Distance of the islands from the mainland

Part A: Bird Families of the South Pacific: distance of the islands

•Table 21.1 gives the bird families found on the major islands and island groups in the South Pacific (Also online)

•1) Sum the total number of bird families in each island group and put these numbers on the respective island groups on the map (Map 22.1).

•Draw ‘10-family’ isolines of bird family numbers through the South Pacific islands (short, open-ended, numbers set into the lines)

•2) Describe the major features of the bird family distribution in this area (point form). distance of the islands

•3) Briefly discuss the following points about the distribution pattern:

•3a) Is there any evidence for the evolution of distinct families on any group of South Pacific islands?

•3b) Is there any evidence that dispersion has been important in bird family distribution? If so, explain.

•3c) Would you expect certain bird families to be composed of better dispersers than others? If so, explain and provide examples.

•3d) What conditions appear to have facilitated or inhibited the migration of bird families?

§Part B: Mammal Faunas of Islands off British Columbia

•Table 22.2 gives the names, sizes, distance from the mainland and distance to the nearest island or mainland, and the number of terrestrial mammal species found on 75 islands off BC. distance of islands

•Please note one change: Princess Royal Island now has 12 species. The scat of Wolverine was recently found.

•1) Plot the island areas (km2) against several terrestrial mammal species on 6-cycle semi-log paper. Locate a line of best fit by eye.

•2) Plot the distance of the islands from the mainland (km) against mammal numbers on the 6-cycle semi-log paper.  Locate a line of best fit by eye. Or use ordinary graph paper

•3) Plot the distance from the mainland or to the nearest large island (km) against the number of mammal species on 6-cycle semi-log paper & draw a line of best fit by eye. Or use graph paper.

•You may use Excel or any graphing program

•4) Interpret the results. Which of the above variables seems to be the most important in terms of determining the number of terrestrial mammal species found on the islands in the archipelagos off the coast of BC?

•qUsing Semi-Log Graph Paper: distance of the islands

• The X-axis is a log scale (used for area, distance, etc) with wider spaces on the left.Y-axis normal numbers