Introduction
Nepenthes gracilis, also goes by the name Slender Pitcher-Plant, is a widespread pitcher plant mostly found in Southeastern Asia. This plant distinguishes itself by the presence of a long tube-like, stretched pitcher which contains acidic fluid and enzyme to digest preys. N. gracilis also make use of its special trait, the lid on top of the pitcher to act as a trapping mechanism for preys looking for shield under its lid, and the nectar glands on the lids help in attracting preys such as ants to come and harvest (Bauer, Di Giusto, Skepper, Ulmar Grafe, T., Federle, 2012). In N. gracilis, the pitcher lid is regarded as having an adaptive function as a trapping device for viability reasons, which is correlated to its fitness in …show more content…
gracilis. The independent variable will be the lid size of plant, varying from large to small. The dependent variable is the number of prey (ants) being captured inside the pitcher over an amount of time. All of the subjects will be separated, and will be provided with the same number of ants, specifically 50 ants per day over the course of one month. The number of ants being captured each day will be calculated by the difference between the initial amount provided (50) and the final amount of ants left after each day. The number of ants left will be recorded at the same time for all subjects so all of the plants will have the same time to capture preys. The length and width of each lid will be measured, and the surface area will be calculated. I will conduct 3 trials in this experiment, each time with 3 subjects differing in the lid size, ranging from large to small surface area. And after the time span of one month, the total amount of ants captured in one week along with the average amount of ants being captured per day will be calculated for each subject and the data recorded will be compared. The only difference between the subjects would be the surface area of the lid, and other factors will be controlled …show more content…
gracilis. If the null hypothesis is rejected, then this trait in N. gracilis aids in its adaption by contributing to its fitness and improving its chances of surviving, by increasing the amount of preys captured. Adaptations of lid size combined with nectar glands which attract insects, and a wax crystal surface underneath the lid which reduces friction make the N. gracilis lid an effective device for its insect trapping mechanism (Bauer et al., 2015). Therefore, there is a correlation between trait and fitness, in which the trait contributes to the organism’s fitness by enhancing its chances of surviving or reproducing. A trait can both increase or decrease fitness depending on the environment. A trait might be adaptive for a species if it increases the fitness of the organisms since natural selection favours the best adapted forms. In this particular experiment, if the alternative hypothesis is justified, the increasing in the size of the lids in N. gracilis is a trait that contributes to the plant’s fitness and adaptions for viability, which yield success in surviving, specifically in acquisition of food, and in this case the food, or prey, are ants. On the other hand, if the null hypothesis is not rejected, that the amount of
Nepenthes gracilis, also goes by the name Slender Pitcher-Plant, is a widespread pitcher plant mostly found in Southeastern Asia. This plant distinguishes itself by the presence of a long tube-like, stretched pitcher which contains acidic fluid and enzyme to digest preys. N. gracilis also make use of its special trait, the lid on top of the pitcher to act as a trapping mechanism for preys looking for shield under its lid, and the nectar glands on the lids help in attracting preys such as ants to come and harvest (Bauer, Di Giusto, Skepper, Ulmar Grafe, T., Federle, 2012). In N. gracilis, the pitcher lid is regarded as having an adaptive function as a trapping device for viability reasons, which is correlated to its fitness in …show more content…
gracilis. The independent variable will be the lid size of plant, varying from large to small. The dependent variable is the number of prey (ants) being captured inside the pitcher over an amount of time. All of the subjects will be separated, and will be provided with the same number of ants, specifically 50 ants per day over the course of one month. The number of ants being captured each day will be calculated by the difference between the initial amount provided (50) and the final amount of ants left after each day. The number of ants left will be recorded at the same time for all subjects so all of the plants will have the same time to capture preys. The length and width of each lid will be measured, and the surface area will be calculated. I will conduct 3 trials in this experiment, each time with 3 subjects differing in the lid size, ranging from large to small surface area. And after the time span of one month, the total amount of ants captured in one week along with the average amount of ants being captured per day will be calculated for each subject and the data recorded will be compared. The only difference between the subjects would be the surface area of the lid, and other factors will be controlled …show more content…
gracilis. If the null hypothesis is rejected, then this trait in N. gracilis aids in its adaption by contributing to its fitness and improving its chances of surviving, by increasing the amount of preys captured. Adaptations of lid size combined with nectar glands which attract insects, and a wax crystal surface underneath the lid which reduces friction make the N. gracilis lid an effective device for its insect trapping mechanism (Bauer et al., 2015). Therefore, there is a correlation between trait and fitness, in which the trait contributes to the organism’s fitness by enhancing its chances of surviving or reproducing. A trait can both increase or decrease fitness depending on the environment. A trait might be adaptive for a species if it increases the fitness of the organisms since natural selection favours the best adapted forms. In this particular experiment, if the alternative hypothesis is justified, the increasing in the size of the lids in N. gracilis is a trait that contributes to the plant’s fitness and adaptions for viability, which yield success in surviving, specifically in acquisition of food, and in this case the food, or prey, are ants. On the other hand, if the null hypothesis is not rejected, that the amount of