announcements: --for lecture next week, read chapters 8 (now read 1-9) --for lab this week, also...

Announcements:-- For lecture next week, read Chapters 8 (Now read 1-9)-- For lab this week, also read Chapter 13

No Colloquium this week (we have boring faculty meetings)

January 30: Joseph Pfaller, Department of Biological Science, FSU

“Scaling of morphology and bite-force generation in the durophagous turtle Sternotherus minor: implications for ecological performance throughout Development”

Loggerhead musk turtles

I. Purpose of this CourseII. The Scientific MethodIII. What are Foragers?IV. Decision Making by Foragers

A. Types of decisionsB. Balancing Costs and Benefits in DecisionsC. Optimal Diet ModelD. Spatial Distribution of Resources

1. The Ideal Free Distribution (IDF)

2. Marginal Value Theorem in PatchesE. Lots of other models

V. Dynamics of Forager-Resource NumbersA. Dynamics of predator and prey are “tied”B. Behaviors Associated with changes in

numbers.

.

Cumulative Resources Consumed

Ehigh

Elow

o

Thigh

Tlow

Tt

Time

higher productivity

lower productivity

Marginal Value Theorem and Optimal Give-up time.

Can also make predictions about patch productivity

.

Time

Cumulative Resources Consumed

Ehigh

Elow

o

Thigh

Tt - high

Tt - low

Tlow


Can make predictions about search or travel times


Cowie, R. J. 1977. Optimal foraging in great tits Parus major. Nature 268: 137-139.

Cowie had birds search for mealworms in sawdust filled pots in an aviary

I. Purpose of this CourseII. The Scientific MethodIII. What are Foragers?IV. Decision Making by ForagersV. Dynamics of Forager-Resource NumbersVI. Experimental Design and Analyses

A simple “how to” primer on doing experiments.

We will be very concerned about experimental design for your proposals.

VI. Experimental Design and AnalysesA. Types of Tests of Hypotheses -- remember that Science progresses by rejecting among alternative hypotheses.

Two general types of tests:1. Observational studies - two or more

groups differ naturally in some aspect.

2. Experimental studies - two or more groups have been manipulated by the experimenter

to be different in some aspect.-- often a “treatment” and “control-- may just be 2 or more

“treatments”

What is the difference between observational and experimental studies?

In general, experimental tests provide more conclusive results than observational tests. Groups that differ naturally in one respect may also differ in other, possibly unknown, respects making it impossible to conclude that results observed are due to one particular difference. WE WANT YOU TO CONDUCT AN EXPERIMENTAL, NOT OBSERVATIONAL, TEST FOR THIS CLASS.

Verbal Math CompIowa 593 601 1194Arkansas 568 555 1123Tennessee 564 557 1121Alabama 562 558 1120Louisiana 562 558 1120Mississippi 562 549 1111Kentucky 547 550 1097West Virginia 525 513 1038NationalAvg.

505 512 1017

Florida 500 501 1001Georgia 486 482 968SouthCarolina

478 473 951

Example:Mean SAT scores in Alabama and Florida.

Alabama has significantly higher scores

Verbal Math Comp % taking SATIowa 593 601 1194 5%Arkansas 568 555 1123 6%Tennessee 564 557 1121 14%Alabama 562 558 1120 8%Louisiana 562 558 1120 9%Mississippi 562 549 1111 4%Kentucky 547 550 1097 12%West Virginia 525 513 1038 17%NationalAvg.

505 512 1017 41%

Florida 500 501 1001 48%Georgia 486 482 968 63%SouthCarolina

478 473 951 57%

Example:Mean SAT scores in Alabama and Florida.

VI. Experimental Design and AnalysesA. Types of Tests of HypothesesB. Replication

1. Number of replicates -- increasing number of replicates gives more confidence in average value.

Height converter:

ALWAYS use metric in this class

4'10" 1.474'11" 1.50

5' 1.535'1" 1.555'2" 1.585'3" 1.605'4" 1.635'5" 1.655'6" 1.685'7" 1.705'8" 1.735'9" 1.755'10" 1.785'11" 1.80

6' 1.836'1" 1.866'2" 1.886'3" 1.916'4" 1.936'5" 1.966'6" 1.98


1. Number of replicates -- increasing number of replicates gives more confidence in average value.


1. Number of replicates 2. Distribution of replicates

-- segregated-- random-- systematic-- randomized block

randomsegregated

systematic randomized block


1. Number of replicates 2. Distribution of replicates

C. Types of Data collected

Two broad categories:1. Discrete = categorical data, e.g.

colors of flowers, gender, -- hard to get average

2. Continuous = pts. along a continuum, for example:

time, weight, temperature-- can get mean, falls on scale

VI. Experimental Design and AnalysesA. Types of Tests of HypothesesB. ReplicationC. Types of Data collected

1. Discrete 2. Continuous

Example of different Universities.

-- how many students do they have?-- to what conference do they belong?-- do they have a football team?-- how many Rhodes Scholars do the have?-- what is the average temperature in

December?

VI. Experimental Design and AnalysesA. Types of Tests of HypothesesB. ReplicationC. Types of Data collected

1. Discrete 2. Continuous

D. Sampling units:Variable = class or category of dataObservation = individual measure of a single variablePopulation = group of a similar kind, arbitrarily definedSample = set of observations from a population

Important distinction: we use a sample from a population, but can only assume that the results apply to the entire population.

VI. Experimental Design and AnalysesA. Types of Tests of HypothesesB. ReplicationC. Types of Data collectedD. Sampling unitsE. Summarizing data using numbers or graphs:

Discrete data: numbers or percent per categorybar graphs of frequencies or numbers

most useful


Continuous data: means, variances, range frequency distribution or bar graphs with variance indicated.


Continuous data:Mathematical descriptions of how “variable” a set of

observations are include variance:

s2 =

Also could use: standard deviation, confidence intervals, standard

error of the mean. We will use variance, which assumes a normal

distribution.

€

x 2∑ - ( x∑ )2

nn -1

VI. Experimental Design and Analyses

Class data:

1. # facebook checks per day2. # facebook friends3. Have you been to the third floor (upstairs) of

the Dirac Science library4. Who should Kate end up with: Jack, Sawyer or

you have no idea what I am talking about.5. How do you get to FSU most days?6. Are you female or male?

Past Student Projects:

Squirrel reactions to humans during foraging in rural vs. urban environments

Effect of patch quality and density on the foraging habits of the fire ant, Solanopsis invicta

The effect of resource availability on ant lion pit formation

The effect of color on the foraging behavior in fire ants

Inter- and intraspecific competition influences on height as a function of plant densities in field mustard and raddish

The effect of perceived predation risk on foraging behavior in red-winged blackbirds

Past Student Projects (cont.):

The effect of Littoraria irrorata density on Spartina stalk preference during tidal vertical migrations

The relationship between cricket chirp rate and survival

The effect of atmospheric oxygen levels on the growth rate of seedlings of a parasitic angiosperm

The amount of preference domestic horses demonstrate for peat moss when compared to Bermuda grass and peanut hay

Variation in food size and patch replenishment rate: A test of the Ideal Free Distribution Theory on gulls.

The effect of environmental enrichment on the foraging behaviors of the common goldfish

announcements: --for lecture next week, read chapters 8 (now read 1-9) --for lab this week, also...

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