<p> DATA TABLE: ECOLOGY LESSON 1</p><p>Lesson 1: 100 step Plant A Plant B Step 1 Prediction: starting population 4500 6500 Prediction: ending population 4000 6000 Starting population 6114 3427 Ending population 10000 0</p><p>Lesson 1: 200 step Plant A Plant B Herbivore A Step 2 Prediction: starting population 10000 0 5000 Prediction: ending population 4000 3000 7500 Starting population 10000 0 0 Ending population 3333 0 2223</p><p>Lesson 1: Resetting of simulation Plant A Plant B Herbivore A Step 2 Prediction: starting population 3500 4000 2000 Prediction: ending population 3000 4500 2600 Starting population 5256 3700 1312 Ending population 3335 4998 2055</p><p>Responses to questions</p><p>Lesson 1 Q and A: 1. What assumptions does this model make about co-dominance as well as the general terrain of the ecosystem?</p><p>It assumes that only one or the other of the plant species will survive. There appears to be no co-habitation of the plants and that the terrain is only supportive on one plant species not both.</p><p>2. Do you find one producer to be dominant? Why might one producer be dominant over another? </p><p>Yes I found only one producer to be dominant – plant A. This might be the more dominant plant as it started out with a larger populace than plant B. Also it could be assumed that the terrain was not supportive of plant B for its survival.</p><p>Lesson 2 Q and A: 1. Does adding the herbivore establish a more equal field? Is one producer still dominant over the other? Why might one producer be dominant over another?</p><p>Yes the addition of an herbivore allows a more equal field. Plant B becomes the dominant plant due to the fact the herbivore is opening up more room and resources (son, soil, water etc) for plant B to grow. In this instance Plant B was the dominant produce due to the herbivore eating Plant A and keeping its numbers down. </p><p>2. If the simulation included decomposers, how would your current results change?</p><p>Decomposers may change the results dependant on which of the produces benefits most from the food it produces. Therefore, whichever plant benefits the most will become the more dominant.</p><p>3. How do producer population numbers with the presence of an herbivore compare to the primary colonizer model?</p><p>The producer population is easily comparable due to the number of their populations recorded before and after the introduction of the herbivore. When there are no herbivores plant A is completely dominate allowing none of plant B species to survive. However, when the herbivore is introduced plant B becomes the dominant species after the 100 step mark when the simulator has been reset. When the simulator has not been reset plant B population is still extinct, so even with an herbivore introduced plant B still cannot establish any population.</p><p>Notes I reran the simulation for Lesson 2 and ran it at 200 steps and recorded the results. I did this to provide some data for the table in the Primary Connections variable table I will also be filling out for this experiment. I also did this out of curiosity to see if plant B could come back to life in one simulation and then to see what happens when both plants start in the ecosystem when the herbivore is introduced.</p>