A study was conducted on a population of snowshoe hares in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario, Canada. 110 month-old hares were snatched from their nests, micro-transmitters were inserted under their skin, and they were quickly returned to their homes. Scientists monitored their activities on monthly basis, and during the breeding season checked nests and counted the babies produced. Below is a summary of the data for only the female hares that were tagged (60 individuals). For simplicity, the monthly data has been summed into yearly totals. Survival: 60 were alive at the start the experiment (year = 0), 20 at the start on the next year (year 1), 8 at year 2, 1 at year 3, and 0 at year 4. Fecundity: during year 0, no babies were produced; year 1- females produced an average of 4 babies each; year 2 - 8 babies each; and year 3 - 8 babies each.
Assignment:
1. Create a life table for the snowshoe hare.
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Life Table for a population of snowshoe hares
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2. What is the generation time, net reproductive rate, and intrinsic rate of increase?
3. Plot the change in population size over time starting with 10 individuals.
4. What would the female population size be in 25 years?
5. If hares were an endangered species, what other kinds of information would you need to gather to support your predictions made in 3 and 4?