Laboratory_2__Population_Biology_and_Ecological_Footprint

Laboratory 2: Population Biology and Ecological Footprint This week you will complete two laboratory exercises and combine the assignments in one Word document to submit to your instructor through this assignment link. This assignment should not be emailed to your instructor. 1. Complete the Population Biology Lab found at: http://www.mhhe.com/biosci/genbio/virtual_labs/BL_04/BL_04.html. This lab gives you the opportunity to explore the affects of competition on population growth. (You will need to cut and paste the journal questions and responses from the journal pop-up box into a Word document so that you can submit the assignment to the dropbox.) Do NOT email the journal questions to your instructor through the website above. 2. Calculate your personal Ecological Footprint at Carbon Footprint Calculator - What's My Carbon Footprint' Save your results as a Word document. 3. When you have finished the Population Biology journal questions and calculated your Ecological Footprint, submit them in one Word document to your instructor through the dropbox. 1) Make a hypothesis about how you think the two species of Paramecium will grow alone and how they will grow when they are grown together. Each paramecium growing on its own will be able to grow and flourish because there is nothing stopping it or competing with it. It will be able to grow to its full capacity. When there are both parameciums growing together; one paramecium, the stronger of the two, is going to grow faster and larger than the other. This will cause the weaker of the tow to stop growing. As time goes on the stronger paramecium will eventually take over, and the weaker paramecium will disappear. 2) Explain how you tested your hypothesis. I filled on test tube with the Caudatum paramecium, another test tube with Aurelia paramecium, and the 3rd test tube contained both parameciums. Each test tube was tested every 2 days by using wet mount slides. Day 0: Tube 1, 2, and 3 remained equal containing 1 Caudatum and/or 1 Aurelia paramecium. Day 2: Tube 1 – 6 Caudatum Tube 2 – 5 Aurelia Tube 3 – 5 Caudatum and 3 Aurelia Day 4: Tube 1 – 14 Caudatum Tube 2 – 27 Aurelia Tube 3 – 11 Caudatum and 16 Aurelia Day 6: Tube 1 – 24 Caudatum Tube 2 – 40 Aurelia Tube 3 – 9 Caudatum and 31 Aurelia Day 8: Tube 1 – 28 Caudatum Tube 2 – 48 Aurelia Tube 3 – 7 Caudatum and 39 Aurelia Day 10: Tube 1 – 28 Caudatum Tube 2 – 50 Aurelia Tube 3 – 5 Caudatum and 46 Aurelia Day 12: Tube 1 – 28 Caudatum Tube 2 – 51 Aurelia Tube 3 – 3 Caudatum and 48 Aurelia Day 14: Tube 1 – 28 Caudatum Tube 2 – 48 Aurelia Tube 3 – 0 Caudatum and 49 Aurelia Day 16: Tube 1 – 28 Caudatum Tube 2 – 48 Aurelia Tube 3 – 0 Caudatum and 49 Aurelia 3) On what day did the Paramecium caudatum population reach the carrying capacity of the environment when it was grown alone' How do you know' Starvation increases to the point where this population is maintained. 4) On what day did the Paramecium aurelia population reach the carrying capacity of the environment' How do you know' 5) Explain the differences in the population growth patterns of the two Paramecium species. What does this tell you about how Paramecium Aurelia uses available resources' 6) Describe what happened when the Paramecium populations were mixed in the same test tube. Do the results support the principle of competitive exclusion' 7) Describe what happened when the Paramecium populations were mixed in the same test tube. Do the results support the principle of competitive exclusion'