Day
1
Welcome
page
Day one involves assigning roles and determining the extent of population
capacity at Greene Valley Forest Preserve. The latter will be accomplished
by researching the current population density at Greene Valley and using
a model to predict population growth if no intervention is applied.
Step 1: Assign roles to each group member:
- Homeowner -- You are a private landowner whose property borders
the forest preserve. Year after year, deer have destroyed the flowers and
shrubs you have tried to plant in your yard. On the other hand, you do
not want to erect a fence that might destroy the view from your home. You
have children and are also worried about the safety behind increasing hunting
in the forest preserve. Your task is to consider what options of population
control would be the safest and would not jeopardize the standard of living
in the neighborhood.
- Animal Rights Activist -- You are a vegetarian who strongly
opposes unnecessary killing of animals. Your belief is that the slaughter
of animals should be the last resort and only if absolutely necessary.
Even then, you would prefer the population be reduced by natural means.
- Biologist -- As a biologist, you are concerned about the effects
of deer on the forest preserve. Greene Valley needs to maintain a certain
degree of deer population in order to thrive as an ecosystem. However,
the number of deer can not exceed a certain level if plants and animal
wildlife are to coexist productively. Since you want to consider both short
and long term effects, your job as a biologist is to determine which method
of population control best keeps the forest preserve community in balance.
- Politician -- As a government representative, you have to weigh
several different factors to determine which is the best method to control
the deer overpopulation at Greene Valley Forest Preserve. Politically,
you want to satisfy as many community members as possible. That means you
do not want to alienate either the homeowners living in the area or the
animal rights activists and biologists who have a say in legislative acts.
At the same time, you want to make sure the cost to initiate and maintain
the proposed population control method is reasonable and feasible.
Step 2: Determine the current deer population:
Because information about the deer count at Greene Valley is not readily
available, data from a nearby facility, Fermi
National Accelerator Lab, will be substituted. Information will be gathered
specifically from a press release dated January 29, 1998. Browse this source
and find
- the average number of deer per square mile
- the optimum capacity of deer per square mile for a balanced system.
Use the above information to help calculate a range for the deer population
at Greene Valley by
- connecting to Greene
Valley's home page
- finding the actual size of the forest preserve. (Note: 640 acres =
1 square mile).
Print a Day
1 Status Report and copy your information and calculations onto the
worksheet.
Step 3: Determine the capacity of the area being studied:
Use the information collected from Step 2 to determine a range of optimum
capacity of deer for Greene Valley Forest Preserve. Add this information
to your first day worksheet and answer the following question:
1.) What percentage is the current population above optimum capacity?
Step 4: Predict population trends without intervention
There are many ways to predict population growth. Below are some resources
to help you get started. The mayor of the city (i.e. your teacher) will
decide which method is most appropriate for your committee and provide you
with the additional information needed.
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