Reference no: EM133293624
Assignment:
Answer the questions for the following scenarios using only the information given. If the answer for a scenario is intraspecific or interspecific competition, be sure to use those more specific terms rather than just "competition" As a reminder, pollen and flower pistils contain the plant gametes and seeds contain plant embryos (offspring).
1. A species of squirrels in Forest Lawn Cemetery eat maple seeds. They consume the entire seed immediately when they find it, so the seed is never able to germinate. A biologist studying the interaction notes that the number of new maple seedlings decreases when the number of squirrels increases, leading to a reduced reproduction rate and population size for the maple trees. What is the interaction described between the squirrel population and the maple tree population?
2. Bumblebees serve as pollinators of the plant, goldenrod. A specific population of bumblebees that normally transfer pollen between flowers have adapted so that they eat the pollen without moving from plant to plant, such that a single bumblebee will eat all the pollen on one plant, clean itself thoroughly, and not transfer any to the next plant it visits. While this interaction is not lethal to the goldenrod, its fitness decreases and the number of bumblebees increases. What is the interaction between goldenrod and bumblebees?
3. As humans began to store grain, mice found it as a reliable food source and ate it. When resources were scarce, both the grain-eating mice and humans ate the stored grain and limited each other's population growth size. What was the interaction between humans and mice?
4. In Western New York, white-tailed deer eat much of the perennial vegetation (plants that live year-round) during the winter. Often not all deer are able to find enough food, and many die. The deer of Western New York that survive the winter average a lower mass (weight) than compared to the white-tailed deer in the western US, where there is plenty of food throughout the winter. What is the interaction between the deer in the western New York population?
5. Orchids are a diverse group of flowering plants comprising the family Orchidaceae. Some orchids are epiphytes, which means they grow by clinging to other structures, usually a much larger tree. The size disparity means that the presence of the orchid does not affect the growth or metabolism of the tree. However, by clinging onto the larger trees, the roots of the orchids are able to remain above ground (aerial roots) and absorb more moisture from the atmosphere, which benefits the orchids. What is the interaction between an orchid and the tree on which it lives?
6. The emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) is an Asian beetle that was introduced into the United States from China around the year 2000. The adults of this beetle feed on the leaves of ash trees and the larvae (immature stage) of this beetle feed on the inner bark of ash trees. As a result, the emerald ash borer harms ash trees and some, but not all, ash trees die as a result.
In efforts to control this beetle, the U.S. government and other agencies have introduced a tiny wasp (Atanycolus cappaerti) to regions where the emerald ash borer occurs. The adult female wasps find emerald ash borer larvae and lay their eggs inside the larvae. The wasp larvae then hatch from these eggs and consume the emerald ash borer larvae from the inside killing it in the process.