Population Biology

Read Chapter 19 (Population Ecology) in your textbook before starting this lab.

Go to the Aris website www.mhhe.com/maderinquiry12

Locate resources for Chapter 33 and go to the virtual lab Population Biology.

Open up the virtual lab called How Does Competition affect Population Growth.

Read the instructions carefully, including the information located by clicking on the information tab. This can be printed out for convenience.

Begin the experiment by culturing P. caudatum in one test tube, P. aurelia in the second test tube and a mixture of the two species in the third test tube. It helps to put P. aurelia in test tube # 1 because it is the first column on the table. You can confuse the two if you are not careful. Make sure you record the data for the correct species under the appropriate column in the chart.

Once the cultures are prepared, click on the microscope to work on the back bench. Open up the table, and record the number of each species of paramecium in the correct column in the table for day 0. Clear your slides, flip the calendar to day 2, and count the number of organisms again and record. Make sure you use the grid feature on the microscope; it helps considerably when trying to count numerous individuals. Repeat this procedure up to and including day 16. Do not start this unless you can finish it. If you close the chart before you have finished, you can lose your data, and you will have to start again. If you prefer, you can use the attached chart below to back up your data record.

When you have completed the chart, print it off right away so that you don't lose it. Next, go to the graphing function and print off the graph. You may have trouble printing the graph, depending on your printer. If you do, you can set the data up on an Excel spreadsheet and create a graph that way. If you decide to work in Excel, remember to include a title, appropriate numerical spacing on the x and y axis, labels on the x and y axis, and a legend.

Using the resources that accompany the lab, the following websites listed below and your own research, answer the journal questions attached.

Your responses must be typed in the boxes below and in full sentences. Your responses must be thorough and referenced to indicate that an appropriate amount of research was undertaken before the questions were answered. Proper scientific terminology should be used at all times. Responses should be free of spelling and grammar errors.

http://www.facstaff.bucknell.edu/dgriffin/110/Competition.pdf

http://www.bioedonline.org/slides/slide01.cfm?tk=9

http://www.eoearth.org/article/Intraspecific_competition

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interspecific_competition