In this exercise, you are on the management team that is responsible for their recovery. In this online exercise, you will use a computer model to simulate Whooping Crane population growth under different management strategies. The quantitative measure you will use is the probability of extinction. You can experiment by selecting combinations of these options and running population simulations. To approximate reality we have attached costs and benefits to each option.
Some options cost more than others, and some are more effective than others.
Play the patch game to discover how the optimal foraging strategy changes with patch density. Hummingbirds live in a habitat where its food, nectar, is distributed in flower clumps. Clumps are dispersed randomly within the habitat. As the hummingbird feeds in a patch it depletes the food and it takes longer and longer to obtain rewards. The challenge for the hummingbird is what patches to visit and how long to stay in each patch so that it maximizes its energy rate gain.