Assignments:

1. Considering the case of Asian long horned beetle, do you think species invasion is a critical factor in ecology? Discuss your answer.
2. Farmers of Alapuzzha district in Kerala reported a successive defoliation of coconut leaves followed by a subsequent reduction in the fruit production. The initial investigation reports that, the condition is due to the attack of some new species which feeds on unopened leaf buds of the coconut palm. Being an agricultural ecologist, you are supposed to give awareness to the farmers of Alappuzha about the causative agent, its impact on the fruit production, and the control measures. Discuss
3. “Population invasion is a threat in Ecosystem”. Validate the statement with some examples.
4. Suppose that in an area an invasive species exist whose initial population density is around 150. Minimum number of individuals required for this population to establish a new population is 35. Let us say that this species exist in a habitat area of 400 km. Considering that you are a forest biologist, you would like to know what would be the spread of this species after 7 years in that area provided growth rate of the population to be 9 and dispersal rate to be 0.2?