Exploring Island Biogeography through Data - 0 views
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Lottie Peppers on 10 Jan 22In this activity, students analyze scientific figures to understand principles of island biogeography theory that determine the number of species in an isolated habitat. This activity uses a jigsaw approach to explore the processes that determine the equilibrium number of species in a habitat and how they are affected by both area and isolation. Two "Student Handouts" are provided as options for the activity. The "Analyzing Graphical Data" handout engages students in graph interpretation and sensemaking from data. The "Building the Equilibrium Model" handout facilitates a scaffolded investigation of the dynamic equilibrium model of island biogeography; students construct immigration and extinction curves to demonstrate the effects of area and isolation on the equilibrium number of species.