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    Biodiversity Lab Handout

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    Jennifer
    This document describes a lab simulation to calculate biodiversity index using beans representing different species. Students organize beans by type, count the number of each species and total organisms. They use these numbers to calculate the biodiversity index and compare it to sample ecosystems to determine what type of ecosystem their sample represents. Taking larger samples improves the accuracy of estimating diversity, with more reliable results at 50+ beans.

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    Biodiversity Lab Handout

    Uploaded by

    Jennifer
    596 views5 pages
    This document describes a lab simulation to calculate biodiversity index using beans representing different species. Students organize beans by type, count the number of each species and total organisms. They use these numbers to calculate the biodiversity index and compare it to sample ecosystems to determine what type of ecosystem their sample represents. Taking larger samples improves the accuracy of estimating diversity, with more reliable results at 50+ beans.

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    Biodiversity lab handout

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    This document describes a lab simulation to calculate biodiversity index using beans representing different species. Students organize beans by type, count the number of each species and total organisms. They use these numbers to calculate the biodiversity index and compare it to sample ecosystems to determine what type of ecosystem their sample represents. Taking larger samples improves the accuracy of estimating diversity, with more reliable results at 50+ beans.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    596 views5 pages

    Biodiversity Lab Handout

    Uploaded by

    Jennifer
    This document describes a lab simulation to calculate biodiversity index using beans representing different species. Students organize beans by type, count the number of each species and total organisms. They use these numbers to calculate the biodiversity index and compare it to sample ecosystems to determine what type of ecosystem their sample represents. Taking larger samples improves the accuracy of estimating diversity, with more reliable results at 50+ beans.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as doc, pdf, or txt
    of 5
    At a glance
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    The key takeaways are that biodiversity indexes are used to determine the diversity of an ecosystem based on the number of species and total number of organisms. A higher index closer to 1 indicates a more diverse ecosystem. The text describes doing a simulation/lab where beans represent species in an ecosystem to calculate the biodiversity index.

    The biodiversity index refers to the ratio of the number of different species to the total number of organisms in an ecosystem. It is calculated by taking the number of species and dividing it by the total number of organisms. A higher ratio closer to 1 indicates a more diverse ecosystem.

    According to the text, factors that would affect the biodiversity index of an ecosystem include the number of different species present and the total population sizes of each species. Having more species and more evenly distributed population sizes among species would result in a higher index closer to 1.

    Biodiversity Conservation Unit

    Biodiversity Hotspots

    Biodiversity Calculation Lab

    Biodiversity indexes are used to determine the biodiversity of a given ecosystem. In this lab, you will calculate
    the biodiversity index of an ecosystem. Biodiversity index = # species /# organisms. In other words:

    Biodiversity index = # Species


    # Organisms

    The closer to 1 the biodiversity index is, the more diverse and healthy the ecosystem is.

    Directions: Your group has been given a bottle of beans that represents an ecosystem. Each group’s bottle holds a
    different assortment and a different number of beans. Each bean type in your bottle represents a different species
    in an ecosystem. All of the species that live in a one square kilometer area of a particular habitat are included in
    your bottle. The quantity of any one type of bean represents the number of organisms of that species that exist in
    the ecosystem. Follow the steps below to (1) calculate the biodiversity index of your sample ecosystem, then (2)
    use the biodiversity index you calculated to estimate the kind of ecosystem your bottle represents. Sample at least
    3 populations.

    1. Organize your beans by type. Record each bean type (species) in column 2 of the chart below. Now count
    your beans, recording the number of each type of bean (organisms) in column 3 of the chart.

    2. Add up the number of different species (different types of beans) represented in your sample (column 2), and
    record that figure in column 1 of the chart.

    3. Add up the total number or organisms (all beans), and record that figure in column 4 of the chart.

    4. Calculate the biodiversity of your sample ecosystem, based on the number of different species and the total
    number of organisms in your sample. Record the result in column 5 of the chart.

    Total # of # of Individuals of Each Species Total # of Biodiversity


    Species Type of Bean Quantity of That Type Organisms Index
    (Species) (Organisms)
    Biodiversity Conservation Unit
    Biodiversity Hotspots

    Total # of # of Individuals of Each Species Total # of Biodiversity


    Species Type of Bean Quantity of That Type Organisms Index
    (Species) (Organisms)

    Total # of # of Individuals of Each Species Total # of Biodiversity


    Species Type of Bean Quantity of That Type Organisms Index
    (Species) (Organisms)
    Biodiversity Conservation Unit
    Biodiversity Hotspots

    5. Use the information in the chart below to estimate which type of ecosystem your bottle represents.

    Ecosystem Biodiversity Index

    Tropical Rain forests 0.75

    Coniferous forests 0.5

    Deciduous forests 0.5

    Deserts 0.33

    Grasslands 0.33

    Cultivated fields 0.019

    What kind of ecosystems does your samples represent? _____________________________

    6. Get a bag of beans labeled “sampling”. We will examine the effect of sample size on your estimation of
    diversity.

    Close your eyes and pull 5 beans from the bag. How many species did you get? Do the same for 10, 20, 50
    and all 100 beans.

    10

    20

    50

    100

    7. Respond to the following questions:

    A. What does “biological diversity” mean?

    B. What did this simulation symbolize?


    Biodiversity Conservation Unit
    Biodiversity Hotspots

    C. If you cut down all of the various kinds of trees in a piece of forest you owned, then replanted with one
    type of tree, what might happen to the wildlife that was adapted to that forest?

    D. Will this happen to all of the wildlife in the forest? Why or why not?

    E. Many species can only live and reproduce in one type of forest. The spotted owl is one example: It can
    only live and successfully reproduce in old growth forests (e.g., old cedars, hemlocks). If these old growth
    forests are cut down, it’s unlikely that this owl species will survive. Conservation biologists call such an
    organism an “indicator” species.” What does this mean? Why should we be concerned about one species?

    F. What effect did a larger sample size have on your estimate of biodiversity? At what point did you get an
    accurate measure of diversity?
    Biodiversity Conservation Unit
    Biodiversity Hotspots

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