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Paramecium Lab Essay

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Discussion The purpose of the paramecium study was to observe how two species, P. aurelia and P. caudatum, interacted with each other. Could the two species coexist? Or would one dominate the other. Twice daily for two weeks each ecology lab sections counted the paramecium stock. Each section observed and counted P. aurelia and P. caudatum that were alone and in competition with each other. The raw data was collected, recorded on a master list, and the results were calculated and compiled. When two species are competing for the same resource only one of them will survive, while if they are without competition each will grow and survive. This theory dates back to the early 1900’s when G.F. Gause conducted the experiment. Figures 1,2, and 3 represent the average densities over two weeks when …show more content…

One way to allow two competing species to coexist are endosymbionts. “Endosymbionts are smaller symbiotic partners living inside a host organism, establishing endosymbiosis. The symbionts may live within the host's cells (intracellular) or outside cells (extracellular).” (Jeon 2011) According to Johann Muller, “Endosymbionts can thus mediate the coexistence of the two competitors for the same resource by providing a supplementary resource to its host. “(Muller 2012) When Johann Muller conducted the experiment, the two species were competing. P. bursaria with endosymbiont and a competitor were grown together. The endosymbiont supplied necessary nutrients that allowed P. bursaria to survive when it should have been out competed. The importance of this showed that other factors could influence how two competing species can coexist. If endosymbionts were mixed into the competing P. aurelia and P. caudatum stocks for the ecology lab experiment, the results could have shown a coexisting relationship between the

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