Biology 4.03 Ecosystems (Lab Report) PDF

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Lab Report for Population Dynamics Lab ______________________________________________________________________________ Population Dynamics Lab Report Purpose:

Research:

Hypotheses:

Materials: 1. The Population Dynamics Virtual Lab Activity 2. Population Dynamics Lab Report Procedures: The procedures are listed in Population Dynamics Virtual Lab Activity. You do not need to include them here. Data and Observations Table 1: Predation and Carrying Capacity Starting Seal population 25

Starting Highest Seal Highest Whale Whale population Population Population 25 49 52

100

25

170

195

25

100

160

180

Trial 1

Trial 2

Trial 3

Table 2: Growth Rate and Capture Efficiency Seal

Whale

Highest Seal Highest Whale

birth rate birth rate 0.05

0.005

Population Population 49 53

.09

0.005

55

Trial 1 75

Trial 2

Table 3: Death Rate and Capture Efficiency Whale death Whale capture Highest Seal Highest Whale rate 0.05

efficiency 0.005

Population Population 49 53

.09

0.005

68

Trial 1 58

Trial 2

Analysis and Conclusion: Be sure to answer the following reflection questions in the conclusion of your lab report: Using Table 1, which of the three trials produced the highest population for both the whales and the seals? Why do you think this trial had the best outcome for the whale and seal populations? A – Out of the three trials, the highest population for all of the trials would be the whale population. This was because the whale is the predator and the seal is the prey, so if the prey were to increase, of course the whale would have more food to eat, and increase. If the whale however were to increase, it would be harder for them since there wouldn’t be as many seal’s to eat, but they still outnumber the seal. Using Table 2 and 3, explain how the birth rates of the seals and the death rates of the whales affected the population for both whales and seals. A – The birthrates of the seals didn’t have much effect on the whales or the seals, besides there being an increase of seals as well as whales. However, for the death rates increased to .09, the whales started to get outnumbered by the seals, even though the whale is the predator whereas the seal is the prey.

Climate change (an abiotic factor) has slowly decreased habitat for the arctic seals. Predict how a reduction in habitat could change the capture efficiency of the killer whales. How would this affect the carrying capacities for both the whales and the seals? A – If this abiotic factor is important, this would make the arctic seals at a disadvantage, and so, not only are the killer whales looking for their prey, the seal, but the seal also has to deal with the decreased habitat where the abiotic factor is slowly leaving. This makes the seals population decrease, which gives the killer whales less prey and more population, as we’ve seen from the other tables. If another source of prey were available to the whales, what changes in population size would you expect for the seals and the whales? A – The seals would most probably increase, since there would be another prey available for the whales, and the whales would most definitely increase, because they found another species to prey on. In this lesson, you learned about two patterns of population growth and decline, the sigmoid and peak phenomena. Does the seal and killer whale relationship represent a sigmoid or peak phenomenon? Please provide supporting details. A – This relationship between the predator, being the whale, and the prey, being the seal, would be the peak phenomena. Within’ this relationship, the food resources guide the population growth, however the natural tendencies which manage the population size, don’t exactly stabilize the population. Rather, when the resources (the seal in this case) are available, then the whales which would be the predator increase, but then busts when the resources run out. Because of this, the rate of population leaves too few to reproduce.

What are the limitations of the population dynamics lab? Is the lab activity a realistic representation of an arctic marine ecosystem? Note: Please provide detailed support for your opinion. A – The limitations were that the starting point for both the prey and predator was 25, and we had to assume the prey, being the seal, had unlimited resources like food. This was all just made for testing, when in reality, the numbers are far greater and there would be many other variables that could be the cause of changes regarding population as well as death rates for both the predator and prey....