Virtual Lab: Population Biology – Competition between

Paramecium sp
1. Open the Virtual Lab entitled “Population Biology”:
http://glencoe.mheducation.com/sites/dl/free/0078757134/383928/BL_04.html
(NB This simulation requires Adobe Flash. Google Chrome no longer supports Adobe Flash, so
you will need to open the simulation in a different browser, eg Edge or Firefox.
2. The left side of the page contains background information and instructions in the “Question”
area. On the bottom of the page are the following icons for your use: “Journal” (these are
questions that will be answered and delivered in your Lab Report), “Calculator” (working
calculator function), “Table” (where you will be recording your data from the exercise, to be
delivered with the Lab Report), “Audio” (turns sound on/off) and “Print” (prints the screen).
3. Read the information in the window that initially opens, and when you are finished close the
window by clicking the “X”. You can reopen the window for further reference by clicking the
“Information” button found on the laboratory area.
4. Next, read the background information within the “Question” area, continuing on to the
procedure information posted there as well.
5. At this point, you are ready to begin the lab exercise. Follow the directions carefully.
6. Complete the exercise as directed, recording any data or information needed in the “Data
Table”.
7. When you are finished, complete a LAB REPORT:
a. Print (or copy) out the “Table” of results and the “Graph”
b. Print (or copy) your answers to the lab “Journal”
c. Answer all of the “Post-laboratory questions” (below)
Post-laboratory Questions:
1. Paramecia possess:
a. A nucleus
b. Flagella
c. A contractile vacuole
d. A and C
e. All of the above

2. The organisms used in this experiment belong to which domain of life?

a. Bacteria
b. Archaea
c. Eukarya

3. What served as the food for the paramecia in this experiment?

a. Rice
b. Oats
c. Bacteria
d. Nothing, they are photosynthetic

4. Which of the following can influence the carrying capacity of a population?

a. Availability of food
b. Availability of water
c. Competition
d. Build up of toxins
e. All of the above

5. Which type of competition would be observed between organisms within the P. caudatum
culture?
a. Interspecific
b. Intraspecific
c. There would be no competition, they are of the same species

6. Which culture reached its carrying capacity the fastest in this experiment?
a. P. caudatum, alone
b. P. aurelia, alone
c. P. aurelia, mixed

7. You have counted 30 organisms in your culture on Day 4. The concentration of organisms in
this culture is:
a. 15 cells/mL
b. 30 cells/mL
c. 60 cells/mL
d. 90 cells/mL

8. Based upon your data, which culture experienced the greatest rate of exponential growth?
a. P. caudatum, alone
b. P. aurelia, alone
c. P. caudatum, mixed
d. P. aurelia, alone
 9. Based upon the data, which organism appeared more efficient at using its resources?
a. P. caudatum
b. P. aurelia

10. In a repeat of this experiment, you found that on Days 10-16 the number of individuals in the
P. caudatum, mixed culture began to gradually rise. A possible explanation for this is:
a. There was insufficient food in the culture
b. The temperature warmed enough to allow for more growth
c. A genetic variant of the original population began to experience growth due to its use of a
different food (bacterium) source
d. None of the above could lead to this scenario

Under ideal conditions-sufficient food, water, and space-populations of these species grow
__________ and follow a pattern known as ________________ growth. Exponential growth is
explosive population growth in which the total number of potentially reproducing organisms
______________with each _______________. However, populations of organisms will ___________
increase in size forever. Eventually, ____________ on _________, __________________, and other
resources will cause the population to __________ increasing.

When a population arrives at the point where its size ____________ _____________, it has reached
the ___________________ _________________ of the environment. The carrying capacity is the
____________ _______________of individuals a given environment can _________________.
Competition for resources among members of a population (____________specific competition)
places limits on population size.

Competition for resources among members of two or more ___________________species

(__________specific competition) also affects population size. In a classic series of experiments in
the 1930s, a Russian ecologist, G.F. Gause, formulated his principal of competitive exclusion. This
principle states that if two species are _____________________ for the ________ resource, the
species with a more __________ growth rate will _________________the other. In other words, no
two species can occupy the same niche.

In competing populations of organisms, ____________ _____________ that reduce competition are

favored through natural selection. Suppose two species (A and B) compete for the same food source.
Individuals of species A can also use another food source, which reduces the competition over the food
source needed by species B. The individuals of species A that can use another food source survive
because they do not have to compete with individuals of species B for that food. In nature, organisms
frequently invade unoccupied habitats simply to avoid intense competition. Once the organism is in a
new habitat, any variations that allow it to use the available resources will tend to be perpetuated
through the population. In this way, the genetic makeup of the population may slowly change, and the
species will become adapted to a new niche.
Data Table and Questions (for completion if you do not print from the simulation)

Data Table
These 2 are from test tube #3

P. caudatum P. aurelia grown in P caudatum grown in

P. aurelia grown
grown alone, mixed culture, cells/ mixed culture, cells/mL
alone, cells/mL
cells/mL mL

Day 0
Day 2
Day 4
Day 6
Day 8
Day 10
Day 12
Day 14
Day 16
Journal
1. What are the objectives for this experiment? (You can summarize)

2. 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.
3. Explain how you tested your hypothesis.

4. On what day did the Paramecium caudatum population reach the carrying capacity of the
environment when it was grown alone? How do you know?

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

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

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

9. Make a line graph based on the data, on graph paper (next page). Title your graph and label axes.

- days on the x-axis

-# of cells on the y-axis.

-Use 4 different colors for the paramecium cultures and provide a key.