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About this book
The exercises in this unique book allow students to use spreadsheet programs such as Microsoft Excel to create working population models. Tailored for conservation biology and landscape ecology applications, this volume contains basic spreadsheet exercises that explicate the concepts of statistical distributions, hypothesis testing and power, sampling techniques, and Leslie matrices. It contains exercises for modeling such crucial factors as population growth, life histories, reproductive success, demographic stochasticity, Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, metapopulation dynamics, and many others. Building models using these exercises gives students "hands-on" information about what parameters are important in each model, how different parameters relate to each other, and how changing the parameters affects outcomes.
Each exercise begins with a list of objectives, background information that includes standard mathematical formulae, and annotated step-by-step instructions for using this information to create a working model. Students then examine how changing the parameters affects model outcomes and, through a set of guided questions, are challenged to develop their models further. In the process, they become proficient with many of the functions available on spreadsheet programs and learn to write and use complex but useful macros.
Contents
PART I: SPREADSHEETS AND STATISTICS - Spreadsheet Hints and Tips - Mathematical Functions and Graphs - Spreadsheet Functions and Macros - Statistical Distributions - Central Limit Theorem - Hypothesis Testing: Alpha, Beta, and Power - Sampling Species Richness - PART II: CONSERVATION BIOLOGY - Geometric and Exponential Population Models - Island Biogeography - Life Tables and Survivorship Curves - Reproductive Value: Matrix Approach - Reproductive Value: Life Table Approach - Stage-Structured Matrix Models - Sensitivity and Elasticity Analysis - Metapopulation Dynamics - Source-Sink Dynamics - Population Estimation - Range Expansion - Adaptation - Hardy-Weinberg - Gene Flow and Population Structure - Measures of Genetic Diversity - Inbreeding and Outbreeding - Genetic Drift - Effective Population Size - Demographic Stochasticity - Population Viability Analysis - Logistic Population Growth - Harvest Models - PART III: LANDSCAPE ECOLOGY - Introduction to Landscape Ecology - Edge Effects - Prioritizing Species and Habitats - Designing Landscapes for Conservation - Neutral Landscapes and Connectivity - Random Walks - VBA Landscape Programming
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Biography
THERESE M. DONOVAN, University of Vermont. - CHARLES W. WELDEN, Southern Oregon University.