FINAL EXAM: PATTERN AND PROCESS IN LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY This is a take home exam, which is due in lab,When handing in the exam, provide me with a hard copy (single-spaced, 11 point font, 1inch margins) that includes your -ID (I don't want to know your name while I am grading the exams). Work independently on this exam. The exam is open book. Please adhere to the page limits specified for each question. Make sure you do not plagiarize! 1. (30 points; <1//2 page, not including figure) The equilibrium theory of island biogeography provides specific hypotheses for the species-area relationship, which are often highlighted in graphical form. First, provide a diagram that illustrates how extinction and immigration rates are assumed to vary with island area and isolation and describe the resulting predictions that arise from these relationships, in terms of the number of species and species turnover. While island biogeography has been useful in many regards, it has received criticism for not incorporating several landscape factors, including matrix effects, edge effects, and patch configuration. With this in mind, describe how changes in matrix quality, negative edge effects (i.e., when organisms decrease in abundance near edges), and patch (or island) aggregation might change predictions of island biogeography. To do so, first define/describe these effects and then describe how these effects may influence extinction/immigration rates, and consequently the resulting predictions that arise from these relationships. 2. (40 points; <1.0 pages) You are interested in assessing forest loss and fragmentation that occurred between 1980 and 2006 by quantifying changes in pattern from categorical maps derived from remote sensing taken during these two periods. First, describe why this distinction (the effect of forest loss versus forest fragmentation) is relevant for conservation, in terms of the questions we might ask regarding habitat protection/conservation. One or two sentences should suffice here. Now, briefly describe how you would approach this problem using software such as FRAGSTATS, including your chosen scope of analysis, level of heterogeneity for quantifying this problem, and how you might interpret loss versus fragmentation per se through various metrics or other means. I am not interested in the specifics of FRAGSTATS, but rather the conceptual approach you would take. Don't forget to describe one potential conceptual issue/limitation that might arise in addressing this problem. Now, read McGarigal et al. (2009), "Surface metrics: an alternative to patch metrics for the quantification of landscape structure", provided on E-Learning. This article describes a fundamentally different way to interpret landscape pattern than FRAGSTATS currently does. Contrast how this approach may (or may not) be used to address the problem of habitat loss and fragmentation. Does it solve any existing issues with interpreting habitat loss and fragmentation? Why or why not? 3. (30 points; <3/4 page) In lab, we focused on the problem of connectivity, using data from panther habitat use to calculate least cost paths (and corridors) for panther movement by calculating cost-weighted distances based on potential habitat resistance to movement of panthers. Recently, McRae et al. (2008) argued that circuit theory may be more useful for interpreting connectivity than approaches such as using least-cost paths (see required reading on E-Learning). First, describe why connectivity is emphasized for conservation. Second, describe the differences in assumptions between using least-cost paths and circuit theory and why circuit theory may (or may not) be more helpful than using least cost paths to interpret connectivity. Third, what are some assumptions of both approaches that may limit their utility? Fourth, do either describe actual, functional connectivity? Why or why not?