NEXT WEEK IN BIO153

Tuesday: Lecture 21: Conservation biology

Thursday: Lecture 22: Global change biology

Friday: Tutorial 10

Readings: Chapter 56

Lab 10: Lab Test II

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Session ID:

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LECTURE 20:
INTRO TO ECOLOGY
What is ecology?
How do we study populations?
How can we estimate population sizes?

A Minke whale
(Balaenoptera acutorostrata)
pointy nose (rostum is nose)

http://www.taka.com.au/images/minke_whale.jpg

THE SCIENTIFIC NAME RELATES TO ITS SURFACING BEHAVIOUR

smallest of the baleen whales, and u can see then virtually everywhere

MINKE WHALES ARE NOT DISTRIBUTED EQUALLY ACROSS THE GULF OF MAINE
close to shallow waters
light blue rep shallow waters and dark blue deeper waters

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7OKR0q_AcA0/TaWp5pSV6jI/AAAAAAAAB_k/7HVUkOLjrSk/s1600/Minke%2BWhales.jpg

MINKE WHALES FEED ON KRILL

AND KRILL DISTRIBUTION DEPENDS ON CURRENTS AND TEMPERATURES

cold and water mixing is great for nutrient growth, phytoplankton, krill and aquatic
animals growth - therefore the minke whale is attracted to those areas

ECOLOGISTS STUDY

abiotic- water temp, ocean climate, soil

compositions
biotic-prey and predator relationships, and
phytoplankton
processes are dynamic - changes based on a whole
range of interactions , looking at things changing
over time

WE CAN INVESTIGATE ECOLOGY AT DIFFERENT LEVELS

POPULATION SIZES VARY ACROSS TIME AND SPACE

clearly these to pop are linked

- only a snap shot
- pop sizes fluctuate
-keep eachother in check
-looking at a predator prey relationship

POPULATIONS ARE ALSO DEFINED BY THEIR

Density: # of individuals/unit of
area or space

Dispersion: pattern of spacing

among individuals

minke whales around the guelph of main

Demographics: population
statistics (e.g. birth/death rates)

WE NEED TO COUNT INDIVIDUALS

we sample count
- choose a couple of patches and
extrapolate

PetrOlly on FlickrCC

IT WORKS FOR OTHER CETACEANS TOO humpback whales were the first
where this photo-technique was
used
- the colouration of each tail is
unique
-we can follow individuals by just
taking a photo of them

sperm whales have tails without colouration so the shape is used

WE CAN ESTIMATE POPULATION SIZE WITH MARK-RECAPTURE

should be the same

x s
=
sn
n N=
x

we're not actually marking and recapturing, all we are doing is taking photos
- before it was man handling and marking the whales
x = number of marked individuals in second sample
n = total number of individuals caught in second sample
s = number of individuals marked in first sample
N = population size

HOW MANY HECTORS DOLPHINS ARE THERE AROUND BANKS PENINSULA?

s = number of individuals marked in first sample = 180

n = total number of individuals caught in second sample =

44

x = number of marked individuals in second sample = 7

N = population size = sn/x =18044/7 =1131

WHAT ASSUMPTIONS DO WE HAVE TO MAKE?

sn
N=
x

-all individuals have the same probability of being captured (if not an
underestimation of pop size results)
-marked individuals mix randomly and completely with rest of population (if not
underestimation results)
-no individuals die, are born, immigrate or immigrate during study period
-tagging method does not impact individuals

FOR EXAMPLE: FLIPPER BANDS ON PENGUINS

http://www.landcareresearch.co.nz/research/ecosystems/penguins/Breeding_behaviour.asp

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lf0mqgjF741qzou5ko1_500.jpg

FRESH ECOLOGY

Jan. 13, 2011; Vol 460:

203-206

DOES BANDING
IMPACT PENGUINS?

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yes it does!
the cumulative survival rate was lower
for banded penguins than non-banded
penguins

Saraux et al. 2011. Nature, 469: 203-206

SO HOW DID THE RESEARCHERS FIND OUT?

banded penguins swimed less

well
-affected their swimming and
hunting

http://pems.unsw.adfa.edu.au/staff/profiles/sidhu_l/index.html

to track non-banded penguins

researchers inserted a small chip
(similar to the chip your dog/cat
gets when they are registered) and
when the
passed
a sensor they
32
mm
were recorded

NEXT LECTURE PERIOD

Lecture 21:
Conservation biology