WMSU-ISMP-GU-003.

00
Effective Date: 7-DEC-2016

ACTIVITY 7

INTRASPECIFIC AND INTERSPECIFIC COMPETITION IN PLANTS

I. Introduction

One of the ways in which organisms may interact is competition. In this

lab, we will investigate the interaction between seedling plants. We will look at two
forms of competition. In the first experiment, individuals compete only with
members of their same species; we call this intraspecific competition. In the second
experiment, individuals of one species compete against individuals of another
species, and we call this interspecific competition. These competitive interactions
shape the evolution of populations, the growth and ultimate size of populations, and
factors controlling the reproductive success of individuals within a population.

Our two study species will be competing for space, food, and light. To examine
intraspecific competition, we will grow one plant species at different densities and
measure the size of the plants after 3 weeks. Second, we will examine interspecific
competition by growing both study species in different ratios. For both experiments, we
will focus on the effects of competition on individual plants, which we can estimate by
looking at the growth rate and weight of plants from different treatments.
.

II. Objectives:

At the end of this activity, students should be able to:

1. Examine how intraspecific and interspecific competition affect seedling

growth.

III. Materials:

- Seeds of study species A

- Seeds of study species B
- 10 pots
- Potting soil
- Tape and markers

IV. Work/Practice Exercise

A. Intraspecific Competition

1. Label 5 pots with the following information: group initials, plant species, and
number of seeds.
2. Fill each pot with soil.
3. Plant either 2, 3, 5, 10, or 18 seeds of Species A in each pot. After
germination, the plants will be thinned to 1, 2, 4, 8, or 16 plants per pot.

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(Initially, we plant extra seeds because some may not germinate.) Try to space them
evenly.
4. Top the seeds with about 1 cm of soil

B. Interspecific Competition

1. Label 5 pots with group initials, and the number and type of seeds
2. Fill each pot with soil
3. Plant seeds of Species A and Species B as follows

Planting densities Densities after thinning

0A : 10B 0A : 8B
4A : 8B 2A : 6B
6A : 6B 4A : 4B
8A : 4B 6A : 2B
10A: 0B 8A : 0B

4. Top the seeds with about 1 cm of soil.

After a week: Intraspecific Competition

1. Count and record the number of plants in each pot and enter in Table 1 in your
worksheet.
2. Count and record the average number of leaves per plant.
3. Cut off all shoots at ground level. Weigh all plants together.
 Do this step quickly! Plants will start losing water weight after they’re cut.
4. Remove all leaves from each plant, and weigh all the leaves from all the plants
in the plot.
 Do this step quickly!
5. Measure the length of each stem.
6. For each treatment, calculate the average number of leaves per plant, average
mass per plant, average leaf mass per plant, and average stem length.

After a week: Interspecific Competition

1. For each pot, count and record the number of plants of each species and enter in
Table 2.
2. . Cut off all shoots at ground level. Separate them by species.
3. Weigh all plants of Species A together, and all plants of Species B
together (quickly!).
Calculate the average weight per plant for each species

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ACTIVITY 7

INTRASPECIFIC AND INTERSPECIFIC COMPETITION IN PLANTS

WORKSHEET

Name Date submitted

Section Class Schedule

week when planted at different densities.

Table 1. Growth of Species A plants after 1

Start # of End # of Average # of Average Average leaf Average

Plants Plants leaves/plant mass/plant(g) Mass/plant(g) stem
length(cm)
1 1 2 0g 0g 2.3cm

2 2 2 1g 0g 1.4cm

4 2 2.2 1g 1g 2.2cm

8 4 2.5 1g 1g 2.4cm

16 7 2.6 1g 2g 2.4

Table 2. Growth of Species A and B plants after 1 week when planted in different ratios

Start Ratio End Ratio Species A average Species B average

A:B A:B mass/plant (g) mass/plant (g)
0:8 0:4 0g 3g

2:6 0:5 0g 4g

4:4 1:4 0g 3g

6:2 4:2 1g 2g

8:0 5:0 2g 0g

Discussion Question/s:

1. In the intraspecific competition experiment, how did density affect plant growth?
(Discuss seedling mortality, plant mass, leaf number and mass, and stem length
.
- As seen in our table 1. It shows a failed result because after 1 week of observing.

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The required number of seeds were planted, but only a few sprouted in the five
different pots.

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2. Create a graph showing how density affects seedling growth( Figure 1)

3. Create a graph showing how the ratio of Species A to Species B influences seedling
growth. (Your graph should have 2 lines, one for Species A and one for Species B-Figure
2)

Growth of Brassica rapa and Abelmoschus escu-

lentus in different ratios
4 4 4
3.5
Average mass/ plant (g)

3 3
2.5
2 2 2
1.5
1 1
0.5
0 0 0 0 0
0. :4 0. : 5 1. : 4 4 .: 2 5. : 0
ratio

Brassica rapa Abelmoschus esculentus

Competition can be a powerful force affecting the abundance of species.

Competition will reduce the amount of available resources to each species, when that
resource is in short supply. In most of the cases the effects of competition are
asymmetrical or unequal. That is, one species is harmed more than the other. This has
been proved in this activity and was shown in this table.
As you can see, the table shows that the number of survivors is directly
proportional to the number of seeds planted. When there were a greater number of one
species, that species had a higher survival rate. These results are caused by the fact that
when one species has a much higher density than another then the higher one will
usually out compete the lower one (Raynaud and Leadley, 2004)

4. Which species was more affected by interspecific competition? How do you

know?

The species that was more affected by the interspecific competition is the Species
A which is the Brassica rapa or the pechay because the species B has the higher
average mass of plant. As what we have observed with the growth of the speceis when
planted in different ratios is that the Species B seem to have higher growth rate than the
Species A when they have a higher density. The result shows that the mean weight per
plant decreases as density increases.

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Conclusion:

In conclusion, we have determine that the competition is generally understood to

refer to the negative effects on plant growth or fitness caused by the presence of
neighbors, usually by reducing the availability of resources. Competition can be an
important factor controlling plant communities, along with resources, disturbance,
herbivory, and mutualisms. Results in intraspecific competition shows that competition
occurs between same plant species that are grown together then they will compete with
each other for the same resources, whereas in interspecific competition, competition
occurs in between different species, showing individuals are both negatively affected by
this relationship.
Competition is the process that arises, when organisms, wheter from the same
speceis (Intra) or of different species from each other (inter) share common, essential
resources and as a result, experience pressure when it comes to growth, survival and
reproduction.

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