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General Environmental Science I
ENV 121
LAB: Species Interactions
Name: _____________________________
Adapted from The Habitable Planet
Introduction:
Functional communities are a complex and delicate balancing game. The addition or removal of one species affects
many other species with which it might compete, or provide food for. In this lab you will get a chance to "build your
own" community, and explore the effects of these interrelationships.
Use a laptop or the app, “Photon,” on an iPad. You will be using Flash animation.
•
Open the Habitable Planet Interactive Labs website: https://www.learner.org/series/the-habitable-
planet-a-systems-approach-to-environmental-science/ecology-lab/
•
Select “Ecology Lab (Units 4, 7, 9, 13)”
Lessons > The Producers > Challenge
• Under “Lessons,” click on “The Producers.”
• Read the background information.
Lessons > The Producers > Step 1
• Click on “Step 1.”
Here, you will model primary succession of two competing plant species over 100 generations.
Before you begin the simulation, predict what will happen after 100 generations of competition.
Your prediction:
• Click on “OPEN SIMULATOR” to begin the simulation.
You can see that the default setting is two plants (one colored blue-green, the other colored yellow-green).
• Start clicking the “Run” button to model what will happen to these two plant populations in the newly colonized
area over 100 generations (time = 100 on the x-axis).
1. What assumptions does this model make about the resources in the ecosystem over time? Is this assumption likely
to work in a natural environment?
2. Do you find one producer to be dominant? In a natural community, what characteristics might allow one species to
be dominant over another?
1
3. What is primary succession? Why do plants, not animals, need to colonize first?
Lessons > The Producers > Step 2
• Click on “Step 2” and read the instructions to begin the next exercise.
Now, you are going to introduce an herbivore (rabbit) that eats one species of plant (plant A, the dominant plant).
Before you begin the simulation, predict what will happen to the rabbit, plant A, and plant B.
Your prediction:
•
•
Open the simulator, then click on the rabbit, and select “eats plant A.”
Run the simulation.
1. Is one producer still dominant over the other?
2. What do you think would happen to the plants if the rabbit ate both species of plants?
Lessons > The Producers > For Your Consideration
• Click on “For Your Consideration” and read the background information.
1. What is the competitive exclusion principle?
2. How does the decomposition of pioneer plants contribute to secondary succession?
Lessons > Food Web > Challenge
• Click on “The Food Web” to begin the second set of lessons.
In this set of lessons, you will see how complex you can make your food web and still have all species survive 100
generations.
• Read the background information.
Lessons > Food Web > Step 1
• Click on “Step 1.”
• Read the instructions and make a prediction as to what will happen to the top predator, omnivore, herbivore, and
the two plant species.
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Your prediction:
•
•
•
Open the simulator.
Create a simple food chain so that the top predator eats omnivore A, omnivore A eats herbivore A, and herbivore A
eats plant A. Include plant B, but do not have any animals eating it.
Run the simulation.
1. What differences were there between your prediction and the simulation results?
2. What would happen to this imaginary ecosystem if the producers were to die out?
3. Which species survived the simulation?
4. In this simulation, and in nature, why are there always fewer individuals of predator and omnivore than individuals
of herbivore and plants?
Lessons > Food Web > Step 2
• Click on “Step 2.”
• Read the instructions and make a prediction as to what will happen with all species involved in the food web.
Your prediction:
•
•
•
Open the simulator.
Click the “All On” button. Now all plants and animals should be involved in the food web and the lines showing
their interactions should be fairly complex.
Run the simulation.
1. Which species survived to the end of generation 100?
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2. Which species went extinct before generation 100?
•
•
Now modify who eats whom to try and get all species to survive to 100 generations. You must include all species in
your food web.
Run the simulation.
3. If you were able to get all species to survive to generation 100, explain how you created the successful food web (i.e.
which species interacted with which other species and in what ways). (If you could not get them all to survive, explain
which food web got you the closest to success, including which species interacted and in what ways.)
Lessons > Food Web > For Your Consideration
•
Click on “For Your Consideration” and read the background information.
1. How can humans who do not live in an ecosystem and are not directly extracting resources from the ecosystem still
manage to affect the ecosystem?
4
END OF LAB
5
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Explanation & Answer
Attached. Please let me know if you have any questions or need revisions.
General Environmental Science I
ENV 121
LAB: Species Interactions
Name: _____________________________
.
Your prediction:
After 100 Generations of competition, one of the plant species (the weakest) will no longer be viable.
1. What assumptions does this model make about the resources in the ecosystem over time? Is this assumption likely
to work in a natural environment?
Considering that the dominant species of plant, was able to maintain a constant population over the 100 days, this
means that this model assumes that the resources in this ecosystem are enough (limited) to accommodate 10.000 of
this species over time. This may be considered realistic, however in real life, we would expect decreases and increases
around the average number of species (Like for example, two trees die, but two new trees replace them…). Had
resources been infinite, we would’ve most likely seen an increase over the 10.000 mark.
2. Do you find one producer to be dominant? In a natural community, what characteristics might allow one species to
be dominant over another?
One tree species was clearly dominant. Such dominance may be acquired via characteristics such as being better at
producing their metabolic needs, or better resistant to disease or external factors (better ability to survive, overall)
3. What is primary succession? Why do plants, no...
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