Overview
The final project for this course is a paper that will use information regarding vegetation and bird communities to inform a conservation organization as to which
of four sites to target for acquisition and preservation. That is, you will evaluate these four properties according to pre-established criteria that reflect the
biodiversity found at each site. This is the sort of work that conservation groups such as the Nature Conservancy or other land trusts regularly pursue—if we have
finite financial resources, how do we judge which area is most important to protect? This project will prepare you to do the kind of work that is often expected of
a professional in the field of environmental science: collecting, analyzing, and synthesizing field data; interpreting and communicating the results; and relating
your findings to the extant scientific literature. It will also prepare you for subsequent courses in Southern New Hampshire University’s Environmental Science
degree program, including Environmental Science Research Methods.
The project is supported by three milestones, which will be submitted at various points throughout the course to scaffold learning and ensure quality final
submissions. These milestones will be submitted in Modules Two, Four, and Six. The instructor will provide input and possible revisions to each of these three
milestones when they are submitted; these edits should be included in the final submission, which will be submitted in Module Seven.
In this assignment, you will demonstrate your mastery of the following course outcomes:
| Demonstrate the ability to apply scientific methods to solving problems and using the proper methods of observation and recording of scientific data Describe ecological relationships at the level of the organism, population, community, andecosystem Integrate their knowledge and understanding of how their environment works, especially in regard to understanding the role of humans in a biological context |
You are working for an international bird conservation organization that is considering purchase of one of four parcels of land in the Central American country of
Belize. You will use field data concerning bird species occurrence and abundance, as well as descriptions of plant communities found at each site to make a
recommendation to the organization as to which of these land parcels to acquire. Field data will be provided for each of the four parcels at two different scales:
1. Local, meaning the specific parcels being considered for purchase. Each specific parcel being considered is defined by a particular land parcel boundary.
2. Regional, meaning the broader area surrounding each specific parcel being considered for acquisition (15-mile-diameter circles centered at Belmopan
(17.146 °N, 88.729 °W), Cockscomb Basin (16.797 °N, 88.379 °W), Gallon Jug (17.561 °N, 89.044 °W), and Punta Gorda (16.165 °N, 88.883 °W)
Since all students in this class may not be able to physically engage in actual field research for a variety of reasons, in this project you will be given field data and
GIS-analyzed remote sensing information that is similar to what might actually be collected during weeks of real field work and subsequent analysis. Methods
used to obtain this data will be briefly described in this document; your final paper should describe these methods and present results as though you had
actually been responsible for collecting and analyzing the data. Your final project should follow the format of a standard scientific paper (Introduction, Methods,
Results, Discussion, Literature Cited).
Because of the priorities of the organization you are working for, your analysis will emphasize birds, but it should also include reference to major vegetation
communities that may reasonably be expected to influence bird distribution and abundance. The primary information you will be given to work with includes:
1. Species diversity indices based on single-day bird surveys conducted by teams of observers within 15-mile-diameter circles that include the four sites
being considered for conservationpurchase
2. Graphical analyses summarizing the major vegetation communities present within each of the 15-mile-diameter circles
3. Graphical analyses summarizing the major vegetation communities present within each of the actual parcels being considered for acquisition
4. Bird survey data collected using the rapid assessment MacKinnon approach (see O’Dea et al. 2004) from each of the specific parcels being considered for
acquisition. In other words, your data sets will reflect information collected at two different scales—one regional (the 15-mile diameter circles) and one
local (the specific parcels).
| Include an Introduction section. Include a Methods section based on information provided in diversity_indices.pdf and veg_analyses.pdf. Create species detection line graphs for each study region based on MacKinnon data from bird_data.xls. Incorporate results provided in diversity_indices.pdf, veg_analyses.pdf, and the graph produced in Milestone Two into a brief (three-page maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font) Results section. Prepare a brief Discussion section that reviews the findings mentioned in Results and explains your recommendation as to which property would be best to acquire for conservation purposes. Prepare a Literature Cited section that includes all references that you have mentioned in your Introduction, Methods, and Discussion sections following the style requirements of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. |
| |
|
This following provides information and instructions to support you in completing each milestone and element of the final project.
1. Maps: The following map will help you visualize the project areas:
Map showing approximate elevations of Belize, locations of major rivers, study region boundaries (15-mile-diameter circles), and local parcels being
considered for conservation acquisition (solid black polygons)
2. Diversity Indices: Ecologists have devised many different indices that are used to quantitatively measure levels of biodiversity. It is important to recognize
that none of these indices, by themselves, tell the “full story.” For instance, at one level it would be completely accurate to measure biodiversity simply
by counting up the number of species (or genera or families) present at a particular study site; a site where S (the number of taxa) = 150 is more diverse
than a site where S = 20. But this is only one way we might describe diversity. How might we compare diversity in a way that considers not only the
number of species, but also the relative abundances of the different species? For example, a community composed of 50 species, each of which is equal
in abundance, would be a very different community from one in which those same 50 species occurred but where one of those species was 5,000 times
more abundant than each of the other 49 species.
Following are some of the more common diversity indices that you will find mentioned in the ecological literature. Remember that none of them are
“perfect”; instead, each provides a slightly different perspective on the same basic question. Probably the most common indices are:
A. Simple counting of the total number of taxa present (S)
B. Dominance (D), with values that range from 0 (all taxa are equally present) to 1 (one taxon dominates the community completely).
(D) is directly related to Simpson’s index, which = 1-D).
C. The Shannon index (H), with values ranging from 0 (communities with only a single taxon) to high numbers (communities with many taxa,
each with a few individuals)
D. Equitability (J): This measures the evenness with which individuals are divided among the taxa present.
3. Analysis: The equations used to calculate these varied diversity indices are typically fairly simple and can be created easily within Excel spreadsheets,
found online as add-on macros within Excel (e.g., Diversity.xla), or calculated via free statistical software such as PAST or R (The R Project for Statistical
Computing). These links are provided as optional resources for you to explore and learn more about the indices; they are not required for this project.
Instead, to save you some time, for this exercise the four indices mentioned in the Diversity Indices section above have been calculated for you, using
PAST; these results are provided in the document diversity_indices.pdf. Similarly, GIS was used to estimate the extent of major vegetation communities
present within each of the actual parcels being considered for acquisition, and within the 15-mile-diameter regional circles; these results are provided in
the documentveg_analyses.pdf.
4. Data Sets: In this assignment, you are provided with four data sets that reflect the types of information you might collect if you were actually doing field
work aimed at assessing bird diversity at four different sites. These data sets are based on real data collected by real people in real field settings, but in
each case, the actual information has been modified for the sake of this learningexperience.
Data set contained in the Excel workbook bird_data.xls. Separate worksheets named as Belmopan – 15 mi circle, Belmopan – MacKinnon, Gallon Jug – 15
mi circle, Gallon Jug – MacKinnon, Cockscomb Basin – 15 mi circle, Cockscomb Basin – MacKinnon, Punta Gorda – 15 mi circle, Punta Gorda – MacKinnon,
and Graph. See O’Dea et al. (pp. 55–56) for a description of how MacKinnon list data is collected. Basically, the idea is simple—you explore an area of
interest and record the first 10 (or however many you decide; in this example the number is 10) species that you encounter. Then you do the same thing
again, recording observations until you reach a total of 10 species. Then you do it again, and again, and again—in this example, on 15 different surveys.
Eventually you are able to produce a data set that shows the number of new (never-before-encountered during your survey efforts) species for each of
the 15 survey dates and use this to produce a table showing the cumulative number of species detected by date. For this exercise, you are provided with
MacKinnon data collected on 15 dates within each of the parcels being considered for conservation purchase. See MacKinnon_data_instructions.pdf for
an explanation of how to calculate and fill in the data required in the worksheet Graphs.
Milestones
As noted above, you will complete three milestones during the course. The work you produce for the milestones will serve as first drafts of the critical elements
of your final project. Following are descriptions of the three milestones, including the critical elements associated with each milestone. The critical elements will
serve as the basis for the rubric that will be used to assess your final project.
Milestone One: Data Exploration and Preparation for Analysis
In this milestone, due as part of Module Two, you will submit drafts of two critical elements of your final project:
1. A brief (two-page maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font) Introduction
2. A brief (two-page maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font) Methods section based on information provided in diversity_indices.pdf and MacKinnon data
in bird_data.xls and veg_analyses.pdf
In order to complete those critical elements, you will need to first:
| Familiarize yourself with the data provided in the Excel workbooks bird_data.xls and the documents diversity indices.pdf and veg_analyses.pdf Read and understand O’Dea et al. (2004), especially pages55–56 |
Milestone Two: Quantitative and Graphical Analysis
In this milestone, due as part of Module Four, you will submit a draft of one critical element of your final project: Create species detection line graphs for each
study region based on MacKinnon data from bird_data.xls. See the instructions in MacKinnon_data_instructions.pdf.
This milestone will be graded using the Milestone Two Rubric.
Milestone Three: Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited Sections
In this milestone, due as part of Module Six, you will submit drafts of three critical elements of your final project:
1. Incorporate results provided in diversity_indices.pdf, veg_analyses.pdf, and the graph produced in Milestone Two into a brief (three-page maximum,
double-spaced, 12-point font) Results section.
2. Prepare a brief (two-page maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font) Discussion section that reviews the findings mentioned in Results and explains your
recommendation as to which property would be best to acquire for conservation purposes.
3. Prepare a Literature Cited (References) section that includes all references that you have mentioned in your Introduction, Methods, and Discussion
sections following the style requirements of Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
This milestone will be graded using the Milestone Three Rubric.
Final Project Submission: Final Report
Due as part of Module Seven, your final project consists of combining the elements produced for Milestones One, Two, and Three (with any revisions suggested
after submission of those milestones) into a final document. This combination of sections will probably involve some final editing, clean-up, and cross-checking.
The final project will be graded using the Final Project Rubric (below).
Deliverables
Milestone | Deliverables | Module Due | Grading |
One | Data Exploration and Preparation for Analysis | Two | Graded separately; Milestone One Rubric |
Two | Quantitative and Graphical Analysis | Four | Graded separately; Milestone Two Rubric |
Three | Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited Sections | Six | Graded separately; Milestone Three Rubric |
Final Submission: Final Paper | Seven | Graded separately; Final Project Rubric |
Guidelines for Submission: Written components of this project will follow the professionally appropriate formatting referred to in Milestone Three (Module Six).
The final report (Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited) should total 10–15 pages in length (including figures, tables, and Literature
Cited).
Critical Elements | Exemplary (100%) | Proficient (85%) | Needs Improvement (55%) | Not Evident (0%) | Value |
Introduction | Meets all of the “Proficient” criteria and is concise | Includes a descriptive title and clear description of the question being addressed | Lacks a descriptive title and/or description of the question being addressed is present but awkwardly phrased | No description of the question being addressed | 10 |
Methods Section | Meets all of the “Proficient” criteria; no need for additional editing | Clear, complete, and accurate descriptions are provided of locations, methods of data collection, and basic analysis techniques (including software). Wording appropriate for technical writing (past tense, not wordy), could use some additional editing to improve clarity | Some or all descriptions of locations, methods of data collection, and/or basic analysis techniques (including software) are unclear, incomplete, or inaccurate | No descriptions of the location and methods used to collect the data and/or identification of the software used to analyze the data are provided | 15 |
Species Detection Line Graphs | All 4 of the line graphs (all locations) are accurate | 2-3 of the line graphs are accurate | Only 1 of the line graphs is accurate | No line graphs are provided | 15 |
Results Section | Meets all of the “Proficient” criteria. Conforms to Frontiers in Ecology guidelines. Does not slide into discussion or interpretation | Results section includes all of the major elements (species detection line graphs, mention of diversity indices, mention of vegetation/land use characteristics), and presentation of these elements is clear and logical. Mostly conforms to Frontiers in Ecology guidelines | Results section omits some of the major elements (species detection line graphs, mention of diversity indices, mention of vegetation/land use characteristics), and/or logical presentation of these elements needs improvement (or includes evaluations and/or recommendations) | Results section missing all of the major elements (species detection line graphs, mention of diversity indices, mention of vegetation/land use characteristics) | 20 |
Discussion Section | Meets all of the “Proficient” criteria and suggests logical areas for additional investigation or research that would better inform the rankings and recommendations | Criteria used to evaluate the parcels, the evaluations themselves, and associated recommendations are logical and well-supported by the results. Demonstrates ability to synthesize information from different sources | Criteria to evaluate the parcels, the evaluations themselves, and/or associated recommendations are incomplete or not well supported by the results | Discussion section not provided | 20 |
Literature Cited (References) | More than two scholarly articles that are clearly related to the research project are referenced, and all references and citations conform to Frontiers in Ecology guidelines | The paper references at least two scholarly articles that are clearly related to the research project. Most references and citations conform to Frontiers in Ecology guidelines | Fewer than two scholarly articles that are clearly related to the research project are referenced and/or few references and citations conform to Frontiers in Ecology guidelines | No relevant scholarly articles are referenced | 10 |
Writing (Mechanics/ Citations) | No errors related to organization, grammar and style, and citations | Minor errors related to organization, grammar and style, and citations | Some errors related to organization, grammar and style, and citations | Major errors related to organization, grammar and style, and citations | 10 |
Total | 100% |