Name:_________________________________________Date:___________________

IB Biology

STUDY OF PLANT POPULATIONS

Ecological communities are built on the interactions between the creatures (both plants
and animals) that live there and the physical environment that surrounds them. The
living creatures, or biotic factors, interact as predators, prey and competitors for
resources. The physical environment, or abiotic factors, such as water, sunlight,
climate, temperature, soil and oxygen are part of what determine how many living
creatures can be supported in the ecosystem. In particular, the more sunlight and water
that is available in an area the more different kinds of plants and animals can live in that
area. To understand this, picture the difference between a desert and a tropical
rainforest. The desert gets little water and therefore not many plants can grow there, so
not many animals can live there. In contrast, a tropical rainforest gets plenty of both
sunlight and rain and is therefore lush with a wide variety of both plants and animals.
Because of this, the tropical rainforest is said to have a high biodiversity. Biodiversity
is a measure of the number and variety of different plant and animal species that live in
an ecosystem. A high biodiversity leads to a more stable ecosystem because there is a
wider variety of food and shelter/nesting resources for creatures to use. If there is a
shortage of one, they can turn to another and still survive.

When studying an ecosystem, ecologists — scientists that study natural communities —

first try to survey what populations of organisms naturally live there. They then also
measure how many of each creature lives there. This is referred to as the population
density of that species. Ecologists measure population density by counting the number
of each species in a sample area, called a quadrat. If they count the population size in a
number of quadrats chosen at random around the ecosystem, scientists can estimate
how many of each species live in the whole ecosystem. The population size of each
creature that the environment can support is called the carrying capacity of that
community. The carrying capacity is how many of a certain species that can survive in
an area given the resources (food, water, and nesting sites) available.

In this lab, we are going to practice the technique of measuring populations in a study
area using quadrat sampling. We will then compare the results of two different
populations using statistical analysis.

PROCEDURE

1. Explore the area of study to find examples of common plant species that can be
identified using the species key.

2. Choose two species to investigate. How are these species distinguished from one
another?

3. Mark out a 10 m by 10 m study area using a tape measure.

4. Draw a map of the larger area with the study area identified. Draw any large
features that happen to fall in your study area, such as trees, rocks, pavement, etc.
Also indicate abiotic factors that may influence the distribution of species (sunlight,
water, soil type, etc.).

5. Working in pairs, use a random number generator to generate x and y coordinates

for 4 points.

6. Place the quadrat at your first point and count the number of individuals of each
species under investigation. Decide in advance which two edges of the quadrat are "in"
and which two are "out". Repeat for your other points. Record data in the data table on
the next page. We will compile data from each of the 5 groups for a total of 20
quadrats.

Map:
Title:__________________________________________________________________
Quadrat size:_____________________

Species A: Species B:

Quadrat Individuals Individuals Individuals Individuals Notes/Observations

Coordinates per quadrat per m2 per quadrat per m2
(+ ) (+ )
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
Mean Mean
SD SD

Part 1
1. Which data are more variable? How do you know?

2. Using EXCEL, conduct a t-test to determine if there is a significant difference in

populations of Species A and B in the study area.

H0=

d.f.=

confidence=

3. Result:

Part 2

Populations are often unevenly distributed in an area because certain parts of the area
are more suitable to a species than others. If two species live in the same areas of a
habitat, then they will likely be found in the same quadrats. This is called a positive
association. Species can also have a negative association (are not found in the same
areas of a habitat) or be independent of one another.

The chi-squared (2) test is used to determine if there is an association between two
species. This test can be used if the samples were randomly selected and all of the
expected frequencies are greater than five.

1. Complete the following:

H0:

H1:
2. Complete the contingency table for the observed frequencies of each species. Enter
the number of quadrats containing or not containing Species A and Species B (non-
shaded areas). Calculate the row and column totals. Do not complete the shaded
columns yet.

Species A Expected (O-E)2 Species A Expected (O-E)2 Row

present frequency E absent frequency E Totals
Species B
present
Species B
absent
Column
Totals

3. Calculate the expected frequencies for each of the four possibilities above. Assume
that the species are independently distributed. Use the following formula and enter the
results in the center columns (light shading) above.

Expected frequency = row total x column total

grand total

4. Calculate: (observed - expected)2 and write values in the darker-shaded columns.

expected

5. The formula to calculate chi-squared appears below. Most of the work has been
done in the table above. Calculate chi-squared by adding the numbers in the 4 darker-
shaded columns.

2 =∑ (O-E)2
E

2 =

6. Calculate the number of degrees of freedom:

d.f. = (number of rows-1)(number of columns-1)

d.f. =
7. Look up the critical value for 2 with the degrees of freedom calculated in #6 and a
significance level of 5%. Compare the critical value to the 2 value calculated in #5.
Reject the null hypothesis if 2 is greater than the critical value. Accept the null
hypothesis if 2 is less than or equal to the critical value.

Critical value:

Accept or reject null hypothesis?

Explain what this means:

References:

Allott, A. and Mindorff, D. 2014. IB Biology Course Book: 2014 Edition. Oxford, UK:
Oxford University Press.

Foglia, K. 2008. Study of population density on a suburban lawn. Obtained on

Sepember 1, 2014 from http://www.explorebiology.com/documents/LE/
LabPopulationDensity2008.pdf

Taylor, S. 2009. Comparing the populations of a plant species in two areas. Obtained
on September 1, 2014 from http://nandin123.wikispaces.com/file/view/
BioCamp+2009+Full+Handbook.pdf