1108 Lab: Biodiversity
Assignment (25 pts total)

Introduction:

Southeastern Georgia contains a diverse array of organisms.
Some of these organisms are familiar (e.g., ants, palm trees, and sea gulls)
and some are more obscure (e.g., protists and bacteria); some are endangered
while others are prolific; some are native inhabitants while others are recent
arrivals.  All these organisms
together make up the biodiversity of our region.  One way to investigate biodiversity is
by examining in detail focal species from diverse groups that live in a
particular region.  Over the course
of the semester, pairs of students will give oral presentations on organisms
found in our area.

Oral
Presentation Guidelines and Grading

Each pair of students will present their focal species to
their peers in lab.  The goal is to
provide key information that will help your classmates learn about the natural
history, life cycle, systematic relationships, and morphology of your
organism.  In addition, you should
include information about the local distribution of your organism in
Southeastern Georgia. Your presentation should be at least 10 minutes and no
longer than 20.  Powerpoint will be
available, or you may use transparencies, poster boards, or any other media you
think would be helpful.

Individuals will work in pairs on preparing and presenting
the information about their organism to the lab class.  In addition, all members of the class
are expected to participate throughout the semester by asking questions of the
presenters and evaluating presentations.

Oral
Presentation Rubric

Needs Work

Good

Superior

Content

appropriate choice of
organism

organism thoroughly described

presentation reveals good use
of sources

presentation provides
pertinent information

presentation makes good use
of graphics

presentation is interesting
to others

7 pts

9 pts

10 pts

Presentation

speaks clearly

uses appropriate language

uses appropriate body
language

asks for and fields questions

meets time specifications

6 pts

8 pts

10 pts

Peer Grading

·
individual turned in 2 peer reviews

·
average scores from peers

0 reviews=0 pt

1 pt

1 review=1 pt

2 pts

2 reviews= 2 pts

3 pts

YOUR
PROJECT DUE DATE: _________

Select Your Organism

1.      Identify an organism and find out about it. Use the
internet and reference resources from the library to describe it in
detail.

2.      Get
acquainted with your organism (What is it?
How does it obtain energy?
How does it grow? etc.).  Use
the “Species Information Sheet”
handout to begin organizing information about your organism

3.      Present
this information to the class on your assigned date.  You and your partner must both be
present on your presentation date to receive full credit.

Species Information Sheet

Use this sheet to help
you organize the information you learn about your organism.

Common
name:

Kingdom:

Phylum:

Class:

Order:

Family:

Genus:

Species:

Key features:

·
General description

·
Maximum, minimum and average size

·
Color

·
Sexual dimorphism

Local population:

·
Size of population

·
Density

·
Distribution (random, uniform, clumped)

·
Is population threatened, endangered, or a
species of special concern?

·
Global distribution

Niche Characteristics:

·
Species interactions

·
Predators

·
Prey

·
Other types of species interactions (mutualism,
amensalism, etc.)

·
Do juveniles rely on a different resource than
adults?

·
Producer or consumer

·
Herbivore, carnivore, omnivore?

·
Foraging characteristics

·
Time budget?

Reproduction:

·
Sexual or asexual or both

·
Average number of reproductive events per year

·
Average number of reproductive events per
lifetime

·
Average number of offspring per reproductive
event

·
Amount and type of parental care

Dispersal, Range, and
Habitat:

·
Optimal habitat conditions

·
Tolerance limits

·
Key resources

·
Dispersal mechanisms

·
Dispersal distances (lifetime average distance
from natal site)

·
Differences in patterns of dispersal between
males and females

·
Home range size

·
Territoriality

·
Migration patterns

·
Sociality (groups? Maternal or paternal
associations?)

Life cycle

Figure or table

Life span:

·
Average life span

·
Maximum documented life span

·
Age at first reproduction

HINT: Focus on the most interesting aspects of your
organism.  For example, if you choose
to look at raccoons, do not simply tell us what we already know (raccoons have
striped tails and can be really pesky…instead, give us some out of the
ordinary information, such as that the word
“raccoon” comes from the Algonquin Indians and means "he
scratches with his hands," a good description since raccoons are adept at
digging with their claws for insects and manipulating objects with their
hands.