Interaction and Interdependence - Ecosystems

C4.1 Population and Communities

Guiding Questions
Animal Overpasses in the Canadian Rockies How do interactions between organisms regulate
sizes of populations in a community?

What interactions within a community make its

populations interdependent?

With a total of 44 wildlife crossing structures

(six overpasses and 38 underpasses), and 82
km of highway fencing, Banff National Park
has the most wildlife crossing structures and
highway enclosure fencing in a single location
on the planet.
Ecology
the study of relationships between living organisms and
between organisms and their environment.

From i-biology.net
Ecological Terms

Image source: ib.bioninja.com.au

 Individual / Species: related organisms that share common
characteristics and are capable of interbreeding.

f
Danaus plexippus Salmo salar Elephas maximus Rana clamitans Canis lupus
Population: a group of individuals of the same species living in the
same geographic area at the same time

Population 1

Population 2
Note: A population consists of members of one species, but it does not have to consist of ALL
the members of that species.
So, One species can have many different populations around the world.
NOS: What methods are used to study ecology?
• Regardless of the tools they use, scientists conduct
modern ecological research using three basic approaches:
• observing
• experimenting
• modeling

All of these approaches

rely on the application
of scientific methods to
guide ecological inquiry.
Observing
• Observing is often the first step in asking ecological questions.
• Some observations are simple. Others are complex and may form the first
step in designing experiments and models.

Red crabs on Christmas Island climb a

bridge designed for their protection
Animal Overpasses in the Canadian Rockies

Reindeer viaducts in Sweden will keep herds safe from

traffic as they roam in search of grazing.

Trans-Canada Animal underpass

Experimenting
• Experiments can be used to test hypotheses.
• An ecologist may set up an artificial environment in a laboratory to
imitate and manipulate conditions that organisms would encounter in
the wild.
• Other experiments are conducted within natural ecosystems.

Aerial View of The Metatron – Cage system to study Ecosystems

Aquatic mesocosms prepared in a jar.
Random Sampling
• Each member of the population is equally likely to be included.
• used to select a sample that is unbiased.
• Random sampling with quadrats is used to examine differences between
contrasting habitats within a habitat.

Sampled areas must be chosen

randomly to avoid selection bias
causing a misrepresentation of the
population size

The more samples that are taken (and

the larger the sampling area), the more
accurate population estimates are likely
to be
Quadrat Sampling A sampling area of any shape randomly deployed.

• Each individual is counted within the quadrat and those numbers are used to
extrapolate population size.
• Good for sessile organisms.
Estimating the number of
motile organisms
• used to estimate population and/or
population survival.
• individuals of a population are captured
and marked (tagged)
• marked individuals are released back
into the wild in hopes of being
recaptured or re-sighted one day.
• Information on the number of marked
recaptures and unmarked captures can
be used to estimate population size
Modeling
• Ecologists make models to gain insight into complex phenomena.
• Many ecological models consist of mathematical formulas based on data
collected through observation and experimentation.
• The predictions made by ecological models are often tested by further
observations and experiments
Carrying Capacity
• The maximum population size that a
given environment can support over a
certain period of time.
• Is dynamic (varies over space and time,
depending on abundance of limiting
resources)

The availability of abiotic factors (such as

water, oxygen, and space) and biotic factors
(such as food) dictates how many organisms
can live in an ecosystem.
Carrying Capacity
How do you find carrying capacity on a graph?
• Locate the point on the graph where the
population line is horizontal
• Typically the graph would have
population on the y-axis and and some
measurement of time on the x-axis.
• Once the population has reached a
steady state, it will show zero growth
(slope of zero or a horizontal line)
Population Density
• the number of individuals per area or volume of habitat.
Limiting Factors
• factors or variables in an environment that has the capacity to limit the
growth, distribution, or abundance of a population in an ecosystem.

Density Dependent Factors Density Independent Factors

Stronger impact as population Affect population growth

density increases regardless of population density

Disease Humans hunting for skins and furs

Competition over food/water/shelter Natural disasters (volcano, fire)

Predators Habitat Destruction

IB Bio ninja – Old Resource
Control of population size by density-dependent factors
• Density-dependent factors act as negative feedback mechanisms that
help regulate and control population size, keeping it closer to the
carrying capacity of the environment.
• Density-dependent factors have a greater impact on population size as
the population density increases.

DENSITY-DEPENDENT factors
include competition for resources,
predation, disease and parasitism
Control of population size by density-dependent factors
Lynx are natural predators of hares.
When the hare population is abundant, there is ample food
available for the lynx, and lynx population increases.
As the lynx population grows, it puts greater pressure on
hare populations through predation, causing a decline in
population of hare.
Predator–prey dynamics.
Predator-Prey Interactions
• When the population of gazelles
increases it provides a plentiful
food source for cheetahs, leading
to a rise in the cheetah
population.
• However, as cheetah numbers
grow, the increased predation
pressure causes a decline in the
gazelle population due to higher
rates of predation.
Limiting Factors can be Top-down controlled
• When a population is reduced by other species feeding on it (Predation)

Recall Lynx and Hare example: predation as seen with the lynx
Limiting Factors
can be Top-
down and
Bottom-up
controlled
Limiting Factors can be Bottom-up controlled
• When a population is reduced by lack of resources such as food, sunlight
(photosynthetic organisms) or minerals.

Recall Lynx and Hare example: when there were not as many hare to
feed the lynx, the lynx population went down
Population Growth Curves
• Species populations in an
ecosystem are dynamic. Their size is
controlled by four parameters:

Birth and immigration rates increase the population size

Death and emigration rates decrease the population size.

Exponential Population Growth
• Unconstrained population growth is exponential

Assuming organisms
reproduce at a fixed rate,
population size doubles at
each reproductive event.
Logistic (Idealized) Population Growth
• Logistic population growth will occur when population numbers begin to
approach a finite carrying capacity
• Follows a sigmoid (S-shaped) curve
(K)
2 3
1. Initial growth is slow. After multiple
generations the growth rate accelerates,
called the exponential phase. This is the
period of fastest growth rate.

2. During the Transitional Phase, the population

growth rate slows considerably. 1
3.
4. The plateau phase is where the number of
individuals stabilize and there is no more
growth.
Intraspecific Competition
• occurs when members of a species compete for
limited resources such as food, water and space.
Intraspecific Cooperation
• Where individuals collaborate increase their
chances of survival and reproduction
Community: all interactive populations living in the same geographic location

Note: The environment in which a

species lives is called the HABITAT
The
Coral
Triangle
- Over 600
different reef-
building corals

- More than
2000 species of
reef fish
Interspecific Relationships • Herbivory
• Predation
• Relationships that occur between different
species within an ecosystem. • Interspecific competition
• Mutualism
• From competition to cooperation, these
interactions intricately shape the distribution, • Parasitism
abundance and evolution of species • Pathogenicity
Mutualism
• A symbiotic interaction between two or more species,
where both obtain benefits from the relationship

Nutrient exchanges and communication

between a mycorrhizal fungus and plants. Zooxanthellae living in the body of corals
Chi-square Test
• a statistical test commonly used to
determine if there is a significant
association between two
variables.
• Eg. a biologist might want to
determine if two species of organisms
associate (are found together) in a
community.
Chi-square Test
1. Create your null and alternative
hypotheses.

Null Hypothesis:
"There is not a significant association between
variables (species A and B), the variables are
independent of each other; any association between
variables is likely due to chance and sampling error.”

Alternative Hypothesis:
"There is a significant (positive or negative)
association between variables; the association
between variables is likely not due to chance or
sampling error."
Chi-square Test
2. Collect raw data for the occurrence of each variable. This is often done via
random sampling using a quadrant.
In this example, there are five quadrants.
Determine: The number of
quadrants with both species present
• The number of quadrants with
Species A but not Species B
• The number of quadrants with
Species B but not Species A
• The number of quadrants with
neither species
• The number of quadrants with both
species present
Chi-square Test
4. Create a "contingency table" to display your results. In the Chi-Square test,
these are your OBSERVED values..
Chi-square Test
5. Determine what would be
EXPECTED assuming the species
are randomly distributed with
respect to each other.

Expected frequencies = (row

total X column total) / grand total
Chi-square Test
6. Now that you have OBSERVED
and EXPECTED values, apply the Chi-
Square formula in each part of the
contingency table by determining
(O-E)2 / E for each box.

•The final calculated chi-square value is

determined by summing the values:
X2 = 0.0 + 0.1 = 0.1 + 0.2 = 0.4
Chi-square Test
7. The calculated X2 value is than compared to the “critical value X2” found
in an X2 distribution table.
Degrees of Freedom = (number of rows - 1) X (number of columns - 1)
In our example, DF = (2-1) X (2-1) = 1 X 1 = 1
*the row and column for the total in the contingency table are not included
Chi-square Test
• If the calculated value is lower than the critical value in the table at the 0.05
level of significance, accept the null hypothesis and conclude that there is NO
significant association between the variables.
• If the calculated value is higher than the critical value in the table at
the 0.05 level of significance, reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there
IS a significant association between the variables.
Chi-square Test
• For example, with a DF=1, a value greater than 3.841 is required to be
considered statistically significant (at p = 0.05). Since the X2 we calculated (0.4)
is less than 3.841, there is NOT a significant association between Species A and
Species B. The location of Species A has no significant effect on the location of
Species B, any association between species is likely due to chance and sampling
error.
Chi-square Test
The presence or absence of two species of coral, A and B, was recorded in 60
quadrats (1 m2) on a coral reef.
Two hypotheses were established:
• H0 = There is no significant association between the distribution of coral
species A and B.
• HA = There is a significant association between species of coral A and B.

Observed Frequencies

Coral A present Coral A absent Total

Coral B present 28 12 40
Coral B absent 4 16 20
Total 32 28 60
Solution
Practice Question
You are studying an association between two species of flowering plants, the bell heather
(Erica cinerea) and the common heather (Calluna vulgaris) in a heathland ecosystem. Your
team conducted random quadrat sampling in different areas of the heathland and
recorded the presence or absence of each species within the quadrats. Your dataset
consists of a total of 100 quadrats, and the recorded observations are as follows:
• Bell heather present, common heather present = 30 quadrats
• Bell heather present, common heather absent = 20 quadrats
• Bell heather absent, common heather present = 15 quadrats
• Bell heather absent, common heather absent = 35 quadrats
Based on this data, determine whether there is a significant association between the bell
heather and the common heather.
Allelopathy in Plants
• Chemicals released into the environment where it affects the growth and
development of neighboring plants (deter competition)
Juglone inhibits the growth of nearby competitors.

The black walnut tree (Juglans nigra)

releases a chemical compound called
juglone into the soil, which acts as a potent
inhibitor, suppressing the growth of nearby
plants. Juglone inhibits key physiological
processes in competing plants, such as root
development and photosynthesis,
effectively creating a zone of reduced plant
diversity around the black walnut tree.
Allelopathy in Microbes - Secretion of antibiotics
• Chemicals released into the environment where it affects the growth and
development of neighboring microbes.

Penicillium rubens is a species of fungus

in the genus Penicillium and was the
first species known to produce the
molecule penicillin (antibiotic). This is
used to inhibit the growth of bacteria.
This means that P. rubens can compete
for space and food sources by releasing
an allelopathic molecule.
 Linking Questions

• What hat are the benefits of models in studying biology?

• What factors can limit capacity in biological systems?