Was Darwin's statement "It has been experimentally proved that if a plot of
ground be sown with one species of grass, and a similar plot be sown with
several distinct genera of grasses, a greater number of plants and a greater
weight of dry herbage can be raised", a valid statement?
In the 25th January 2002 edition of "Science" on page 639, Andy Hector
([EMAIL PROTECTED]) and Rowan Hooper ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) describe the work
conducted at Woburn Abby in 1824, which was the basis of Darwin's statement.
The article describes the plots used, and gives a full list of references.
The results described in the 1824 source have been put into an interesting
table at (www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/295/5555/639/DC1).
Basically there were "242 experimental plots set up at Wolburn Abbey, each 4
square feet, enclosed by boards set in cast iron frames, with leaded tanks
for aquatic species..... This work predates modern methods of experimental
design and statistical analysis."
Given the table, the problem given to students would be
1) What would be your hypothesis to test?
2) What statistical methods would you apply given the actual missing data
and unknowns (from the table)? Apply (them) and state your conclusions.
3) What would be a modern experimental design (for 242 plots) given the
variables suggested by the table (and the additional information in the
article and in (if available) the references)?
The interesting aspect is that there as many ways to do 1), 2) and 3). The
interest would be on verbal presentations by each student.
As Hector and Hooper point out that "how ecosystems operate" is one of the
hottest and most active areas in ecology today. This really is a tremendous
area for the application of statistics.
DAHeiser
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