Paramecium

Virtual Lab: Population Biology
How to get there:
Go to the following website:
http://glencoe.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0078757134/383928/BL_04.html
If you do not want to type all that in you can go to type "biology mader aris" into google. Once you are there and see
the textbook cover (bird and chicks) go to the tab at the top that says "resources". Scroll down to "Chap 46", open that
page and click on the link to "Virtual Lab - Population Biology".
Purpose: In this investigation you will conduct an experiment and grow two species of the protozoan Paramecium,
alone and together. You will then compare growth curves of the populations of each species.
Objectives: (1) Demonstrate how competition for natural resources in the environment can affect population growth.
(2) Explain how availability of resources, such as food, can be limiting for populations.
Instructions: This lab has instructions on the left hand side and also contains pages to enter data and questions. I
typed out the online instructions below in more detail for clarity. Also, instead of typing directly into the online data table
and journal, I request that you write your answers in the data table on the next page and answer the journal questions
on the following pages of this packet.
1. Read over the objectives of the lab on the left hand side of the webpage.
2. Click on "More Information" to read about Paramecium and about population growth and competition.
3. Answer Journal Questions #1.
4. Begin the experiment by filling the test tubes with samples from the stock cultures in the flasks. Click the bulb at the
top of the pipette to fill the pipette with culture. Then click and drag the pipette to a test tube. Fill the three test tubes
with Paramecium aurelia, Paramecium caudatum, and /or a combination of both. Note: There is rice in the test tubes.
The rice is food for bacteria, which in turn will be food for the Paramecium. The two species of Paramecium do not
prey upon each...