INTRODUCTION:
Competition occurs between any organisms living in a mutual habitat. Whether it is for food, water, shelter, or a mate, competition can be harmful or helpful to each organism. There are two basic types of competition; intraspecific and interspecific. These terms refer to competition within a specific species and the competition between different species, respectively. In this lab, we conducted 3 basic experiments. Our goal was to observe the effects of the competition in each instance.The first one was to observe the intraspecific competition between the wheat plant species, the second was for the intraspecific competition between the mustard plant species. The third was the interspecific competition of the wheat and mustard species together. The latter experiment's data was divided into two sub groups of high density and low density, for purposes of graphing Dewitt diagrams. Dewitt diagrams are a way of expressing % yield and total productivity data so it can be evaluated and compared effectively.
It has been noted that intraspecific competitions tend to be more intense than interspecific ones (Ciara, 1993). This is because members of the same species need the same types and amounts of nutrients. When these similar species are in the same habitat with fixed resources, then they consequently have to "fight " for their needs. This is was basis for our hypothesis. We hypopthesized that the species that were involved with the interspecific competitions would have greater production (by ave. weight of grams) than their counterparts involved in the intraspecific competitions. Furthermore, we hypothesized that as the density of the intraspecific and interspecific competition species increased, then the production of the plants (by ave, weight in grams) would go down.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Six weeks previous to the conductance of this lab, Biology 108 section,planted wheat and mustard plants according to table#1 on page 3 of the Principles of Biology 108 Lab Manual . This table depicts all of the total pots and number and type of seeds planted in the pots. It accounts for the experiments of the intraspecific competition and interspecific competition. Replicates of each pot were planted to add precision and more acceptable statistics. Therefore, there were 40 pots, that is, 20 treatments conducted twice(Ciara, 1993).
Each Biology 108 section planted these pots and the data from every section was to be combined for an overall data sheet. Our group in section 6 had the role of planting 5 of the experimental pots with the assigned number of wheat seeds or mustard seeds or both.
Kingsolver indicated that these wheat crops are undergoing natural selection. More specifically, there are four conditions that must be legitimate for natural selection to engage in a given
Brassica rapa is a mustard plant that can be found throughout North America, and is common in areas undergoing extreme change, such as changes in climate. There is an important relationship between the ecological and genetic factors that influence the growth of Brassica rapa (Mitchell-Olds 1996). So, the environmental elements, as well as the genetic information, are essential to the growth rate and survival of Brassica rapa. This plant is capable of reproducing quickly, and the root systems are usually quite small, although some Brassica rapa have developed larger root systems (Mitchell-Olds 1996). This plant is commonly used in experiments because of its ability to germinate rapidly. Brassica rapa is capable of sprouting within a stage of about two weeks, and this trait allows scientists to perform experiments in a short period of time.
Competition between individuals is essential, and is one of the driving forces behind evolution. However, competition has different effects depending on the circumstances. Of course, competition between plants is different than between animals (Miller 1995), and interspecific competition has different effects than intraspecific competition. Plants compere by trying to gather as many resources as possible, as they cannot get up and go somewhere more plentiful. Some expand their root systems to collect more water and nutrients, and other grow taller to collect more sunlight. Either way, increasing competition will lower fitness and variation (Jones 2016) due to the plants having to share the same resources. In this experiment, we are using a protocol based around one developed by Miller and Schemske (1990) to determine the effects of intraspecific competition in Brassica rapa.
The communities of various native plants have been significantly minimized as a result of ...
... but similar areas. They put some in isolation and some went into a mixture of other species. It was discovered that the species in the mixture evolved more diversely than those that were in isolation. They also discovered that the mixture of species changed the way they used resources. This showed that the species that evolved together were more productive than the species in isolation. The final conclusion was that “species interactions can have a major effect on evolutionary dynamics, which can in turn influence ecosystems functioning” (Timothy G Barraclough).
Lauffer, H. B., Williams, P., & Lauffer, D. (2012). Wisconsin Fast Plants® Program. Retrieved February 26, 2014, from http://www.fastplants.org
The maize, or corn, experiment was conducted to observe the results of a monohybrid or a dihybrid cross between two different types of corn. This particular experiment required samples of various types of dried corn, preferably corn the sustain features between color and texture. These different colors and textures include purple, yellow, sugary (smooth), or starchy (wrinkled), respectively. The experiment is started by taking an individual stalk of corn from each type available, in this case three different types. Each stalk of corn was then observed carefully and their kernels were being observed, and counted
Two members of the group were instructed to visit the laboratory each day of the experiment to water and measure the plants (Handout 1). The measurements that were preformed were to be precise and accurate by the group by organizing a standardized way to measure the plants. The plants were measured from the level of the soil, which was flat throughout all the cups, to the tip of the apical meristems. The leaves were not considered. The watering of the plants took place nearly everyday, except for the times the lab was closed. Respective of cup label, the appropriate drop of solution was added to the plant, at the very tip of the apical meristems.
After distributing the seeds, place two or three fertilizer pellets into each quadrant, followed by another layer of dirt. Finish by watering quadrants. After 2-3 weeks, count the parent generation number of trichomes and record. Then, choose 25% of the hairiest plants out of the P1 population and replant their seeds following the same directions earlier on. When plants are grown, follow the same steps and count trichomes and record. Compare both sets of P1 data to F1 data to determine if evolution took
Every student in a lab section planted eight seeds, two in each cell in a quad, to make sure that we had at least one plant for each week for 4 weeks. After planting the seeds we put the plants on a water mat tray to make
4) Explain why ecologists predict that closely related species will often experience more intense competition than distantly related species? (Ch. 16)
Allelopathy is when one plant causes a deleterious effect on another plant through the escape of allelopathic chemicals. Allelopathy can be used for protection from infections of fungal or bacterial organism, and/or can be a form of competition. Moreover, this form of competition could be used for succession or resource management. In this laboratory experiment, wheat (Triticum sp.) seeds were exposed to extracts from four plant species to determine whether or not these species processes inhibitors of growth. The extracts were from goldenrod (Solidago sp.), aspen (Populus tremuloides), black cherry (Prunus serotina), and aster (Aster novae-angliae). The quaking aspen is a deciduous tree native to North America. Aspens have shallow root systems, the ability to survive long term flooding, and formation of clones connected through root systems (USDA Forest Service “Species: Populus tremuloides”). Black cherry are widely distributed throughout the Eastern United States, can grow on wide variety of soils except for very wet and very dry soils, can grow on strongly acidic soils, can consist of multiple seedlings that germinate within the vicinity of the parent tree, are intolerant of shade, are considered intolerable of competition, and regeneration can have interference from certain herbaceous plants through allelopathic chemicals. For instance, Solidago rugosa release chemicals from leaves or roots that inhibit cherry succession. It has been suggested that black cherry may interfere with other tree species regeneration, such as red maple (Marquis “Black Cherry”). New England Asters grow in moist environment and have a wide distribution in North America (Nesom “New England Aster: Symphyotrichum navaeangliae”). Goldenrods ...
4. Put each group of potato discs in one of the 6 test tubes and watch
The species chosen for the plantation are suitable for the conditions as observed from Table 2. There frailties when it come to the susceptibility to Diplodia and this is being countered with the replacement of P.patula with suitable hybrids such as P.patula x oocarpa.