Testing a Food-Chain Hypothesis
This assessment asks students to test a hypothesis that marine protected areas (MPA’s) affect a food chain in ways that helps the most basal member of the food chain. The food chain consists of lobsters (fishing for which is banned in MPAs), who eat urchins, who in turn eat kelp. Students are presented with data on seven variables gathered from studies of this hypothesis, including plot numbers, times that the sample was taken, and densities of each species in each plot. They are asked to test three predictions drawn from the hypothesis by graphing the appropriate variables for each prediction. Each graph is a separate task in the assessment.
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