Introduction
The most basic definition of ecology is the study of population in nature. The most general attribute that a population has is its size, consequently this is the focus of many ecological models.
Objectives
In this Preliminary Activity, you will use a spreadsheet to model a simple exponential growth for one species. You will then explore the effects of carrying capacity, competition, and predators on population dynamics.
After completing the Preliminary Activity, you will first use reference sources to find out more about population dynamics before you choose and investigate a researchable question. Some topics to consider in your reference search are:
- populations
- communities
- herbivores
- predators
- population dynamics
- carrying capacity
Correlations
Teaching to an educational standard? This experiment supports the standards below.
- International Baccalaureate (IB)/Environmental Systems and Societies
- 2.1 Species and Populations
- International Baccalaureate (IB) 2025/Biology
- C4.1.5—Carrying capacity and competition for limited resources
- C4.1.6—Negative feedback control of population size by density-dependent factors
- C4.1.7—Population growth curves
- C4.1.8—Modelling of the sigmoid population growth curve
- C4.1.9—Competition versus cooperation in intraspecific relationships
- C4.1.10—A community as all of the interacting organisms in an ecosystem
- C4.1.11—Herbivory, predation, interspecific competition, mutualism, parasitism and pathogenicity as categories of interspecific relationship within communities
- C4.1.16—Predator–prey relationships as an example of density-dependent control of animal populations
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This experiment is #18 of Investigating Biology through Inquiry. The experiment in the book includes student instructions as well as instructor information for set up, helpful hints, and sample graphs and data.
