Emmanuel John G.

Tabilin

U-3L
Guide Questions (2D)

1. Based on your observation, which developmental stages were most likely to

die? Explain why?
The developmental stages that are most likely to die are pupa and larva
because these are the stages in which they are most vulnerable to infections and
diseases since they are still dependent and defenseless at these times.
2. What type of survivorship curve was shown in the population?
The type of survivorship curve in the population is Type III in which young
individuals have a low chance of survival but those that do survive may live to an
advanced age.
3. What are the probable causes of mortality in each stage of development?
Morality of eggs may be caused by some internal factors within the hive. The
death of larvae and pupae may have been the result of diseases from parasitic
organisms, bacteria, virus or fungi (Cramp, 2008). Adults death, on the other hand
may be due to stinging, drought and exhaustion especially after foraging (Visscher
and Dukas, 1997).
4. Why was the logarithmic value of Nx used for the y-axis in the survivorship
curve?
The logarithmic value of Nx was used for the y-axis in the survivorship curve
in order to form a smooth curve. It also shortened the range of y values in order to
graph a smaller curve.
5. Can a life table be constructed for a plant population? Support your answer.
Yes. Actually, among other organism, Begon et al. (1981) stressed that plants
are best for life table construction especially of cohort type because of their sessility
and ability to be tagged or mapped which make recording the characteristic of their
development and measuring their reproductive output precise processes.
6. What is the importance of life table data in population studies?
Life table data may be used to reconstruct situations that resulted to death in
the population and to predict the evolution of morality (Pavia et al., 2012). The data
can also be used to describe the morality and survival properties of cohorts and
reckon their rate of aging (Mullet et al., 2004).
7. Read at least one article on bee biology and behaviour and relate them with
your life table data and survivorship curve. Cite your reference.

In terms of hygiene and disease control, Koetz (2013) pointed out that
between the two honey bee species of Apis cerana and Apis mellifera, A. mellifera is
less responsive to occupation of foreign, harmful organisms or substances in their
colony. For instance, the presence of Varoa, a semiochemical compound,
immediately alerts the A. cerana bees to remove the substance off the hive. A.
mellifera population, on the other hand, do not respond alertly to this hazard. This
unhygienic behavior of A. mellifera may have contributed to the considerable death
of larvae and pupae in the population since disease-causing organisms and
substances affect them more than the adult bees and the protected eggs.

References:
Begon, M., M. Mortimer, and D. J. Thompson. 1996. Population ecology: A unified
study of animals and plants. 3rd ed. Blackwell Sci. Publ., Cambridge, Mass.
13 p.
Cramp, D. 2008. A practice manual of beekeeping: How to keep bees and develop
your full potential as an apiarist. 1st ed. Oxford, UK: How To Content. 201 p.
Koetz, A.H. 2013. Ecology, behavior and control of Apis cerana with a focus on
relevance to the Australian incursion. Insects. 4: 558-592.
Muller, H., J. Wang, J.R. Carey, E.P. Caswell-Chen, C. Chen, N. Papadopoulos & F.
Yao. 2004 June. Demographic window to aging in the wild: constructing life
tables and estimating survival functions from marked individuals of unknown
age. Aging Cell. 3 (3): 125-131.
Pavia, J.M., F. Morillas & J. Lledo.January-June 2012. Introducing the migratory
flowsin life table construction. SORT. 36 (1): 103-114
Visscher, P.K. & R. Dukas. 1997. Survivorship of foraging honey bees. Insectes
Sociaux. 44: 1-5.