I. Understanding the Material — Unlike your
previous numerical assignment, the article you will be working with involves
sophisticated hypothesis testing and more intensive statistical operations.
You are not required to possess a comprehensive knowledge of every facet
of this reading in order to successfully complete your assignment.
II. Acquiring the Data — The data set referred to in this assignment can be found in an article entitled, "Comparative Ecology of Blue Monkeys in High and Low Density Subpopulations," written by Thomas Butynski. Hard copies of this article can be found in the following journal: Ecological Monographs. 60:1 (Mar, 1990), 1-26. While obtaining the hard copy from the library and copying it is one option, another option is to utilize the web resources available at the library. It can be found via the PSU library website and can be accessed from a computer anywhere on campus. Go to www.lib.pdx.edu . From this location, locate the SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING section of the online library resources. From here, click on BIOLOGY (under Full-Text Journals On-line). Then click on ECOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS and click on SEARCH THIS JOURNAL. Conduct a search for Butynski’s article (by author or title), download, and print the article.
III. The Questions:
1. According to the abstract, the independent variable in explaining the low density of blue monkey subpopulations is hypothesized by the author to be a function of:
a) lower availability of foods
b) foraging behavior
c) home range size
d) variables including a, b, and c
e) an unknown historical event, such as disease
2. In Table 3, why does the author use the mean (rather than the mode) to represent infant mortality in groups 1-4?
3. In Table 8, the author addresses the topics of observed home range and distance moved per day among blue monkeys in the Kanyawara (under heading groups 1, 2, 3, and 4) and Ngogo (Group 33) subgroups. Using Excel, present two graphic representations of distance moved per day and home range by these two groups (Group listed as "1,2,3, and 4" and 33). Utilizing Excel, construct a bar graph of these data.
4. According to question number 4, name the prominent distinction between the Kanyawara and Ngogo based on the data gathered on home range and distance moved per day.
5. Using Excel’s graphics, construct two graphic representations of mean distance moved per day (in meters) between high and low density subpopulations. Which is better and why?
6. At the close of Roger Fouts’ Next of Kin, Fouts
discusses humans’ relationship to chimpanzees noting that "They are
us" and that in the past hundred years "we have wiped out millions
of chimpanzees in a fury born of denial, arrogance, and self interest...(and)
if we do not halt it now, then we will wake up one day soon only to discover
that we’ve destroyed the living link to our own evolutionary past" (Fouts
1997, 384). While discussing monkeys, Butynski makes a similar observation
— noting that until 1962, "almost every man of the Bakonjo tribe carries
a shoulder bag made from the complete skin of a monkey" (21) and that "human
hunters (apparently unlike other predators) are capable of decimating populations
of rain-forest primates, particularly the larger species" (ibid.). Please
reflect on our relationship to other animals, such as primates: As Cain
said, "Am I my brother’s keeper?" Does the filial relationship of care
extend in any way beyond the human species? In what ways does the concept
of being human include a caring relationship with nature? Reflect.