Competition Todaysquestions: (onemoretopicinbehavioralecology kin selection) (one more topic in behavioral ecology =kinselection) I. Howdoescompetitionwork?(theory) II.

Observationalstudiesofcompetition II Observational studies of competition III. Experimentalstudiesofcompetition

Howdoeskinselectionwork? Question:Whendoallelesthatleadtoaltruismincreasein frequencyinapopulation? frequency in a population? Answer:Whentheyincreasethefitnessofrelated individuals. i di id l Directfitness Direct fitness = Production of offspring, and preservation of them. Indirectfitness= Production of relatives over and beyond, their fitness
without help.

Inclusivefitness= Combination of both.

Br>C Altruism happens when close relatives receive a large benefit, but it's low cost for the altruist to provide help.

I.

Howdoescompetitionwork?(theory)

A.Whyarefundamentalandrealizednichesdifferent?

% %used

low

Rangeofresourceshigh

B.Nichedifferentiation(resourcepartitioning) B Niche differentiation (resource partitioning) Startofcompetition: SpeciesASpeciesB

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Low

Elevationhigh

Aftermanygenerations: SpeciesASpeciesB
Competition is bad. It's better for them to have niche differentiation so they don't have to compete for resource.

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Low

Elevationhigh

B.Symmetricandasymmetriccompetition

Av veragef fitness SpeciesAA+BSpeciesB Species A A+B Species B onlyonly

Populati ionsize e D.Competitiveexclusion Time P Populat tionsize e Time

G.fuliginosa onLosHermanos G f li i L H

II.Observational studiesofcompetition studies of competition A.Character displacementin Galpagosfinches

Thespecies g p graphedhere feedonseeds; largebeaks= largeseeds large seeds

60 40 20 0
G.fortis G f i onDaphneMajor D h M j

60 40 20 0 60 40 20 0
Bothspecies(SantaMara,SanCristbal)

6810121416 Beakdepth(mm)

B.Criticismsofobservationalstudies Nametwootherplausiblehypothesesotherthan competitionthatcouldexplainthispattern.

Ecological opportunity, both species seem to have found more resources in two different areas.

Both species have morphological innovation that allows them to exploit new resources. Drift, random which individuals happen to be on the island, or drift with respect to what happens afterwards. Different selection acting on the different island.

III.Experimentalstudiesofcompetition Connellsstudyofbarnaclesgrowinginintertidalhabitats Adultsaresessile;findadultChthamalus i Ad lt il fi d d lt Chth l inupper intertidal;adultSemibalanus inlowerintertidal Larvaearemotile;foundinbothhabitats L til f d i b th h bit t

H1:AdultChthamalus areabsentfromthelowerintertidal becauseSemibalanus excludethem. H2: Adult Chthamalus are absent from the lower intertidal :AdultChthamalus areabsentfromthelowerintertidal becausetheycannotgrowthere.

Experimentaltest: 1)Takerocksfromtheupperintertidalthatarecolonized byChthamalus. y 2)Transfertheserockstothelowerintertidalandallow Semibalanus to colonize them. tocolonizethem. 3)Divideeachrockintotwotreatments:Remove Semibalanus f S ib l fromonehalf,leavebothspeciesontheother h lf l b th i th th half. 4)Measuresurvivorship,overtime.

Questions: 1)WhydidConnellspliteachrockintotwotreatments?
Each rock becomes a mini-experiment, test both hypothesis on each rock.

2)Woulditbeimportanttoplaceeachrockintorandom locations(versusallclumped)inthelowerintertidal? locations (versus all clumped) in the lower intertidal?

Randomization in localization will control for alternative hypotheses.

3)Whywasitimportantforhimtodomanyreplicates 3) Why was it important for him to do many replicates (manyrocks)?

Larger sample size is better, averages out the difference.Control for unusual circumstance/ condition.

HowwouldyoutestthehypothesisthatSemibalanus How would you test the hypothesis that Semibalanus cantgrowintheupperintertidal(different fundamentalniche)?