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Competition

Name:

Go to the Competition Simulation at Biology Simulations.

Experimental Question: How is a species’ population dynamics affected by the presence of another
species with the same niche?

Write a hypothesis: Two species with identical niches cannot coexist indefinitely.

Procedure:

1. Read the Introduction.

2. Set Blue to 10 and Gray to 0. Run three times and record the estimated carrying capacity and
the number of generations it took to reach the carrying capacity. Also, record a general descrip-
tion of the results.
3. Set Blue to 0 and Gray to 10. Run three times and record the estimated carrying capacity and
the number of generations it took to reach the carrying capacity. Also, record a general descrip-
tion of the results.
4. Set both Blue and Gray to 10. Run three times and record the estimated carrying capacity and
the number of generations it took to reach the carrying capacity. Also, record a general descrip-
tion of the results.
Data:

Blue Alone Carrying Capacity Time to Reach Carrying Capacity

Trial 1 129 9

Trial 2 93 7

Trial 3 66 10

Average 96 8.67
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Gray Alone Carrying Capacity Time to Reach Carrying Capacity

Trial 1 38 5

Trial 2 58 7

Trial 3 76 12

Average 57.33 8

Blue and Gray Blue Carrying Ca- Time to Reach Car- Gray Carrying Ca- Time to Reach Car-
Together pacity rying Capacity pacity rying Capacity
(Blue) (Gray)

Trial 1 129 13 36 5

Trial 2 99 14 22 2

Trial 3 63 5 14 2

Average 97 10.67 24 3

General Observations

Blue Alone Blue has a higher carrying capacity.

Gray Alone Gray has a lower carrying capacity, compared to the same starting popula-
tion of Blue.

Blue and Gray Together The average carrying capacity of blue increases, but the same for gray de-
creases to less than half.

Find the average growth rate for the period prior to reaching the carrying capacity and record below
((Carrying capacity – 10) / Time).

Average Growth Rate

Blue Alone 9.91

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Gray Alone 5.91

Blue Together 8.15

Gray Together 4.66

Gra
ph:
In-
sert
a

graph to compare average growth rates.

Discussion:

1. Compare the blue and gray carrying capacities when alone in the ecosystem.

When alone in the ecosystem, Blue has a higher average carrying capacity than Gray. The aver-
age carrying capacity of Blue is 96, while the average carrying capacity for Gray, under similar
conditions, is 57.33.

2.

2. Compare the blue and gray growth rates when alone in the ecosystem.

When alone in the ecosystem, the average growth rate of Blue is 9.91, which is higher than
5.91 of Gray under similar conditions.

3.
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3. How is the blue species affected by the presence of the gray species?

In the presence of gray species, the average growth rate of Blue species is slightly reduced
from 9.91 to 8.15. However, the average carrying capacity is increased from 96 to 97.

4.

4. How is the gray species affected by the presence of the blue species?

In the presence of blue species, the average growth rate of gray species is reduced from 5.91
to 4.66. Moreover, the average carrying capacity is decreased from 57.33, when alone, to 24,
when together.

5.

Follow-up:

1. Does either starting population or plant population affect the carrying capacity when blue and
gray are alone in the ecosystem?
a. Use the simulation to test this. Summarize your results.

With a higher starting population, the carrying capacity is achieved in lesser time. Moreover,
with a greater plant population, the carrying capacity of the species increase. For the same
starting population, with a plant population of 100, the carrying capacity is 129, which is re-
duced to 93, when the plant population is 75. And for the same plant population of 100, with
a higher starting population of 50, the carrying capacity is reached in 7 generations, whereas,
with starting population of 10, the same is reached in 11 generations.
b.

b. Explain your results to answer the question.

With a larger plant population, the carrying capacity of the species increases because there is
more food available for growth and biological development. With a higher starting population,
the carrying capacity is achieved in lesser time due to a higher growth rate.
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c.

2. Does either starting population or plant population affect the outcome when blue and gray are
together in the ecosystem?

a. Use the simulation to test this. Summarize your results.

With a higher starting population, the carrying capacity of both species is achieved in lesser
time. Moreover, with a greater plant population, the carrying capacity of both species in-
creases. For the same starting populations, with a plant population of 100, the carrying capac-
ity of blue and red are 126 and 40, respectively, which is reduced to 93 and 30, respectively,
when the plant population is 75. And for the same plant population of 100, with a higher
starting population of 30, the carrying capacity of blue and red are reached in 4 generations
and 1 generation, respectively, whereas, with starting population of 10, the same is reached in
8 generations and 2 generations, respectively.
b.

b. Explain your results to answer the question.

With a larger plant population, the carrying capacity of both species increases because there is
more food available for growth and biological development. With a higher starting population,
the carrying capacity is achieved in lesser time due to a higher growth rate.

c.

3. Describe the competitive exclusion principle and explain how the results of the simulation apply.

The competitive exclusion principle states that two species that compete for the same limited
resources cannot stably coexist. The weaker competitor gets extinct as it can’t compete with
the other species having a competitive advantage. As we can observe in our results above,
blue drives the gray population to extinction as the blue population proliferates.

4.

4. Research and describe Georgy Gause’s P. caudatum and P. aurelia experiment.

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Under constant conditions, P. caudatum and P. aurelia were provided with fresh water every
day, and a constant flow of food, in the same ecosystem. After brief initial domination by P.
caudatum , P. aurelia improved and finally turned P. caudatum extinct through exploitative re-
source competition.

5.

5. Competitive exclusion is rarely observed in ecosystems. Propose an explanation for this.

Competitive exclusion is rarely observed in the ecosystems because unlike ideal niches, the
real ecosystem may never offer the exact same resources to two different species. There is al-
ways a diverse variety of resources available to different species and some species tend to
evolve with the available resources.

6.

Conclusion:

Based on your results and research, answer the original experimental question: How is a species’ popu-
lation dynamics affected by the presence of another species with the same niche?

In the presence of another species with the same niche, both the species compete for the
same resources. The stringer competitor will drive the weaker competitor to extinction or its
shift towards a different ecological niche. Our data provide sufficient evidence that our hy-
pothesis, two species with identical niches cannot coexist indefinitely, is true.