Population Ecology Lab Report

1 BioLab 3 Population Ecology Lab Report Asa Jasani, 1/27/24, Bio 1409-22201 The lab report is unique each semester and checks have been put into place to ensure students are doing their own work. Copying from other students or from outside sources will result in a zero on the accompanying lab quiz. Introduction 1. Compare the average consumption of an American to someone who lives in Ethiopia. --- The average is .00017 because 499 Ethiopians divided by 3 million Americans makes that average. I. Population Growth 1. Go to Lab, Section I, Exercise 1 and review an investigation related to natural population growth. What variable will affect the number of yeast cells? --- The time the yeast is being incubated 2. In the table below, enter the number of yeast cells for each time interval. Total the columns and divide by 5 to determine the average number of yeast cells for the samples. Reminder: all average counts after 15 hours must be multiplied by 10 to account for the dilution factor. Population density data 3. Construct a line graph of the average yeast population density at 3-hour intervals. Sign, date and prepare an image of your graph and include it with this lab report. 4. Why were five squares used to count the cells? --- Makes it a little east to count the cells © 2024 Access Learning Systems SP24-B 1 Age of Culture Hours Population Density Total Average Population Density 1 2 3 4 5 0 0 0 2 2 1 5 1 3 3 2 1 2 2 10 2 6 7 3 6 4 5 25 4 9 11 11 10 9 9 50 10 12 36 25 23 20 20 124 25 15 53 58 47 50 49 257 51 18 14 14 14 12 10 64 128 21 30 28 26 25 22 131 262 24 47 45 49 41 37 219 438 27 37 41 41 41 42 202 404 30 39 38 38 35 31 181 362

2 5. In Lab, Section I, Exercise 2 you will complete an activity pertaining to theoretical population growth. Fill in the table below by doubling each population to find each population size. Use the formula Y = 2 x-1 where Y is the population size and X is the generation. For example, 2 0 = 1. 6. Construct a line graph of theoretical population growth by plotting generation on the X-axis and population size on the Y-axis. Sign, date and prepare an image of your graph and include it with this lab report. 7. How does the shape of the actual population growth curve compare to the theoretical growth curve? --- The actual population growth curve often deviates from the idealized theoretical growth curve, displaying fluctuations, irregularities, and variations influenced by environmental factors, human interventions, and unforeseen events. II. Population Dynamics © 2024 Access Learning Systems SP24-B 2 Generatio n Population Size Generatio n Population Size 1 2 0 = 1 6 32 2 2 7 64 3 4 8 128 4 8 9 256 5 16 10 512

4 III. Carrying Capacity © 2024 Access Learning Systems SP24-B 4 Generatio n Descendants 2 4 3 16 4 64 5 256 6 1024 7 4096 8 16384 9 65536 10 262144

5 1. What do you think will eventually control human population growth? --- The combination of global efforts to improve education, healthcare, and access to family planning, along with socio-economic development, is likely to contribute to controlling human population growth in the future. 2. What is the relationship between population growth and the spread of contagious disease? Explain. --- The population would start to decrease because there would be more fatalities and would kill most of the population. IV. Technology and the Ecosystem 1. In Lab Section IV, Exercise 5, describe how environmental zones of the area contributed to ecological stability. --- The environmental zones became stabilized because of malaria. 2. What factor initially stabilized the human population size? --- The advent of agriculture and the shift from a nomadic to settled lifestyle initially stabilized the human population size. © 2024 Access Learning Systems SP24-B 5