The Popular Game of Golf Has Potential Ecological Consequences Due

question 5

Essay

The popular game of golf has potential ecological consequences due to the impact ofgolf courses: habitat fragmentation, chemical pollution from pesticides, and loss ofnative vegetation. Eastern bluebirds are particularly attracted to "birdhouses" suchas those found on golf courses. Investigators monitored the reproductive success ofthese birds in birdhouses at nine golf courses and ten similar birdhouses at non-golfsites. They reasoned that if nest boxes on golf courses are less attractive to bluebirds,this would show up as a difference in the distribution of occupancy frequenciesbetween golf sites and non-golf sites. Data on nests in birdhouses occupied only bybluebirds are presented in the table below.
a) Assuming no difference in the distribution of number of nests per birdhouse forgolf and non-golf locations, calculate the expected counts needed to complete thecells of table below that are marked by XXX.
b) The value of Test the appropriate hypotheses using a significancelevel of 0.05. Does it appear that the birdhouses on golf courses are less attractiveto bluebirds?

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Definitions:

Heterotrophs

Organisms that obtain their energy (nutrition) from consuming other organisms, as they cannot produce it internally.

Organic Compounds

Molecules based on carbon and hydrogen, and often containing other elements, essential to life's processes and found in all living organisms.

First Cells

The earliest forms of life on Earth, thought to have appeared around 3.8 billion years ago, from which all living organisms have evolved.

Chemoautotroph Bacteria

Microorganisms that obtain energy through chemical reactions using inorganic molecules, supporting themselves without needing sunlight or organic nutrients.