Population Growth of an Organism

Population Growth of an Organism

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.

In my opinion each of these specimens will grow much better combined then when alone due to the fact that when combined they will have to compete with each other to grow.

2. Explain how you tested your hypothesis.

I tested this hypothesis by placing each of the two types of organisms in a test tube by themselves and then combining them in a final test tube. I then looked at all of the specimens under the microscope to determine exactly how populated the organisms became under each condition.

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?

Day 8 was when the population of the Paramecium Caudatum reached its carrying capacity because from that time on the amounts of these organisms stayed the same.

4. On what day did the Paramecium aurelia population reach the carrying capacity of the environment? How do you know?

On Day 12 the Paramecium Aurelia population reached its carrying capacity because from that time on the amount of organisms in the solution stayed the same.

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?

There was a major difference in the growth patterns of these two organisms. The Paramecium aurelia grew at a much greater rate which for the most part where double that of the other paramecium species. This tells us that the Paramecium aurelia is much better at using its available resources which can be seen when we look at the slides that contain the mixed parameciums. From the start it is evident that the aurelia is much more adaptive and by Day 12 they completely take over all available space even when mixed with the other species of paramecium.

6. Describe what happened when the Paramecium populations were mixed in the same test tube. Do the results support the principle of competitive exclusion?

When mixed the second version of the Paramecium took over and eventually controlled all of the area in the solution. This definitely supports the principle of competitive exclusion which states that no two populations of different species will occupy the same niche and compete for exactly the same resources in the same habitat for any extended period of time (Cunningham& Cunningham, 2008).

7. Explain how this experiment demonstrates that no two species can occupy the same niche.

This experiment proves this theory because although these two species