Experiment: Interspecific Competition (Buckwheat v. Oats)
I. Introduction
Understanding relationships between organisms is crucial to the study of ecology. Within the study of organism relationships, there exist many types of ecological competitions. The focus of our lab experiment will be on interspecific competition. Interspecific competition is best defined as the competition between individuals of different species (Brooker et al 2014). The concept of interspecific competition is important as it is thought to be a driving force behind ecological character displacement, or the change in morphology of a species in order to promote coexistence among other interacting species (Abrams 2015). As one would imagine, any type of ecological competition …show more content…
Each group was assigned a specific ratio of seeds to plant in their flat. With varying amounts of buckwheat and oat, each group had a total seed count of 100. My group, Group One, received 100 oat seeds, Group Two received 75 oat seeds and 25 buckwheat seeds, Group Three received 50 oat seeds and 50 buckwheat seeds, and finally, Group Four received 25 oat seeds and 75 buckwheat seeds. Had there been the numbers in our section for a fifth group, they would have received 100 buckwheat seeds. After being assigned a seed ratio, groups then retrieved the provided soil, and a flat. Each group placed soil into their flat, filling it approximately two-thirds full. Once the soil was at the correct depth, it was very gently packed down in order to better hold the seeds. Once the soil was set, group members created small holes within the potted soil by using approximately one-third of their pinky finger length to measure depth. With the holes for the seeds somewhat evenly distributed around the flat, the seeds were individually placed into the holes, and covered with soil. For groups with two seed species, the seeds were to be randomly placed around the flat. Once the seeds were planted and covered, each group labeled their flat with their group number, and the time and location of their scheduled lab. Between the scheduled lab sessions, there are eight replicates of each experimental group (which happens to be five), therefore, the final end of the semester results of this experiment will be based off of forty experimental
I. Introduction
Understanding relationships between organisms is crucial to the study of ecology. Within the study of organism relationships, there exist many types of ecological competitions. The focus of our lab experiment will be on interspecific competition. Interspecific competition is best defined as the competition between individuals of different species (Brooker et al 2014). The concept of interspecific competition is important as it is thought to be a driving force behind ecological character displacement, or the change in morphology of a species in order to promote coexistence among other interacting species (Abrams 2015). As one would imagine, any type of ecological competition …show more content…
Each group was assigned a specific ratio of seeds to plant in their flat. With varying amounts of buckwheat and oat, each group had a total seed count of 100. My group, Group One, received 100 oat seeds, Group Two received 75 oat seeds and 25 buckwheat seeds, Group Three received 50 oat seeds and 50 buckwheat seeds, and finally, Group Four received 25 oat seeds and 75 buckwheat seeds. Had there been the numbers in our section for a fifth group, they would have received 100 buckwheat seeds. After being assigned a seed ratio, groups then retrieved the provided soil, and a flat. Each group placed soil into their flat, filling it approximately two-thirds full. Once the soil was at the correct depth, it was very gently packed down in order to better hold the seeds. Once the soil was set, group members created small holes within the potted soil by using approximately one-third of their pinky finger length to measure depth. With the holes for the seeds somewhat evenly distributed around the flat, the seeds were individually placed into the holes, and covered with soil. For groups with two seed species, the seeds were to be randomly placed around the flat. Once the seeds were planted and covered, each group labeled their flat with their group number, and the time and location of their scheduled lab. Between the scheduled lab sessions, there are eight replicates of each experimental group (which happens to be five), therefore, the final end of the semester results of this experiment will be based off of forty experimental