LAB EXERCISE #3 – Neutral Landscape Analysis

Overview: In this exercise, you will learn to use the program QRULE and interpret the output in the context of the case study landscape. QRULE is a program for generating and quantifying neutral landscapes. Students will become familiar with the concept of neutral landscapes and gain a practical understanding of how to use neutral landscapes to test hypotheses regarding landscape pattern formation. Specifically, students will test the null hypothesis that the real landscape(s) is structured randomly (i.e., how likely is it that the landscape pattern could have been produced in the absence of any ecological pattern-generating processes), determine how the lacunarity pattern of the real landscape varies in comparison to random and fractal landscapes, and quantitatively show how landscape connectivity varies as a function of the interplay between species’ life history characteristics and the configuration of habitat.