Introduction:
All living things have certain needs for survival. Food, water and shelter are minimum needs for every
organism. In this activity you will model how these needs are met, what happens when they are not, and
see how populations fluctuate based on their availability.
Procedure:
1. A student needs to volunteer to record data.
2. We will be using three elements to define habitat for the purpose of this exercise – food, water and
shelter. For food, place both hands over the stomach. For water, hold the fingers to the lips. For
cover, touch the hands together over the head.
3. The class will be divided in two horizontal lines approximately 18 meters apart; the deer behind one
habitat and the components behind the other.
4. Deer and the habitat components turn around on the line so that they cannot see one another.
Everyone will decide on a habitat component. The deer are decided what component they need or want;
the components are decided what they are. Each person makes the symbol for his or her chosen
component. Once you are ready, we will count slowly to three, the whistle will blow, and then both lines
turn around.
5. Deer are looking for their habitat component. Once the deer find the component they want, they link
hands with that component and walk back behind the “deer” line. Since this deer has found the
component it needs, it will “use” the component and be able to survive and reproduce, so the person who
was the component, will now become a deer. Note: Neither the deer nor the habitat can change symbols
once they have decided on one during each bout of selection.
6. Any deer that fails to find the habitat element they needed “dies” and will become a habitat symbol.
(Once the deer dies, its nutrients will nourish the grass, which would be eaten by the deer; therefore, a
dead deer is kind of a part of the habitat.) The habitat person can only satisfy one deer, so if two or
more deer try to get the same one, only the first one to reach the habitat person survives
. The data recorder should record the number of deer at the beginning and end of each bout or round
and note the change in behavior of the deer as well.
Introduction:
All living things have certain needs for survival. Food, water and shelter are minimum needs for every
organism. In this activity you will model how these needs are met, what happens when they are not, and
see how populations fluctuate based on their availability.
Data: (you will write this down from the numbers provided by the data recorder)
Years
Number of Deer
(Round 1)
Number of Deer /
with Predators
(Round 2)
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Fill in your Graph Before Answering the Analysis Questions:
Analysis:
1. What pattern did you see in the deer population from year to year?
2. Why do you think the pattern formed?
3. How did the deer act when their habitat requirements became limited?
4. Carrying capacity refers to the ability of an environment to support living things. How is carrying
capacity related to deer population size?
5. What are the limiting factors in this particular deer population?
6. Mountain lions hunt deer and rely on them for a food source. If mountain lion populations had
been modeled in this activity, what would you expect to see happen?
GRAPHS – You have had several graphing assignments up to this point. If you do not understand
how to completely construct one of these graphs without help, PLEASE let me know!!! You need to
know how to graph and understand graphs for the test, end of year test and the ACT.
GRAPH #1 – DEER POPULATION WITHOUT PREDATORS
You will use two different lines for this graph.
Line 1: Round 1 – Deer Population Without Predators
Line 2: Draw a line to show the carrying capacity for this population
GRAPH #2 – DEEP POPULATION WITH PREDATORS
You will use two different lines for this graph.
Line 1: Round 2 – Deer Population With Predators
Line 2: Draw a line to show the carrying capacity for this population
GRAPH #2 – EXPONENTIAL GROWTH
We do NOT have real data for this graph. If the deer had unlimited food, water and shelter and NO
predators, show what the population would look like after 20 seasons.