Plz create do 3 different pages for these three assignments
Please read the Week 2 readings and post the following by 5pm the evening before discussion:
Write a clarifying question or question about something you didn’t understand in the reading(s). If you understood everything, write 1-2 sentences about something new you learned or something you found particularly interesting.
Write a question to guide discussion of the reading(s).
Write a short response telling us what previous experience or knowledge you had about the main topic of the reading. If you didn’t have much experience with the topic, what surprised you about the topic?
○ Myers, M. et al. 2000. Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities.
Nature 403: 853-858.
Please read the Week 3 readings and post the following by 5pm the evening before discussion:
Write a clarifying question or question about something you didn’t understand in the reading(s). If you understood everything, write 1-2 sentences about something new you learned or something you found particularly interesting.
Write a question to guide discussion of the reading(s).
Write a short response telling us what previous experience or knowledge you had about the main topic of the reading. If you didn’t have much experience with the topic, what surprised you about the topic?
Dueñas, M.-A. et al. 2021. The threat of invasive species to
IUCN-listed critically endangered species: A systematic review. Global
Ecology and Conservation, 26, e01476.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2021.e01476
Please read the Week 4 readings and post the following by 5pm the evening before discussion:
Write a clarifying question or question about something you didn’t understand in the reading(s). If you understood everything, write 1-2 sentences about something new you learned or something you found particularly interesting.
Write a question to guide discussion of the reading(s).
Write a short response telling us what previous experience or knowledge you had about the main topic of the reading. If you didn’t have much experience with the topic, what surprised you about the topic?
Kusler, J. 1992. Wetlands Delineation: An Issue of Science or Politics?
Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 34(2),
6–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/00139157.1992.9931424
Question Examples- What to Do and What Not to Do
Suppose a group of scientists are attempting to come up with ways to prioritize conservation
funding for the protection of North American carnivores. They posit that cuteness can be used
as a measurement of the public appeal of a given animal and conservation projects involving
those animals with higher cuteness scores have a higher chance of success due to widespread
public support. Through doing a nationwide public survey in Canada, Mexico and the U.S., they
find that brown bears are the cutest carnivores in North America according to the general
public. The authors then suggest that funds should be used on projects to conserve and
reintroduce brown bears over other, less appealing animals.
BAD- Are brown bears carnivores? (This is a yes/no question)
BAD- Why are brown bears the cutest predators? (This question can be answered by reading the
article)
GOOD- The authors measured the cuteness of all North American predatory mammals and
included brown bears but mentioned that they are mostly omnivorous. Does having an
omnivorous diet result in higher cuteness scores than strict predators?
– Provided context and asked a question that goes a little bit beyond the scope of the
study, but this might still be able to be answered by reading the paper, so be careful.
The question did not delve deeper into the topic at hand but did show some critical
thinking skills in analyzing the paper and experimental/sampling design.
BEST- Through conducting a nationwide survey, the authors found that brown bears are the
cutest predators in NA and should be prioritized for conservation efforts. However, this survey
did not include many responses from regions in which this predator actually lives. Should we
prioritize conservation of this animal without a measurement of local support for conservation
projects?
– Provides context for the question and thinks critically about sampling design and how
this can bias data. Asks a question that delves into broader topics that can potentially
come up in lecture that may be part of the next steps of the study or go beyond the
scope of what the authors were trying to study.
