Now, imagine that you are conducting a short-term study to analyze the interrelationships among the organism you chose (the primary consumer) and the producers, other consumers, and decomposers in the aquatic ecosystem in which your organism lives.
Imagine that your research is complete, and think about the presentation of your data that tracks the fluctuation of your chosen organism’s population over time. Remember that the data you “collect” will be a count of your chosen organism’s population in a certain ecosystem over a given short time frame (a few months to a year).
Will the population increase in the summer or decrease over the course of a year, for example? You may make up the data here or find actual data online.
If you do decide to look for actual population data, keep in mind that you will be synthesizing information from a range of sources. For example, if we stick with our sample krill organism, you might find one source that only tells you that the krill population decreases in the winter. Then, you might find another source that tells you by how much the population decreases.
As you look at different sources, you’ll have to synthesize comments, claims, and evidence made on all sides of the issue; resolve contradictions when possible; and determine what additional information or research is required to deepen the investigation or complete the task. You can do this by keeping notes on what each source says. Maybe you add in the information from each new source in a new color so that you will always know what information comes from which source. If there are discrepancies you cannot resolve yourself, use your best judgement, or ask your teacher for help.
Whether you create the sample data or find real data online, make sure your data includes these details:
The time frame in which you “collected” data (e.g., once a month for a year, twice a week for three months, etc.)
The population counts at each point that you counted (or found real data for)
For the purpose of this exercise, let's imagine that I choose the primary consumer to be a population of small fish. Based on my research, I "collected" data over a period of once a month for a year, tracking the population counts at each point.
Month 1: 100 fish
Month 2: 95 fish
Month 3: 110 fish
Month 4: 105 fish
Month 5: 120 fish
Month 6: 115 fish
Month 7: 130 fish
Month 8: 125 fish
Month 9: 120 fish
Month 10: 135 fish
Month 11: 140 fish
Month 12: 130 fish
From this data, we can observe some trends in the population fluctuation of the small fish over the course of the year. In the first few months, the population declined slightly from 100 to 95 fish. This could be due to various factors such as predation, competition, or unfavorable environmental conditions.
However, from month 3 onwards, the population started to increase steadily. This could be attributed to favorable environmental conditions during the summer months, such as an abundance of food resources, optimal temperature, and reproductive success. The population reached its peak in month 11 with 140 fish.
It is worth noting that even though there is a general upward trend in population size, there are fluctuations along the way. These fluctuations could be influenced by various factors such as predation, availability of resources, and interactions with other organisms in the ecosystem.
This hypothetical data highlights the dynamic nature of the population of small fish in the aquatic ecosystem. Understanding the interrelationships with producers, other consumers, and decomposers would provide a more comprehensive picture of the factors influencing the population dynamics of the chosen organism.