{"id":159,"date":"2018-06-04T19:21:32","date_gmt":"2018-06-04T19:21:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu\/ocheltw\/?page_id=159"},"modified":"2018-06-27T20:16:49","modified_gmt":"2018-06-27T20:16:49","slug":"159-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu\/ocheltw\/teaching\/f-rs-310\/310-assignment-descriptions\/159-2\/","title":{"rendered":"310 Assignment #7"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wpb-content-wrapper\"><p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>F\/RS 310<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Assignment #7<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>Shrub Identification Key<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><strong>47 Points Possible<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Introduction<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>The identification of species in natural ecosystems is a required skill in managing natural resources. If the species cannot be identified, then important ecological functions also go unidentified and management strategies may not accurately match the system of interest.\u00a0 One way to gain the skills of identifying species is through memorization of large sets of species that you may encounter during your career.\u00a0 However, another way to identify species is through the use of dichotomous identification keys. \u00a0A dichotomous key presents a series of 2 choices that lead users to the identification of a species.\u00a0 At each step in the key, the user must choose between the two choices and then follow the key to the next set of \u2018clues\u2019.\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of alike a \u2018choose your own adventure\u2019 book, if you ever read those as a kid.\u00a0 There are identification keys for a wide range of regions and organisms that can help you identify any species you encounter regardless of where you get a job in the future.\u00a0 Another way I have found to learn species AND learn about using keys is to create a plant identification yourself.\u00a0 This forces you to closely examine a set of species, which often results in long-term memory of these species.\u00a0 Creating a key is also a great critical thinking exercise, and by creating a key yourself, you will have a better understanding of how they can be utilized.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Objective<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The objective of this assignment is to have you become familiar with a set of 9 shrubs species that are common to a wide range of ecosystems in the western US.\u00a0 In addition, you will become familiar with how to use a dichotomous key to identify different species of plants.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Student Learning Outcomes<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong>After completing this assignment you will be able to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Site-identify 9 different species of shrubs<\/li>\n<li>Create a simple plant identification key<\/li>\n<li>Utilize technical terms to distinguish between different species of shrubs<\/li>\n<li>Describe key functional attributes of key shrub species in the western US<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Description of Assignment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In order to get full credit you need to:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Create a dichotomous key to identify 9 shrub species\n<ol>\n<li>You must use the standard format for dichotomous keys (refer to the deciduous tree key we used in lab for reference)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<li>Use at least 15 unique technical terms to describe the leaf shape, leaf margins, leaf color, leaf attachment, and\/or bark characteristics.\u00a0 You must use the following terms in your key: Deltoid, obdeltoid, bifoliate, filiform, canescent, striate, pinnately divided, fascicles, spinescent. <u>Make sure to underline all the technical terms you use to help us in grading the assignment and ensure that you get full credit<\/u>. Also, since \u2018technical term\u2019 is a bit subjective, please ask me if you have questions about the terms that will qualify for points in this category.<\/li>\n<li>Include a description of the region where each species occurs: You must reference the deserts that each species occurs and then any other information about its distribution beyond the 4 deserts we\u2019ll discuss.<\/li>\n<li>You must include information on each species\u2019 forage quality, rooting characteristics, and ability to resprout. You can find information about these characteristics at: https:\/\/www.feis-crs.org\/feis\/faces\/SearchByOther.xhtml<\/li>\n<li>Cite any sources that you utilize in creating\u00a0your key, including the website listed above.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>NOTE: Do not use flower or seed structures in identifying shrubs.\u00a0 Use only leaf and stem characteristics.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Rubric (47 Points Possible)<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Include 9 shrub species in your key (9 points)<\/li>\n<li>Utilize at least 15 technical terms in your description of these 9 species (15 points)<\/li>\n<li>Include information about the rooting characteristics, resprouting ability, forage quality, and distribution of each species (18 points)<\/li>\n<li>General organization of key (can I work through it easily)? Does numbering make sense? \u00a0Is it in the dichotomous key format? (5 points)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>Shrubs species to include in your key<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Ambrosia deltoidea<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Ambrosia dumosa<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Artemisia fillifolia<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Artemisia frigida<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Artemisia tridentata<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Atriplex canescens<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Chrysothamnus viscidiflorus<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Larrea tridentata<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em>Sarcobatus vermicilatus<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>TERMS YOU MUST INCLUDE IN YOUR KEY:<\/p>\n<p>Deltoid, obdeltoid, bifoliate, filiform, canescent, striate,<\/p>\n<p>pinnately divided, fascicles, spinescent<\/p>\n<p>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] F\/RS 310 Assignment #7 Shrub Identification Key 47 Points Possible \u00a0 Introduction \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The identification of species in natural ecosystems is a required skill in managing natural resources. If the species cannot be identified, then important ecological functions also go unidentified and management strategies may not accurately match the system of interest.\u00a0 One way [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"parent":110,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-159","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu\/ocheltw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/159","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu\/ocheltw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu\/ocheltw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu\/ocheltw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/109"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu\/ocheltw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=159"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu\/ocheltw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":320,"href":"https:\/\/sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu\/ocheltw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/159\/revisions\/320"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu\/ocheltw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.warnercnr.colostate.edu\/ocheltw\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}