Ecology 5/17 Name Per. Evaluating Evidence for Group Behavior
Why do animals form groups? Explore the phenomena of group behavior by researching and evaluating information on group behavior to provide evidence and reasoning in support of the claim:
Group behavior has evolved because membership can increase the chances of survival for individuals and their genetic relatives.
Your research should: • consider the following examples of animal behavior: flocking, schooling, herding, cooperative hunting, migrating, swarming, eusociality, and altruism. • gather evidence that supports cause and effect relationships between various kinds of group behavior and individual survival and reproduction rates. • evaluate the costs and benefits of group behavior for the individual, and the species.
Procedures
1. Research various forms of group behavior. Cite your sources appropriately. 2. As you conduct your research, consider how each form of group behavior benefits the survival and reproduction the individual, and the species. a. Identify and describe patterns in your research related to claim. b. Document specific evidence – data and/or information, for each behavior. 3. Develop an explanation of the evidence in support of the claim provided. 4. Construct a complete argument (claim, evidence and reasoning) in the template provided. 5. Receive and incorporate feedback to ensure your argument is thorough, thoughtful, valid and reliable. 6. Include additional evidence as needed.
Links Use this resource as a place to start. It is not an exhaustive list; you must use other sources. • Herding - http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/why_do_animals_do_what_they_do_part_2_a_herd_is_good • Swarming - http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2013/swarming-offers-clues-on-how-intelligence- evolved/#.WR8PKN1g77o.email • Schooling & Flocking - http://www.npr.org/2012/08/17/158931963/swarming-up-a-storm-why- animals-school-and-flock • Cooperative Hunting - http://www.nytimes.com/1993/01/19/science/rabbits-beware-some-birds-of- prey-hunt-in-packs.html?pagewanted=all • Migration - https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/animal-migration-13259533 • Eusociality - https://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/an-introduction-to-eusociality- 15788128 • Altruism - https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/jan/26/rationing-ravens-merciful-monkeys- can-animals-be-altruistic
Formulating an Argument Once your group has finished researching information, you will need to develop an initial argument. The argument will include a claim, which has been provided. It will also include evidence that supports your claim. The evidence includes your analysis of the researched information along with an interpretation of what that analysis means. Finally, you will include a justification, using scientific concepts or principles to explain why your evidence is relevant and important. You will organize your the initial argument according to the template to the right.
Argumentation Session The argumentation session allows all of the groups to share their arguments. One member of each group will stay at the table station to share the group’s argument, while the other members of the group go to the other lab stations to listen to and critique the other arguments. The goal of the argumentation session is not to convince others that your argument is the best one; rather the goal is to identify errors or instances of faulty reasoning in the initial arguments so these mistakes can be fixed. You will therefore need to evaluate the content of the claim, the quality of the evidence used to support the claim, and the strength of the justification of the evidence in each argument that you see. In order to critique an argument, you might need more information than what is included. You should, therefore, consider asking the presenter one or more follow up questions such as:
§ Which group behaviors did you research to gather information? Why did you decide to focus on those behaviors? § What did you do to analyze your information? Why did you choose to do it that way? § What did your group do to make sure the information you collected was reliable (trustworthy)? § Why did your group decide to present your evidence in that manner? § How confident are you that your group’s explanation is valid (correct)? Why are you confident and what could you do to increase your confidence? § Are there plausible alternative interpretations of your results? Why did you choose to discount those alternatives?
Once the argumentation session is complete, you will have a chance to meet with your group and revise your original argument. Your group might need to research new ideas, gather more data, re-structure graphs or design a way to test alternative claims as part of this process. Remember, your ultimate goal is to develop the most valid answer to your research question.
Final Argument Compose a final draft of your argument. This argument should be typed. It should include both citations within the text and as references cited. • a claim – should reflect the claim provided for you, but may be paraphrased. • evidence to support your claim – specific references to information you identified as relevant and necessary to support your claim. • justification of the evidence supporting your claim – researched scientific concepts, laws or theories that support the validity of your claim and clearly explain the relationship between your claim and the evidence you chose.