Analyzing Patterns in the Savanna L andscape OVERVIEW This worksheet complements the short video Analyzing Patterns in the Savanna Landscape from the Scientists at Work series The video How Termites Enrich Ecosystems gives some insight in termites and their habitat Both videos are posted on Blackboard QUESTIONS 1 Patterns occur regularly in nature List three examples of patterns found in nature honeycomb zebra stripes cracked mud Scientists at Work Student Worksheet 2 Provide one piece of evidence from the film to support each of these claims a Termite mounds enhance ecosystem productivity Termites make rich soggy soils that upgrade plant development which can perceive this by looking long way from termite at how much vegitation close to termite hills and those that are a hills b Termite mounds enhance ecosystem stability After the dry season when the greater part of the vegetation vanishes with the exception those on termite hill Also as it gets precipitation everything re vegetates once more of 3 Technology has changed the way scientists do research Provide two pieces of evidence from the film to support the claim that Technology is crucial for Dr Tarnita s ecological patterns research in Gorongosa National Park In the video Dr Tarnita utilizes a numerical device called the Voronoi outline and applies She utilizes the focal point of each hill to produce it to satelite pictures of termite hill scenes the landscapes Then the satelite again brings up the focuses that a field of have a similar hexagonal designed termite hills Likewise she utilizes robot to investigate a lower rise to find vegetation designs at a more limited size focus that thus parcel Patterns and Processes in Ecology www BioInteractive org Revised September 2017 Page 1 of 4 Analyzing Patterns in the Savanna Landscape 4 The following photo is a portion of the savanna showing a so o o d o e l d o landscape of termite mounds Scientists at Work Student Worksheet I 6 17 5 150 12 it 1 1 an 20 H 10 8 13 8 10 a Using a magic marker place a dot in the center of 20 random mounds that don t touch the edge of the figure b For each mound you marked count the number of neighbors and record the data in this table Be sure to keep track of which mounds you have and have not counted Mound Number of Neighbors Mound Number of Neighbors Mound Number of Neighbors Mound 1 2 3 4 5 3 6 7 8 9 10 3 5 11 12 13 14 15 7 Y 5 b Number of Neighbors 6 8 6 16 17 18 19 20 Patterns and Processes in Ecology www BioInteractive org Revised September 2017 Page 2 of 4 Analyzing Scientists at Work Student Worksheet c Using the grid construct a histogram frequency distribution of each number of neighbors Be sure Patterns in the Savanna Landscape to properly label the axes and include a title for the graph frequency s 12 10 g 2 4 0 I number of neighbors 10 11 12 d Calculate mean median and mode of the dataset from part b Record them here Calculations Calculated based on the number of neighbors counted for 20 termite mounds Hint Reminder Mean Median Mode 6 35 6 6 To calculate mean calculate the average number of neighbors of the 20 termite mounds The median is the middle value in a data set that is listed in numerical order If there is an even number of data points the mean between the middle two points should be calculated The mode of a data set is the value that occurs most frequently in the set e In the film Dr Corina states that the termite mounds maximized the available space in the ecosystem Do the data from the Voronoi diagram you collected support her statement Justify your answer we want termite s Yes serious way of behaving that makes a hexagonal example which permits us to enhance space and assets and in the graph you can see that termite hills with 6 neighbors has the most successive worth This implies hexagonal designed hill since to expand the accessible space in the biological system is generally continuous Patterns and Processes in Ecology www BioInteractive org Revised September 2017 Page 3 of 4 Analyzing Patterns in the Savanna Landscape Scientists at Work Student Worksheet 5 Climate change models predict water stress in some savanna ecosystems Provide two reasons why conservation efforts should be devoted to retaining termite populations that concentrate supplements and water Termite hills are natural areas of interest in dry Savanna environments They make rich sodden soil which is really great for keeping the environment Additionally after the dry season hill of termite is vital on the grounds that it helps the dead revegetate once more They defer the breakdown of the biological system during low environment water periods If you joined the research team in the film what new scientific question would you like to try to answer I might want to attempt to explore more about other mathematical designs and conduct of as various examples in the climate or tissues plants have in dry dry biological systems regions to live and adjust 6 Patterns and Processes in Ecology www BioInteractive org Revised September 2017 Page 4 of 4