Thursday, October 29, 2009

English isn't your forte is it...?

'...The receptor then makes its what to the enzyme complex it is designed. It is they activated and then releases.'

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

No wonder the sample sizes were so small…

Estimating population abundance using capture-mark-recapture techniques.



Students Methodology: “Each group attempted to catch as many grasshoppers as possible by direct observation

Who'd have thought?

Grasshoppers are "Wide ranging megaherbivores"


Friday, October 9, 2009

And the war between tree roots and gravity continues...

Proof that proof-reading really does help!


As the soils increase in depth, the water moisture content increases as there is less to influence the water levels. The vegetation’s roots remain in the upper horizon and this allows there to be a gradient regarding the water levels . The vegetation absorbs water in the upper horizon and the deeper horizons are unaffected by the roots, allowing a higher moisture content.

Oh no! Not another patch of soil!!!

"Within savanna ecosystems, field soils are found at random in patches"

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Theoretically possible... I suppose

What do you understand by the term "population limitation"?


Model answer: Population size limited by environmental factors (lack of resources, space...)


Student answer: "Population limitation is restricting the growth of an animal population by de-sexing or... mentally interfering with reproduction"

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

I'm not looking forward to my resistances kicking in

Question: Why does the population stabilize?

Model answer: resources become limiting at higher pop densities and births will eventually equal deaths.

Students answer: 'When the population gets too large resistance kicks in and the individuals die...'

Thursday, October 1, 2009

The most contradictory sentence EVER!!!

"The human population has grown almost exactly geometrically with lots of fluctuations over the years"

I think they covered all the bases... something in there has got to be worth a mark AT LEAST.

Competition for 'high life' decimates human population

Contrary to historical records, the human population did not decline between 1200 and 1300 AD as a result of the plague.

In fact: An increase in the number of factories and resulting competition between humans for the high life decimated the population in the UK between 1200 and 1300.

It seems like 'You have a factory!? I'll KILL YOU!!!' would have been a commonly uttered phrase around this time...