them just as much as they grew. 7. What impact might an increased population of wildebeests have on other trophic levels? Assuming that the wildebeests are on the higher end of the trophic levels, if they suddenly have a drastic increase in numbers, the lower levels will start to dwindle. This would also result into a lowering of biomass from the primary producers (i.e., the grass) which will also result in an overall lower amount of energy available for use in the higher trophic levels. After completing the answers above, watch the following video, and answer the following questions: https://youtu.be/c8OBaxttzlA 1. What evidence did the scientists collect to dismiss food and predators as a factor influencing the buffalo and wildebeest population growth? Upon looking back at past rain records, the scientists noticed there was no increase in rain, and thus no increase in grass produced. As for predators of the wildebeest (lions and hyenas) their numbers have been surprisingly increasing, so it is unlikely that they had any influence on the buffalo’s increasing numbers. 2. What percent of hooved animals in Africa died due to the virus? How did this impact the Human population in Africa? It is approximated that about 90-95 percent of hooved animals were wiped out due to this virus, because of this catastrophic event many of the people in Africa followed suit as they now lost a primary source of food in those animals.

Your preview ends here

Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version

Access to all documents
Unlimited textbook solutions
24/7 expert homework help

Related Documents

410 C-Fern Group Paper.docx

410 Plant Growth Group Paper.docx

410 Germination Group Paper.docx

Effect of Concentration, pH, and Temperature.docx

chapter 12 lab.docx

sample-midterm-exam-questions.pdf

BIO-220 Topic 3 DQ 1&2.docx

MCDB131 Quiz Time wk 4.pdf

Bio-220 Topic 1 DQ 1 & 2.docx

311-midterm-2014-practice-mt.pdf

BIOL 256 Diet Analysis Summary.docx

MCDB131 Old Final.pdf

Recommended textbooks for you

Case Studies In Health Information Management

Biology

ISBN:9781337676908

Author:SCHNERING

Publisher:Cengage

Nutrition Now

Health & Nutrition

ISBN:9781337415408

Author:Brown

Publisher:Cengage

An Illustrated Guide To Vet Med Term

Biology

ISBN:9781305465763

Author:ROMICH

Publisher:Cengage

Basic Clinical Laboratory Techniques 6E

Biology

ISBN:9781133893943

Author:ESTRIDGE

Publisher:Cengage

Understanding Health Insurance: A Guide to Billin...

Health & Nutrition

ISBN:9781337679480

Author:GREEN

Publisher:Cengage

Concepts of Biology

Biology

ISBN:9781938168116

Author:Samantha Fowler, Rebecca Roush, James Wise

Publisher:OpenStax College

SEE MORE TEXTBOOKS

Recommended textbooks for you

Case Studies In Health Information Management
Biology
ISBN:9781337676908
Author:SCHNERING
Publisher:Cengage
Nutrition Now
Health & Nutrition
ISBN:9781337415408
Author:Brown
Publisher:Cengage
An Illustrated Guide To Vet Med Term
Biology
ISBN:9781305465763
Author:ROMICH
Publisher:Cengage
Basic Clinical Laboratory Techniques 6E
Biology
ISBN:9781133893943
Author:ESTRIDGE
Publisher:Cengage
Understanding Health Insurance: A Guide to Billin...
Health & Nutrition
ISBN:9781337679480
Author:GREEN
Publisher:Cengage
Concepts of Biology
Biology
ISBN:9781938168116
Author:Samantha Fowler, Rebecca Roush, James Wise
Publisher:OpenStax College