SBI4U POPULATION DYNAMICS — PART IV

Interactions Within Communities

1a) Ecological Niche

An ecological niche is an organism’s biological characteristics, including use of and interactions with biotic
and abiotic resources in its environment. This may include the animal’s diet, its predators, the way it
reproduces, the temperature range it tolerates, its habitat, behavioural responses, and any other factors that
describe its patterns of living.

1b) Fundamental Niche vs. Realized Niche

Ideally, if resources were abundant and no competition with other species existed, an organism would come
close to fill fulling its fundamental niche — which is composed of biological characteristics of an organisms
and the set of resources that individuals in the population are theoretically capable of using under ideal
conditions. For example, a lion faces interspecific competition (interactions btwn individuals of different
species for an essential common resource that is in limited supply) with vultures and hyena for similar
resources and therefore, only occupies a portion of its fundamental niche called its realized niche.

A realized niche refers to the biological characteristics of the organism and the resources individuals in a
population actually use under the prevailing environmental conditions. For example, you may have the
potential of being team captain but due to other competition within the environment, may have to settle for
being an assistant captain.

2a) Five different categories of interactions btwn species

Interactions btwn individuals of the same species and among individuals of different species in a community
have an important influence on population dynamics of individual species. Symbiosis includes a variety of
interactions in which two species live together in close, usually physical, association. Parasitism, mutualism,
and commensalism are three general types of symbiotic interactions.
Interaction Effect of Populations
Competition Interaction may be detrimental
to one or both species
Predation Interaction is beneficial to one
species and usually lethal to the
other
Symbiosis - Parasitism Interaction is beneficial to one
species and harmful but not
usually lethal to the other
- Mutualism Interaction is beneficial to both
species
- Commensalism Interaction is beneficial to one
species and the other is often
unaffected
2b) Symbiosis?

Symbiosis includes a variety of interactions in which two species live together in close, usually physical,
association. Parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism are three general types of symbiotic interactions.

2c) Three types of Symbiosis?

Parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism are three general types of symbiotic interactions.
Parasitism: Interaction is beneficial to one species and harmful but not usually lethal to the other
Mutualism: Interaction is beneficial to both species
Commensalism: Interaction is beneficial to one species and the other is often unaffected

3a) Interspecific Competition?

Interspecific competition refers to interactions btwn individuals of different species for an essential common
resource that is in limited supply.

3b) Two ways interspecific competition can occur? Include examples.

Interspecific competition occurs btwn individuals of different populations and can serve to restrict
population growth. Interspecific competition can occur in two ways — actual fighting over resources is
called interference competition and the consumption or use of shared resources is referred to as exploitative
competition. An example of interference competition is the fighting that occurs between tree swallows and
bluebirds over birdhouses. An example of exploitative competition occurs when both arctic foxes and
snowy owls prey on the same pop. of arctic hares.

3c) G.F. Gause?

The strongest competition occurs between two species whom niches overlap. The more niches that
overlap, the greater the competition between the two population of species, as demonstrated by Gause. In
1934, Gause tested the logistic population growth theory — that two species with similar requirements
could not coexist in the same community. He believed that one species would consume most of the
resources and reproduce efficiently, driving the other species to extinction. He concluded that if resources
are limited, no two species can remain in competition for exactly the same niche indefinitely. AKA Gause’s
Principle.

4) Three possible outcomes of Interspecific Competition?

The results of interspecific competition take on several forms: the population size of the weaker competitor
could decline. One species could change its behavior so that it is able to survive using different resources.
Individuals in one population could migrate to another habitat where resources are more plentiful. This
would cause competition to decline.

5) Resource Partitioning?
One way that individuals of species occupying the same niche can avoid or reduce competition for similar
resources is by resource partitioning. To minimize competition for food, several species of Anolis lizard
partition their tree habitats by occupying different perching sites. Some lizards use canopy while others
occupy twigs on the periphery of the forest, the base of trunks, or even the grassy areas near trees. This
enables the lizards to reduce interspecific competition so that they can coexist in the same geographical
area.

6) Do resource partitioning and character displacement provide DIRECT or INDIRECT evidence for
competition? EXPLAIN.

Although resource partitioning and character displacement provide indirect evidence for competition, filed
experiments demonstrate more clearly the effect of competition on the density and dispersion of
populations. Interspecific interactions can have different effects on pop. densities involved. In competition,
population densities of both species are affected.

PREDATION

1) Read the first paragraph and summarize it.

Predation is an example of an interspecific interaction in which the population density of one species (the
predator) increases while the population density of the other species (the prey) decreases. Predator-prey
relationships can have significant effects on the size of both predator and prey pops. When the prey pop.
increases, there is more food for the predators and this abundance can result in an increase in pop. of
predators. As the predator pop. increases, there is a decline in the prey pop. unless there is access to
another type of food resource.

2) Copy Figure 8.

Some predator-prey relationships coexist at steady levels and display a cyclical pattern. The two species
tend to cycle slightly out of sync, with the predator patterns lagging behind the prey patterns. In this model
of a predator-prey cycle, adjustments to pop. size can be seen during A to E. This graph illustrates a sin
wave. At A, when the prey population density is low, the predators have little food and their pop. declines.
A reduction in the predator pop. allows the prey pop. to recover and increase. The predator pop. does not
increase again until they begin to reproduce, at B. Prey and predator pops. grow until the increase in the
predator pop. causes the prey pop. to decline from (C to E). As the predator pop. increases, more prey are
devoured. The resulting low density in the prey pop. leads to starvation among predators, slowing down its
pop. growth rate at D.
 3) What sorts of factors can influence/alter the numbers of predators or prey in nature so that the
actual changes in predators and prey differ from the sin model?

Amounts of other resources for the predator, variations in weather and interference of humans on biological
systems all have an impact. Decreasing the population of both species or increasing only one.
Increasing/decreasing space.