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Title
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Competing Adaptations
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Type
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Primary: Laboratory
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Operation
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Resilient Planet
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Mission:
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Mission 2: Survivors
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Print Page
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32
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Subjects
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Science | Earth and space science | Evolution | Adaptations | Life science | Ecosystems | Competition | Growth and development | Life cycles | Plants | Science as inquiry | Science process skills | Collecting data | Experimenting | Measuring | Observing | Predicting
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Grades
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5 | 6 | 7 | 8
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Keywords
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Bob Ballard, salt, dome, Flower Garden Bank National Marine Sanctuary, climax, community, communities, sea, floor, substrate, coral, competition, plant, succession, seed, wildflower, germination, adaptation, observation, resource, disruption, monoculture, root, structure
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Duration
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00:30:00 (HH:MM:SS)
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Audience
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Teachers | Elementary Grades | Junior High
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Created On
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4/20/2008
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From: Resilient Planet Mission 2: Survivors (pp: 32) |
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Competing Adaptations This lab allows students to observe how competition affects primary succession and observe the adaptations that plant have that allow them to compete in the process of succession. |
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When Bob Ballard explores the salt domes in The Flower Garden Bank National Marine Sanctuary, he is observing a climax community. As the salt domes pushed through the sea floor, they provided new substrate for pioneering species like the juvenile forms of corals. More organisms drifted into the Gulf of Mexico with the currents from the Atlantic Ocean. Conditions continued to change with each succeeding community until succession slowed. The final community in the ecological process of succession is called the climax community.
In this activity, you will observe how competition affects primary succession. You will observe the adaptations of plants that allow them to compete in the process of succession.
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| Materials |
- Lab 1 Data Sheet
- marker
- 6 clear plastic containers (large enough to grow multiple seedlings)
- clear plastic wrap
- aquarium gravel or pebbles
| - fresh, clean potting soil
- one package each of three different wildflower seeds
- grass seed
- water
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| Lab Prep |
- Label the containers Wildflower #1, Wildflower #2, Wildflower #3, Wildflower Mix, Grass, and Grass-Wildflower Mix.
- Fill each container 1/3 full of gravel for drainage. Then, fill each container to the top with fresh clean potting soil.
- Isolate and observe a sample of each seed type. Evaluate the characteristics and adaptations that you think would contribute to successful dispersal and germination. Make predictions about what characteristics you think will help each seed to succeed. Develop a table that will allow you to compare the adaptations observed in the seeds.
- Follow the directions on the package for planting the seeds. For the mixture containers, thoroughly mix equal parts of the seeds together before planting. Add an equal amount of water to each container and cover each container with plastic wrap. Place all the containers in a warm, well-lit windowsill or under a grow lamp.
- Check daily to make sure the soil is moist. Make sure that you add an equal amount of water to all cups. At the first sign of germination, remove the plastic wrap. Record the date.
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| Make Observations |
- Compare and measure the growth of the plants daily for a period of 4 weeks. Record your observations and answer the questions on Lab 1 Data Sheet.
- For what resources are the wildflowers and the grass competing? Do you see evidence that the resources in any of the containers may be running out? What makes you think this?
- What adaptations do your plants have to compete for resources? If any of the plants died, what do you think caused this to happen?
- What differences would you observe between an area that is a climax community and one going through succession after a major disruption?
- Select one or two of the wildflower plants and a grass plant from the monocultures and compare their root structures. What differences in the root structures might make one plant better adapted for growth than another?
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| Extension |
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Let plants grow to the flowering stage and observe the characteristics that allow them to succeed. Analyze the results in comparison to the predictions you made in Make Observations.
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Journal Question
If your plants represent the pioneer species for the ecosystem, predict what characteristics the next organisms would require to out-compete these pioneers. What would have to happen for the pioneers to become the climax community? | |
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