You can use plants grown in pots in a growth chamber to investigate many ecological and evolutionary research questions. Identify an interesting ecological or evolutionary research question, then design an experiment to address this question using a plant system. To come up with your research question, think of questions related to topics covered in lecture. The following questions are very general, but might give you some ideas as you develop your own, more specific, question. • Which species in a group of species is the best intraspecific competitor? • Which species in a group of species is the best interspecific competitor? • Is the best intraspecific competitor also the best interspecific competitor? • Does competitive exclusion occur between two species with similar ecological niches? • Does the outcome of interspecific competition change in different environments, or is the best competitor always the best competitor under all environmental conditions? • Similar to the question above – Some pairs of species compete in favorable environments but facilitate (support) each other’s growth in poor habitat. Do any of our plant species do this? • Does the outcome of interspecific competition change depending on when the second species is introduced to the habitat? • Does the species richness of a community affect its invasibility? In other words, does the number of different species found in a community influence the growth of an invader introduced to the community? • Does the species richness of a community influence its stability during stressful environmental conditions? • Does the level of disturbance influence the number of species that can coexist in a habitat? (Testing the intermediate disturbance hypothesis) • Does mild herbivory influence the growth rate of plants? (Herbivory can be simulated by periodically snipping the plants a little.) • Does herbivory influence the outcome of competition between two species?
Evolution
The history and science of origin and evolution comprise two events, the beginning of life and expansion of life. Our earth originated about 4.5 billion years ago. The term evolution is derived from two Latin words and means the act of unfolding or unrolling. English philosopher Herbert Spencer first used it. Evolution is defined as the change in heritable traits of biological populations over successive generations. These traits are the manifestations of genes that are passed down from parent to offspring during reproduction.
Cladistics
Cladistics is a technique in the classification of organisms, where they are grouped into different clades. The proof for the relationships that are hypothesized is based on the shared derived characteristics known as synapomorphies. These characteristics do not exist in many of the distant ancestors and groups. The common ancestor along with its descendants is considered to be a part of the clade. The rate of closeness is directly proportional to the cladistic grouping and is useful in analyzing the evolutionary mechanism.
Outgroups
Outgroups are significant in studying cladistics or phylogenetics (that describe the evolutionary relationship between different organisms). Further, it is also important to understand the differences and similarities between different organisms.
Taxonomy
It is the branch of biology that works with the identification of organisms at first, then naming, and classification of them into phenetic or phylogenetic groups (a classification system). In other words, it is the scientific study of biological diversity and a part of systematic biology.
Phylogenetics
Phylogenetics is the scientific study of how various groups of organisms are related at the evolutionary level. It finds the relationship between various organisms based on their evolutionary similarities and differences. It is a part of the taxonomy. Although the taxonomic study is not only concerned about phylogeny but taxonomic studies are also concerned about the classification and nomenclature of the different individuals from different taxon.
You can use plants grown in pots in a growth chamber to investigate many ecological and evolutionary research
questions. Identify an interesting ecological or evolutionary research question, then design an experiment to address this
question using a plant system.
To come up with your research question, think of questions related to topics covered in lecture. The following questions
are very general, but might give you some ideas as you develop your own, more specific, question.
• Which species in a group of species is the best intraspecific competitor?
• Which species in a group of species is the best interspecific competitor?
• Is the best intraspecific competitor also the best interspecific competitor?
• Does competitive exclusion occur between two species with similar ecological niches?
• Does the outcome of interspecific competition change in different environments, or is the best competitor always the best
competitor under all environmental conditions?
• Similar to the question above – Some pairs of species compete in favorable environments but facilitate (support) each
other’s growth in poor habitat. Do any of our plant species do this?
• Does the outcome of interspecific competition change depending on when the second species is introduced to the
habitat?
• Does the species richness of a community affect its invasibility? In other words, does the number of different species
found in a community influence the growth of an invader introduced to the community?
• Does the species richness of a community influence its stability during stressful environmental conditions?
• Does the level of disturbance influence the number of species that can coexist in a habitat? (Testing the intermediate
disturbance hypothesis)
• Does mild herbivory influence the growth rate of plants? (Herbivory can be simulated by periodically snipping the plants a
little.)
• Does herbivory influence the outcome of competition between two species?
Experimental design is the process of planning and conducting a scientific experiment. It involves making decisions about the variables to be studied, the sample size and characteristics, and the methods for collecting and analyzing data. A well-designed experiment should allow for valid and reliable conclusions to be drawn from the data collected.
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