...------------------------------------------------- Lab # 1 ------------------------------------------------- Predator Prey Interactions: Bean simulation Enviornmental Science November 1, 2014 Objective: To keep record of the effects that the predator (coyote) and prey (mice) have on the population of each other over time. Introduction: Interactions between predators and their prey are important in 1) determining the population of both predators and prey and 2) determining and maintaining the structure of a community. Many factors enter into the ultimate outcome of predator-prey interactions. Using a simulation of predator-prey interaction including mice and coyote will be conducted to determine population over time in their habitat. Materials: * Shallow plate (the field) * Beans (the mice) * Spoons (the coyotes) Procedure: 1. Shake the plate to randomly distribute the mice. 2. Swipe the spoon through the field and capture mice. 3. Record data Mice Minimum mice per generation = 10 Maximum mice per generation = 100 Mice double every generation OR hit 100 Capture less than 5 mice and coyote dies Capture 5 or more and coyote survives Coyote 5 or more survive 6-9 mice = 1 baby 10-14 mice = 2 babies 15 or more = 3 babies Minimum coyote = 1 Maximum coyote = 17 Results Quantitative Results ...
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...essentially used as an ecological concept that models the predator-prey relationship. Based on the case study, each food web is a descriptive diagram including a series of lines connecting one species to another, representing the flow of food energy from one feeding group of organisms to another. The feeding It also implies the transfer of food energy from its source in plants through herbivores to carnivores (Krebs 2009). Normally, food webs consist of a number of food chains meshed together. Each food chain is a descriptive diagram including a series of arrows, each pointing from one species to another, representing the flow of food energy from one feeding group of organisms to another. Food web offers an important tool for investigating the ecological interactions that define energy flows and predator-prey relationship (Cain et al. 2008). The fundamental purpose of food webs is to describe feeding relationship among species in a community. Food webs can be constructed to describe the species interactions. All species in the food webs can be distinguished into basal species (autotrophs, such as plants), intermediate species (herbivores and intermediate level carnivores, such as grasshopper and scorpion) or top predators (high level carnivores such as fox) 1 This chapter addresses how knowledge of the body sizes of prey and predators can augment understanding of feeding ( “ trophic ” ) interactions among individuals, and the structure and dynamics of complex...
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...Animal Interactions Essay Of course there are numerous stories of animals viciously attacking other animals and news segments showcasing how brutal animals can be to humans, but all animals aren’t competitive (when organisms try to obtain food, water, space, sunlight, and other resources at the same place and time) in nature. If one were to hear that statement, they might think that animals are only agreeable within their own population of species, but this is also not true. Undomesticated animals have a bad reputation of being very competitive, which is a common misconception among many people. Symbiosis, the predator-prey cycle, and mimicry are all three common forms of organism interactions that are not competitive. No organism lives in complete isolation, which means that there will always be some sort of interaction between organisms. This can be described as symbiosis, a Greek rooted word meaning “living together”. Symbiosis entails the many relationships an organism can have with another organism; the one that is most beneficial to this essay would be mutualism. Mutualism is an interaction between two or more organisms where both/all organisms are benefited. Sea anemones and anemone fish have great mutualistic relationships such as how the sea anemones use their tentacles to protect the anemone fish away from predators while the anemone fish protect the sea anemones from butterflyfish. Even though animals may consume each other, they still help one another by...
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...large, competing enterprises of mobile-platforms that face customerchurning due to application-preferences and pricing structures in the deregulated ambient is viewed in the perspectives of nonlinear logistic systems akin to that of biological ecosystems. Relevant considerations are decided by and embodied with several stochastically-interacting subsystems. Hence, the temporal dynamics of competition/co-evolution of known competitors in the mobile-platform market, like Android, Symbian and iPhone is depicted by a novel model posing dichotomy of prey-predator flip-flops in the market; and, an asymptotic projection of ex post computations of underlying technoeconomics into the ex ante region would correspond to futuristic forecasts on the performance of test platforms. Further, computed results are exemplified with a sample calculation and associated sensitivity details. Keywords: Mobile-platform, Co-evolution, Competition, Prey-predator model, Technoeconomic forecasting 31 Perambur Neelakanta Raef Yassin A Co-Evolution Model of Competitive Mobile Platforms: Technoeconomic Perspective Journal of Theoretical...
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...Institute of Physiology of the University of Heidelberg and at the Zoological Center in Naples, focusing on the behavior and interaction of living beings (SUNY Press; Jakob von Uexküll Centre). His written works were dedicated to the question of how living beings subjectively perceive their environment and how their perception determines their behavior, which is a dominant theme throughout A Foray in the Worlds (Jakob von Uexküll Centre). Uexküll argues that the spider builds its web before it has ever met a physical fly, therefore it is a representation of the spider’s primal image of the fly (159). Uexküll’s claim depends on three assumptions: (1) the fly is the prey of the spider, (2) the spider has a primal image of the fly, and (3) the web is the end product of the spider’s primal image. Though Uexküll’s claim may well have some merit, he presents an incomplete argument as his assumptions are insufficient and based solely on the evidence he offers, his argument cannot be accepted as valid. Uexküll’s first assumption is correct but also insufficient as it does not seem to consider the variation of prey, let alone prey behavior during capture. Handling time, diet, feeding frequency, abundance of prey, prey size, and the nutritional value of prey have been cited as factors that influence the design of webs (Mayntz, Toft & Vollrath; Nakata; "Prey protein"; "Prey type"). It has been stated that spiders rely on the vibrations of the web’s radial...
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...Bioremediation: the use of organisms (micro or plants), to break down chemical pollutants in water or soil to reverse/lessen environmental damage. Decomposition: breaking down of organic wastes and dead organisms. Biodegradation: action of living things such as bacteria to break down dead organic matter. Decomposer: change wastes and dead organisms into usable nutrients. Detrivores: consumers that obtain their energy by eating bodies of small dead animals, plant matter, and animal wastes. Herbivores: primary consumers that eat plants. Carnivores: secondary consumers that eat primary consumers. Omnivores: consumers that eat both plant and animal. Natural selection: the process that makes change possible in living things. Predator/prey cycle: predator-prey interactions in which one organism eat all or part of...
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...PARASITIC INTERACTION: When one organism (parasite) lives off another (the host), causing harm. The pearl fish utilises the sea cucumber as shelter by propelling itself into the anus of the sea cucumber. This relationship is parasitic due to the fact that the pearl fish feeds on the sea cucumber’s gonads. MUTUALISTIC INTERACTION: When both organisms benefit from the relationship. The clown fish and sea anemone have a mutualistic interaction, the anemone homes and protects the clownfish from predators while the clownfish help the anemones catch their prey. COMMENSAL INTERACTION: When one organism benefits and the other is unaffected. The gobies reside among the toxic spines of the sea urchin, gaining protection without harming the host. DECOMPOSER:...
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...Loss of Top Predators is Humankind’s Most Pervasive Influence on Nature Thesis: For thousands of years, nature and humans have coexisted in equilibrium. As human population increases and expands, it cases severe effects in every ecosystem. Evidence of human growth and urbanization can be seen through the impacts on virtually every ecosystem in planet earth, marine and terrestrial. Effects of, such as species decline, endangerment and extinction of enormous proportions. In most cases, driving some species to the edge of extinction. Possibly no species are more affected than the world’s large top predators. These animals are extremely important to the overall health and function of an ecosystem, but conservation and restoration of them and their habitat is a remote thought on humans. The absence of predators in certain areas has led to an explosion of their natural prey, which leads to a damaging impact on their habitat. Ecosystems need to be healthy in order to maintain the health of all living things within and around them, including humans. It seems logical then to restore the natural balance by reintroducing the animal’s natural predator, conserving the population, and protecting the wild environment. Humans can no longer wait to address this growing environmental and ethical issue, and by establishing clear goals they can ensure the future of these species and ecosystems along with the continuing growth and success of their own. DOT: Sharks influence on the structure and...
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... PREDATION… Continued (Part B) C. Studying predator effects on prey populations in the field. 1. Manipulative experiments 2. Accidental Experiments 3. Comparative Studies- woodland caribou -Food limited -Predator limited D. Optimal Foraging theory: how do predators choose their diets? (see chapter 3) *What is the optimum strategy? = Energy maximization or time minimization Max En/T Assumptions about the predator (forager): -Eating and searching for the next food (prey) item are mutually exclusive activities. -Items are found sequentially, items are found one at a time. Energetic Value of prey: EACH PREY ITEM HAS AN ENERGENTIC VALUE (ei) Handling time: A HANDLING TIME (hi) Profitability: : e/h= profitability of each prey item (such that prey can be ranked) Rule: optimal foraging rule (prediction) – always eat the most profitable prey and eat the next most profitable prey if the gain is greater than the gain from rejecting it and searching for a more profitable prey. Predictions of Optimal Foraging Theory: The highest ranked prey type should always be eaten when encountered. 1) Predators with small handling times and long search times should be GENERALISTS. 2) Diets should be broad in pre-poor (unproductivr) environments. 3) The abundance of low ranking prey types is unaffected by the a abundance of the low-ranking prey is irrelevant. Herbivory and mutualisms (Chapter...
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...years ago. The largemouth bass has a torpedo-like shape body that is associated with many fishes. Bass use their fins to help keep their position, move, steer, and stop. The largemouth bass is an important predator in the lake ecosystem exerting their strong top-down control on the fish communities. (Essington1999). The organs found in the largemouth bass are as followed brain, stomach, liver, kidneys, and gills. The kidney filters liquid waste materials from the blood. The kidney is extremely important in regulating water and the salt concentrations within the fish body allowing certain fish to be able to exist in freshwater or saltwater. The pyloric caeca is the organ located near the stomach it secretes enzymes that help with digestion. The largemouth bass has overcome environmental changes and have adapted making them very successful in survival. They prey on a number of species they can withstand warmer water temperatures that has a lower concentration of oxygen gas available. The lateral lines located on the left and right side runs from the gill to the base of the tail. This is how they detect motion, sound, waves, and navigation to help with their survival rate. Over the years the coloring has evolved as well to help camouflage the largemouth bass from various preys. “An area that physiological ecologists are really focused on is the study of environmental stressors on organisms, for an...
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...Food Web Diagram Brandy Meilhon SCI 230 Week 9 Create a diagram in which you illustrate the energy flow among organisms of a food chain in a particular ecosystem. Select an ecosystem, such as a temperate forest, desert biome, or the Everglades. For the ecosystem, I chose The Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Determine the interdependency of life in your ecosystem by examining its organisms. Include the following: List the organisms that can be found in your ecosystem. 1. Dolphin 2. Green Sea Turtle 3. Tiger Shark 4. Trevallies 5. Cardinal Fish 6. Manta Ray 7. Remora 8. Giant Triton 9. Crown of Thorns Starfish 10. Hard Coral 11. Zooxanthelleae 12. Sea Slugs 13. Sea Sponges 14. Spanish Dancer 15. Sea Grasses 16. Barracuda 17. Parrot Fish 18. Algae 19. Scorpion Fish 20. Goby 21. Saddled Butterfly Fish 22. Sea Anemones 23. Clownfish 24. Long Nosed Butterfly Fish 25. Barred Rabbit Fish 26. Branching Coral 27. Jellyfish 28. Coneshells 29. Bluestriped Fangblenny 30. Lizzard Fish 31. Phytoplankton 32. Coralline algae 33. Filamentous Turfalgae 34. Many species of seaweed 35. Bacteria (PBS evolution, 2003) * What is the benefit of this biodiversity? The Great Barrier Reef is well known for its vast biodiversity. Biodiversity is the variety of organisms that can be found to fulfill and the vital niches in an ecosystem. Each...
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...Predator-prey interactions are an important aspect of most ecosystems. As both predatory and prey, Daphnia magna serves as a unique model organism in aquatic ecology (Lampert 2006). D. magna consumes different types of appropriately sized particles, this includes algae, bacteria and protozoans (Lampert 2006). As prey, D. magna is well known for its morphological defences, that were developed in some individuals in response to certain predators (Lampert 2006). These defense mechanisms include helmets, crest, tail spines, and neck teeth (Lampert 2006). Other defensive behavioral responses can be triggered by the presences of chemical substances emitted in the near environment from predators (Pijanowska 1997). This leads to the question of how would the presence of a predator would affect behaviors such as feeding in D. magna. Our hypothesis was that the presence of a predator will affect the feeding rate of D. magna. We predicted that if the D. magna is exposed to predators while feeding, they will have a slower feeding rate. We...
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...Habitat loss and fragmentation, predation, as well as human interactions are the main threats for N. sipedon. Many water snakes are killed each year due to simple misidentification. Since the markings down the body of the Northern water snake is similar to that of the cotton mouth and other venomous snakes, humans kill them in acts of self-defence when they believe they are going to be bitten. Besides the misidentification by humans, habitat loss and fragmentation is by far the largest threat to the northern water snake. Their habitats are continually being destroyed to build subdivisions and urbanized areas. The wetland areas are also being shrunk and fragmented for roadways and trails. When the snakes attempt to cross these roads, they are exposed to traffic as well as more become more exposed to their predators since they are farther away from water and...
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...Biology – Module 1 – A Local Ecosystem The distribution, diversity and numbers of plants and animals found in ecosystems are determined by biotic and abiotic factors. Compare the abiotic characteristics of aquatic and terrestrial environments. An aquatic environment is one that consists in water. The abiotic characteristics of an aquatic environment include: Buoyancy – This refers to the upward pressure (or thrust) that is applied on the organism by its medium. Buoyancy is determined by the density of the medium and determines the floating ability of an organism. Water provides sufficient buoyancy for many organisms, e.g., the jellyfish. If a jellyfish is taken out of water and placed on land it will disintegrate by spreading apart. Thus, the water provides enough buoyancy (pressure) in order to keep the shape of the jellyfish. Pressure – This is the downward force that is applied on an organism by its medium. In water, the pressure is dependent on the depth. Organisms that live at the bottom of the ocean experience the effects of extreme pressure and they must have specific adaptations that enable them to survive in such harsh environments. Temperature Variations – Usually in an aquatic environment there are minimal temperature variations to that compared with terrestrial environments. The temperature variations also depend on the size of the body of water; a large body of water will experience much less temperature variations than a smaller body...
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...an ecological community, affecting many other organisms in an ecosystem and helping to determine the types and numbers of various other species in the community. There are different examples of keystone species which there could be predators, mutualists, and engineers. Since the prey numbers are low, the keystone predator numbers can be even lower and still be effective. Keystone mutualists are organisms that participate in mutually beneficial interactions, the loss of which would have a profound impact upon the ecosystem as a whole. Although the terms 'keystone' and 'engineer' are used interchangeably, which is better understood as a subcategory of keystone species. Out of all the keystone species in the world the one that I am most fascinated with is the jaguar. The jaguar is largely a solitary and opportunistic predator at the top of the food chain. It is a keystone species, playing an important role in stabilizing ecosystems and regulating the populations of the animals it hunts. The jaguar has been numbered as the near threatened in Central and South America. The jaguar acts as a keystone predator because of its widely varied diet, and they also help balance the mammalian jungle ecosystem with its consumption of 87 different species of prey. Works Cited Mills, L. Scott, Michael E. Soule, and Daniel F. Doak. "The keystone-species concept in ecology and conservation." BioScience 43.4 (1993): 219-224. Paine, R.T. (1995). "A Conversation on Refining the Concept of...
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