BIOL 123: Ecology Virtual Lab 

Objectives: Following this lab you should be able to…​

1. Determine how experience influences success in the wild
2. Understand the impact of competition and niche selection ​
3. Review a general history of ecology

Overview:

• Exercise I. Community Ecology/Virtual Barnacles

• ​Exercise II. The History of Ecology (in brief)

​Before you begin! Open the Post-Lab
Follow the directions closely so you know what to put in your Post-Lab to receive full credit for this online activity.​

• Exercise I
• Exercise II

<

>

Exercise I. Community Ecology/Virtual BarnAcles

No single species exists alone. Each is dependent on, and in competition with, others. The diverse species interacting in a specific area are referred to as a biological community. The study of the complex web of relationships among those different species is referred to as community ecology, which focuses on things like competition, predator-prey relationships and succession.

Joseph H. Connell is a renowned community ecologist and has had a profound impact on the entire discipline of ecology. His work and its implications have become so broadly known it is difficult to imagine what the field would have been like had he pursued a different career. Connell's early research on competition between barnacle species in Scotland was seminal for two reasons. First, this classic body of work, published in Ecology and Ecological Monographs in 1961, remains one of the finest studies of the effects of interspecific competition. But, perhaps more important, it became the cornerstone of an entire school in ecology, one that advocates manipulative field experimentation whenever possible. -Written by Sally J. Holbrook ​

In this virtual ecology lab Connell’s 1961 classic competition experiment is modeled. You will explore the fundamental and realized niches of two species of barnacles, Chthamalus and Balanus. One species can grow at a wider range in depth but can be out-competed, while the other species is limited to deeper rock. You can also cause sea level to change simulating global warming.

1. Read the background information carefully, you will be tested on it on the final exam.
2. The tutorial is important! Don't pass it over or you will find the experimental portion extremely frustration!
3. Run four experiments over 14 days each. Be ready to take a selfie with your data-screen at the end of each experiment. Use this data table in excel to record your data. You will copy/paste it into your Post-Lab. 
   1. ​The first is your "control." Do not change the standard settings.
   2. Increase or decrease the population of Balanus OR Thais
   3. Increase or decrease the population of Chthamalus OR Thais
   4. Increase sea level
4. Complete your post-lab. Include your selfies and data table and answer the questions provided

Click here to open the virtual lab.

The history of ecology

1. Download the article from the sidebar.
2. Read over it carefully.
3. Answer the accompanying questions in the post-lab.

Click here for the article.