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Serengeti Wildebeest Population Regulation

Figura

Topic

  • Ecology
  • Populations
  • Communities
  • Math & Computational Skills
  • Graph Interpretation

Resource Type

  • Activities
  • Data Points

Level

High School — GeneralHigh School — AP/IBCollege
Used In
1 BioInteractive Playlists
Saved By
26 Users
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Description

This activity analyzes a published scientific figure from a study in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. In this study, scientists investigated how the eradication of rinderpest disease led to a boom in the wildebeest population.

Rinderpest disease is caused by a virus that affects hoofed animals, including cattle and wildebeest. In the 1950s, a cattle vaccination program was implemented to eradicate the disease in the Serengeti, and this led to dramatic changes in the populations of wildebeest and other species. The figure shows the number of wildebeest in the Serengeti ecosystem (shaded circles, left y-axis) and the prevalence (i.e., percentage) of individuals infected by rinderpest disease (unshaded squares and triangles, right y-axis) from 1958 to 2003. The “Educator Materials” document includes a captioned figure, background information, graph interpretation, and discussion questions. The “Student Handout” includes a captioned figure and background information.

Student Learning Targets

  • Analyze and interpret data from a scientific figure. 
  • Describe how the eradication of rinderpest affected the Serengeti wildebeest population and ultimately triggered a trophic cascade.
     

Estimated Time

Within one 50-minute class period.

Key Terms

bottom-up control, density dependence, line graph, rinderpest, top-down control, trophic cascade, virus

Primary Literature

Holdo, Ricardo M., Anthony R. E. Sinclair, Andrew P. Dobson, Kristine L. Metzger, Benjamin M. Bolker, Mark E. Ritchie, and Robert D. Holt. “A Disease-Mediated Trophic Cascade in the Serengeti and Its Implications for Ecosystem C.” PLoS Biology 7, 9 (2009): e1000210. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.1000210. 

Terms of Use

The resource is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license. No rights are granted to use HHMI’s or BioInteractive’s names or logos independent from this Resource or in any derivative works.

Accessibility Level (WCAG compliance)

PDF files meet criteria.

Version History

Date Published 07.02.18
Date Updated 07.02.18

NGSS (2013)

HS-LS2-2, HS-LS2-6; SEP2, SEP4, SEP5

AP Biology (2019)

SYI-1.H, ENE-4.B; SP1, SP4

IB Biology (2016)

4.1, C.1, C.5

AP Environmental Science (2020)

Topic(s): 1.1, 1.9, 3.5
Learning Objectives & Practices: ERT-1.A, ENG-1.B, ERT-3.F, SP1, SP2, SP5

IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)

2.1, 2.2

Common Core (2010)

ELA.RST.9-12.4, ELA.RST.9-12.7
Math.S-ID.6, Math.S-IC.4; MP2, MP5

Vision and Change (2009)

CC5; DP2, DP3

Materials

Image (JPG) 47 KB
Educator Materials (PDF) 277 KB
Student Handout (PDF) 203 KB
Image-Español (JPG) 48 KB
Educator Materials - Español (PDF) 533 KB
Student Handout - Español (PDF) 289 KB

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This Resource Appears in the Following Playlists

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Teaching Population Dynamics and Trophic Cascades Using Large Mammals
6 Resources
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