1. Provide a written list of each topic that is necessary to
the understanding of our objective. And I want you to put the list in the order
that the topics should come in. Between each topic in your list, I want you to make
a note of how you are going to transition from one topic to the next.
2. Next, apply what we covered in lecture on the topics of
evolutionary ecology of behavioral ecology by doing
the following:
a) Write two paragraphs (or it might take more) on the
subject of the function of territoriality itself.
How could territoriality have evolved in the Northern
Mockingbird? What are its ultimate and
proximate functions? Use the two attached papers by Maher
and Lott and by Brown and Orians.
Also, include information taken from your text by Odum. Be
sure to cite all.
b) Using the papers I refer to above and the Odum
textbook, include a paragraph or two discussing
the costs and benefits of territoriality to the Northern
Mockingbird in the breeding season and
compare that to the costs and benefits of territoriality to
the Northern Mockingbird in winter.
Insert this into the discussion section of your paper
according to where you think most appropriate.
Please bold these additional paragraphs like I have done
here so I can find them easily. 2
c) Considering what you have learned about scientific
writing and our discussions in class, go to the
Maher and Lott paper and count the number of times the words
contradict, contradictions,
contradictory, contradicting, contrary, and contradiction
are used. What number did you get? How
are all of these contradictions essential to the process of
science? Include a discussion of at least one
paper contradictory to your findings in the Discussion
section of your paper and provide at least
one discussion of a paper that supports your findings. You
can pull from Brown and Orians, Maher
and Lott, and your textbook, or use any other papers that
you find that fulfill this purpose. Please
bold what you write so that I can find it.
d) Go to pages 4 and 5 of the Maher and Lott paper.
What is the “file drawer problem”? As a
professional, how do you feel about this issue, and how do
you believe it has affected the current
state of our scientific knowledge?
e) Finally, write a paragraph on the subject of
optimal foraging theory and include it in the Discussion
section of your paper. Compare the diet of the Northern
Mockingbird in the breeding season as
opposed to the nonbreeding season. How do these diets differ
in energy content, searching, and
handling? How might those things affect how the mockingbirds
behave? How do the seasons differ
and affect the need for energy and the availability of food
types? How might those things affect how
the mockingbirds behave? You won’t find all of the answers
to these questions provided by
someone else. I am asking you to take the facts that you can
find and to those facts apply your good
judgment and critical thinking to this answer.
You will need to get “Fundamentals of Ecology” 5th edition by Odum because I have the hardcover of the book and its a lot pages which I cannot take a picture of all the pages in the book.