Question

paramecium in a petri dish shows gradual growth during day 5-15. If a predator was added to the enviroment on day 5, would the gradual growth and results be the same. Please explain, does it matter what kind of predator is added?

Answer 1

No , the gradual growth and results would not be same. This is because when the predator is added to the environment it will compete with the paramecium for space, food and there will be a predator- prey competition . This will definitely lead to different growth rate of paramecium because some of them may get eaten up by the predator. Once the growth pattern differs, it will ultimately change the results afterwards. Yes it matters that what kind of predator is added because sometimes to avoid competition, species tend to develop their niche and compromise on different levels for survival. So depending upon the nature of the predator, the growth pattern and results will vary. If a strong predator is being introduced, there are full possibilities of elimination of paramecium from the environment due to superiority. But if the predator is not itself that strong to compete or tends to avoid competition, the results will be different. So it matters.

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