TEACHING ALL VOLUMES SUBMIT WORK SEARCH TIEE
VOLUME 4: Table of Contents TEACHING ISSUES AND EXPERIMENTS IN ECOLOGY
EXPERIMENTS

Principal Ecological Question Addressed

What is the interplay between competition, predator-prey interactions, and sequential evolution of prey defenses and predator responses?

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What Happens

In this game, students play the roles of different insect predators (represented by foraging appendages constructed from plastic utensils (see Figure 1, drawing of appendages) as they capture suitable prey (i.e., candy). After each round, remaining prey reproduce and predators suffer differential mortality. In some rounds, a particular prey species is designated as poisonous. Student predators learn to recognize dangerous prey by getting ill after feeding. In future rounds, predators may evolve to circumvent certain prey defenses. For each generation, students follow population dynamics of the predators and prey. Students answer questions based on the outcomes and they discuss concepts, including predator-prey interactions, evolution of specialist predators, and extinction. This lab is a fun way to demonstrate natural selection and ecological tradeoffs.

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Lab Objectives

Through participating in the exercise, students will learn that:

Specifically, at the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

  1. Discuss insect predation methods and tradeoffs associated with prey defenses,
  2. Predict how a community will change when driven by predator-prey relationships,
  3. Recognize the importance of generalist predators in responding to potential prey populations.
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Equipment/Logistics Required

For a class of 24 students working independently:

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Summary of What is Due

At a minimum, students complete worksheets and answer questions at the end of the exercise. Students also can be instructed to write a report about their findings.

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Keyword Descriptors

Ecological Topic Keywords:

community ecology, predator-prey relations, predation, adaptation

Science Methodological Skills Developed:

theoretical thinking (reflection on practice), identify biotic interactions, use of graphing programs, use of spreadsheets

Pedagogical Methods Keywords:

active learning, guided inquiry, game to teach ecology, role-playing

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