February 10, 1995FW 662 Midterm ExamThis exam is a take-home, open-book exercise. There are 6 questions; you must answer all of them. You mayuse any reference material (class notes, assigned reading, library material, etc.). Under NO circumstances areyou to discuss this exam with classmates or any other individual. Your are to work independently and you shouldnot confer with others. If you need clarification on a question, please see the instructor. This exam is to beturned in by 8:00 am Monday, 15 February, at the start of class. Turn in this sheet and the test questions withyour answers. Typed, short, concise answers will be graded more generously than hand-written, long, ramblingresponses. Identify your answer sheets with your SSN only. Only put your name (via your signature) on thissheet.By my signature below, I certify that I have not collaborated with anyone concerning any material related to thisexamination. SSN Signature DateFW662 - Midterm Exam Page 2S 'exp(1.200&0.0525D)1 % exp(1.200&0.0525D)1. (30 pts.) The Rocky Mountain Arsenal (RMA) was recently enclosed within a deer-proof fence, all 40 km2.The mule deer population in the area is expected to expand, as emigration is no longer possible. To avoidexcessive population growth, RMA managers propose removing adult female deer from the compound eachDecember using a technique reminiscent of the goose round-ups used in Fort Collins and Denver on geese.Kansas has already agreed to take all the mule deer does Colorado will provide. Further, the idea of a herddominated by mature bucks appeals to Denver residents, who enjoy viewing the wildlife. The RMA managersare concerned with what number of the adult females would have to be removed each year to maintain thepopulation at 1/3 of carrying capacity for the enclosed area. They recognize that density-dependent fawn survivalprobably occurs on the Arsenal, however, lack a functional relationship between fawn survival and density. Asa result, they propose to use a modification of the function developed at Little Hills by Bartmann et al. (1992):where S is over-winter fawn survival (1 Dec. through 15 June) and D is deer density (deer/km2) on 1 Dec. Inaddition, they expect fawn recruitment to stay at 70 fawns per 100 does on 1 Dec., and expect survival of allfemale deer other than fawns to be 0.9 and survival of all male deer other than fawns to be 0.7. The sex ratio offawns is 50:50. Assume that the population is currently at carrying capacity.1a. What percentage of the adult females should be removed each year to have the population eventuallyreach and maintain itself at 1/3 of the carrying capacity predicted by these relationships?1b. What will be the buck:doe ratio in the long-term population after this program is initiated? I'm expecting you to use some modeling technique to first compute the expected carrying capacity, then developa curve relating the expected population size and buck:doe ratio to percentage of females removed. You maywant to include a disk with your computer work, particularly if you have difficultly solving the problem. Inaddition, if you can work out how the solve the problem analytically, I'll be pleased, and your grade will reflectthis.2. (25 pts.) The Denver Zoo plans a new turkey exhibit. Because of the high reproductive rate of these birds,they do not want them reproducing. The market for zoo turkeys is not profitable. Hence, the decision is madeto sterilize the birds when they are put into the exhibit. Given an annual survival rate of 0.8 for each bird andassuming no senescence, how many birds should be placed in the exhibit on January 1, 1995 to have a 90%probability of having 2 birds left on January 1, 2000? What is the mean number of birds left on January 1, 2000if you are 90% sure that 2 will be left?As with problem 1, this problem also has an analytical solution. I don't expect you to know how to solve itanalytically. However, you have the tools at your access to approximate the answer numerically. Providing yournumerical solution would help me evaluate your answer if you get off on the wrong track and don't get a correctanswer.3. (25 pts.) The local Bluegills Unlimited group stocked 10 pounds of bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus) in a localpond in 1990. The biomass of bluegills has been estimated by electrofishing and seining each year since:FW662 - Midterm Exam Page 30 fs0fs0s10 00 s2s2Year Biomass (lbs)1991 251992 841993 2231994 501The members of the club have worked hard to make the pond a success, including lots of hours in generatingthese biomass estimates. They now want to enjoy the fruits of their labors, and want to set a regulation that willmaximize the yield of bluegills from this pond for the indefinite future. You have been hired by the club toestimate the biomass of bluegills that can be removed from the pond each year based on the above data.3a. What is your recommendation for the harvest?3b. What concerns do you have about this recommendation? Likewise, what would you emphasize to clubmembers about the value of your recommendations (i.e., how would you justify the large consulting fee you havecharged the club)?4. (5 pts) Define the following population projection matrix:For each of the following functions, assume that the term on the left is replaced in the above matrix withthe term on the right. Which of the functions will result in density dependence? In a sentence or 2,explain your reasons.a. f ' f0& 0.1Nb. s0' a & b Nc. s1' $0& $1N1/3d. s1' s2e. s1's22FW662 - Midterm Exam Page 40 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 Recruits0 20 40 60 80 100 SpawnersRicker CurvesABC5. (10 pts) A nuclear power plant that currently operates in a Florida marsh is to be closed down. Both the woodibis (Mycteria americana) and American coot (Fulica americana) inhabit this marsh year round. One of themajor impacts of the power plant has been mortality of flying birds hitting power lines. These power lines willbe removed as part of the decommissioning of the plant. Banding studies during the time that the plant hasoperated have estimated the wood ibis adult survival rate of 0.92 (SE 0.03) and the coot adult survival rate of 0.52(SE 0.05). Which of these species would you expect to be least impacted by the removal of the power lines, i.e.,which of these species would you expect to see the least increase in population size given that the power linesresult in noticeable mortality? Why? Short answers