A population of squirrels is in a phase of exponential growth. Which events would act to slow this growth? (Check all that apply.)A) A forest fire that destroys habitatB) Logging of nut treesC) Growth of the hawk populationD) Heavy rainfall, resulting in larger seed and nut harvestE) Increased population that is outstripping food supplyF) Less competition from a diminished population of ground squirrels

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

A, B, C, E

Clarify Question
• What is the key concept addressed by the question?
        o You are being asked to determine which factors would check the growth of a squirrel population.
• What type of thinking is required?
        o This is an analysis question; you will need to break the question down into its components in order to get to the answer. This is a check-all-that-apply question, there is more than one correct answer.

Gather Content
• What do you already know about factors that could slow down the growth of a squirrel population? What other information is related to the question? 
        o Populations can grow exponentially when they are getting optimal amounts of resources and have very few forces acting to reduce the population size. In nature these conditions can persist for a short time, but many factors can prevent this kind of growth from lasting.

Choose Answer
• Given what you now know, what information is most likely to produce the correct answer?
        o Habitat loss, increased predation, loss of a major food source, and famine can all act to slow down population growth and reduce the population size.

Reflect on Process
• Did your problem-solving process lead you to the correct answer? If not, where did the process break down or lead you astray? How can you revise your approach to produce a more desirable result?
        o Were you able to select all the correct answers? The key was to break down the choices and determine which ones would negatively affect the population growth rate.