General Ecology Laboratory

II. Soil Moisture Gradient

Exercise 4. Environmental Parameters as Limiting Group 2 (Sow bugs):

Factors
Water Content Observed No. of Sow Expected No. of Sow
Virtually all organisms function within a set of conditions, most (mL) Bugs Bugs
of which fall within their prescribed range of tolerance. Certain
factors, at particular levels (below or above the optimum level), 0 1 5
become critical to the growth, development, and survival of the
organisms. These factors are called ‘limiting factors’. Such 10 3 5
factors are helpful in explaining the occurrence, abundance, and
distribution of organisms in the natural environments. 30 5 5

60 11 5

I. Temperature Effects

Group 1 (Mosquito larvae): The data is collected ten minutes after the sow bugs are placed
in the center of the soil setup. However, only one trial is reported
TEMPERATURE Number of Dead Larvae % in this experiment because there are limitations (e.g.death of
Mortality sow bugs) during the first three trials. This has caused an
Trial Trial Trial Ave.
1 2 3
insignificant relationship between the varying water content and
2 10-15 oC (10.1) 2 2 1 1.667 16.67% the number of sow bugs observed when we tested it for chi-
square test.
1 Tap water ( oC) 1 0 0 0.333 3.33%
(27) Results from for simple gradient preference tests with individual
3 40-45 oC 7 10 8 8.333 83.33% single species may be tested with a chi-square test. This test
measures the degree of correspondence of observed values
with the expected ones. Values expected on the basis of no
Stagnant water is where mosquito larvae are usually found such differential response therefore may be calculated by dividing the
as in tires and bottles left in the open for the rain to pour in. total number of individuals counted during the run by the number
Although most mosquito larvae survived in cold water, their of sections in the gradient. The expected and observed numbers
behavior was affected as mosquitoes are ectotherms of each section of the gradient may be compared by calculating
(Paajimans et al., 2013), meaning that their body temperature is a chi-square value (x2) by the following formula:
regulated by the temperature of their environment (Angilletta et
al., 2002).

Group 4 (Tadpoles):

TEMPERATURE Number of Dead Tadpoles %

Mortality

Trial Trial Trial Average

1 2 3

10 -15 oC 0 3 3 2 20%

29oC (Room 0 0 0 0 0% The table above shows that the chi-square value is 11.2. With
Temp.)
this in mind, this value is being compared to the percentage
40-45 oC 0 0 0 0 0% points of the chi-square distribution, as seen on the figure below.
It goes down to the probability of 0.01. Thus, we can conclude
that there is a significant relationship between the sowbugs and
the water content of the soil.
In an experiment conducted for the test of thermal sensitivity of
relict leopard frog (Rana [Lithobates] onca) tadpoles, at 15 oC,
tadpoles weren’t able to reach metamorphosis, however
tadpoles who survived the 15 oC, metamorphosized when setup
was acclimated to 25 oC. This coherent with the requirement that
for metamorphosis to pursue, tadpoles require warmer
temperatures (Goldstein, et.al, 2017).
For a valid chi square test, expected values should be at least 5 The pH levels 4 and 7, show a 3.33 (96.67%) minimal difference
for all sections of the gradient. The probability that calculated in germination. With these results, Zea Mays can be concluded
chi-square values represents a significant deviation of observed to have a wide range of suitable pH levels for germination.
values from those expected may be determined by comparing (Mullen, R., n.d.)
the computed value to the values in a chi-square table (Table 1)
for a number of degrees of freedom, i.e. one less than the Group 1 (Vigna radiata):
number of gradient sections. An observed value exceeding the
pH Number of Germinated Seeds % Germination
tabulated value for the 95% 0r 995 levels indicates a significant
Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Ave.
deviation of observed from expected values at those confidence
2 7 6 7 6.667 66.67
levels.
4 9 7 9 8.33 83.33
In the process of observing the sow bugs, it was observed that 7 10 10 10 10 100
during the first 5 minutes they like to roam around and when 9 6 5 7 6 60.00
nearing the 10 minute mark, most of them would spend more
time on more moist soils. Eventually, digging down and settling
Vigna radiata grows well in slightly acidic to neutral
in. Therefore, sow bugs prefer soils that are moist. This is due
environments. In many plants, both a low and high pH would
to the fact that they use gills to breathe. According to Molnar and
slow down or even stop the growth. Species of mung beans
Gair (2015), the gills should be moist in order to dissolve gasses
usually have a wide range of tolerance in environmental
so it can diffuse across cell membranes. Hence, moisture is
conditions.
necessary for them to respire.

B. On Animals
III. pH Effects
A. On Plants Group 3 (Tadpoles):
Group 2 (Lactuca sativa):
pH Number of Live Tadpole

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Ave.

2 0 0 0 0

4 0 2 0 .66

7 0 0 3 1

Fernandez et al (n.d.)., remarked that high pH negatively 9 4 0 0 1.3

affected the germination rate of seeds from most species, but
had no effect on the percent germination of any of the species.
The straight line represents the linear correlation among the pH
treatments. Almost 100% germination occurred in all pH
treatments between pH2 and pH9. This is to say that pH is not
found to have an effect on percent germination, indicating that
lettuce could be growing in both alkaline soils and acidic soils.
Group 5 (Zea mays):
The rise in PH which is the blue bar graph and with it we could
see that that as the Ph rises so does the number of remaining
tadpoles, this indicates that there is a rise in alive tadpoles as
the pH also increases, so it would mean that the tadpoles would
prefer a more basic living habitat.
Group 6 (Brine shrimp):

pH Number of Germinated Seeds % Germination

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average

2 (2.18) 10 10 10 10 100%

4 (4.45) 9 10 10 9.67 96.67%

7(7.67) 10 9 10 9.67 96.67%

9 (9.04) 10 10 10 10 100%
It was found out after 5 days that brine shrimp eggs hatched only
at pH 7 and 4. The number of brine shrimp eggs that hatched
was significantly higher at pH 7 while lower at pH 4. There were
no eggs that hatched at pH 2 and pH 9.
IV. Salinity Effects This is owing to the fact that osmosis, which is a transient
A. On Plants change in the concentration of solutes around a cell that causes
a rapid variation in the flow of water across the cell membrane,
Group 3 (Zea mays): increases water demand when salinity rises. According to the
graph, the salinity level between 5 and 20 ppt has the maximum
SALINITY Number of Seeds Germinated % germination rate since it is the most the Vigna radiata seed can
Germination take before being poisonous.

Trial Trial Trial Average B. On Animals

1 2 3
Group 4 (Garden snails):
0 ppt 4 3 2 3 45%
SALINITY Number of Dead Snails % Mortality
2.5 ppt 3 3 3 3 45%

5 ppt 5 4 6 5 75%

10 ppt 3 2 5 3 50% 0 ppt 1 10

20 ppt 1 3 5 3 45% 2.5 ppt 0 0

5 ppt 2 20
This is because increase of salinity, also increases water
demand due to osmosis, meaning there is a sudden shift in the 10 ppt 0 0
concentration of solutes around a cell that causes a quick
alteration in the flow of water across the cell membrane. Based 20 ppt 3 30
on the graph, 5 ppt has the highest germination rate since it’s
the highest salinity level in which the Zea mays seed can intake
without reaching toxicity. It could also be inferred that the garden snails may be able to
tolerate 10 ppt salinity level and that at 2.5 ppt, recorded deaths
Group 4 (Lactuca sativa):
are caused by hunger or old age or that the snails that were
assumed dead were undergoing estivation. Snails undergo
Salinity Replica Replica Replica Average % estivation to minimize water loss and retain energy reserves.
1 2 3 Germination
Although, the container had a foul smell which indicates that the
0 ppt 6 6 4 5.33 53% snails had died.

2.5 ppt 9 9 8 8.67 87%

5 ppt 9 10 8 9 90%

10 ppt 9 5 7 7 70%

20 ppt 0 0 0 0 0%

Though the expected result is for the 0 ppt to have the highest
number of germinated seeds because of how high salinity
inhibits seed germination due to the low osmotic potential
created around the seed, which prevents water uptake
(Welbaum et al.,1990). The result might be due to the seeds
picked after soaking them overnight, might have not been good
seeds. Also, the seeds might have had too much water on the 0
ppt solution.

Group 6 (Vigna radiata):

 Exercise 5. Population Growth
Through physiological processes, various factors in the
environment affect the growth and distribution of individuals and
populations. Up to now, we have considered the effect of the
environment on the individual plant or animal. With this exercise
we shall start to deal with organisms at the population level.
A growing population is characterized by a definite growth
pattern. Data from laboratory and field observations have led
animal ecologists to formulate a mathematical description of the
growth curve of ideal populations. Such populations are known
to show the ‘sigmoid growth form” or “sigmoid curve”. (More
information may be found in Odum and Barrett, 2005). Its
formula is:

where: N = population size at any point in time

t = time from start of growth
r = constant, intrinsic rate of increase
K = a constant, the upper asymptote of the curve

This is also called the logistic growth pattern and graphically

it appears as the S-shaped curve.

If the population is presented with a new habitat with unlimited

resources, the population tends to follow an exponential
growth. It is represented by the mathematical equation:
II. Drosophila melanogaster (Fruit fly) population

and is graphically represented by the J-shaped curve.

I. Lemna aequinoctiales (Duckweed) population

 Exercise 6. Age Structure of a Human Population
Populations vary in their proportions of young and old
individuals. Individuals in a population can be assigned to age
classes reflecting different stages in their ideal life span. The
proportions of individuals belonging to the various age groups
are collectively referred to as the age structure or age
distribution of a population.
Knowledge of the age structure is valuable for it helps us predict
the growth and the dynamics of the population. From the age
structure data, one can obtain age-specific mortality and
survivorship estimates which are important in determining the
future growth of the population.
Population pyramids visualize the demographic structure of a
population. The width represents the size of the population of a
given age; women on the right and men on the left. The bottom
layer represents the number of newborns and above it, you find
the numbers of older cohorts. Represented in this way the
population structure of societies with high mortality rates
resembled a pyramid – this is how this famous type of
visualization got its name.
In the darkest blue, you see the pyramid that represents the
structure of the world population in 1950. Two factors are
responsible for the pyramid shape in 1950: An increasing
number of births broadened the base layer of the population
pyramid and a continuously-high risk of death throughout life is
evident by the pyramid narrowing towards the top. There were
many newborns relative to the number of people at older ages.
The narrowing of the pyramid just above the base is testimony
to the fact that more than 1 in 5 children born in 1950 died before
they reached the age of five.
From now on is not a widening of the base, but a ‘fill up’ of the
population above the base: the number of children will barely
increase and then start to decline, but the number of people of
working age and old age will increase very substantially. As
global health is improving and mortality is falling, the people
alive today are expected to live longer than any generation
before us.
The change from 1950 to today and the projections to 2100
show a world population that is becoming healthier. When the
top of the pyramid becomes wider and looks less like a pyramid
and instead becomes more box-shaped, the population lives
through younger ages with a very low risk of death and dies at
an old age.
The median age provides an important single indicator of the
age distribution of a population. It provides the age ‘midpoint’ of
a population; there are the same number of people who are older
than the median age as there are younger than it.
The age structure of a population has important impacts for
various aspects of society: economic growth rates, labour
force participation, educational and healthcare services,
housing markets amongst others.
A large share of the population in the working-age bracket is
seen as essential to maintain economic and social stability and
progress. And since a smaller share of the younger and older
population is typically working these two groups are seen as
‘dependents’ in demographic descriptions.

Age is one of several factors needed to tell the full story on

dependency.

Conventionally, age is assumed to have a direct relationship to

productivity. It’s used to identify who is a worker and a
dependent, with productive life beginning at 15 and ending at
65. However, measures of dependency based on chronological
age alone can be misleading.

The reality of aging itself is not even constant. Thanks to medical

advances, improved nutrition, and less demanding lifestyles, 65-
year-olds in most countries can expect not only longer lives,
but more years in good health, than their parents or
grandparents.

The world population is changing: For the first time there are
more people over 64 than children younger than 5.

In 2018 the number of people older than 64 years old surpassed

the number of children under 5 years old. This was the first time
in history this was the case.12 We can see this transition clearly
when we look at the population by age bracket in the chart – this
is shown from 1950 onwards, with UN projections to 2100.
 Exercise 7. Mortality and Survivorship
How a population change over time can also be studied through
mortality and survivorship data. A life table is a device that
pictures clearly and systematically mortality and survival in a
population. It consists of a series of columns each of which
describes an aspect of mortality statistics for members of a
population according to age. Figures are presented in terms of
a standard number or cohort, usually but not always, 1000 at
birth or hatching. The columns include the following (refer to
Table 1):

Data gathered from cemeteries reflect the pattern of mortality of

a given population. These statistics are used as the basis for
the construction of life tables. Life tables provide insightful
information as to the mortality pattern of the population and also
perhaps more importantly the pattern of survivorship in the
population as shown by the survivorship curves.