Population Growth and Competition in Lemna sp. And Spirodela sp.

1











Ovric P. Estioko
Group Smiley
Sec. F-2L











June 24, 2013
















1
A technical paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements in Bio 150
(Principles of Ecology) laboratory under Ms. Romella Beringuela, 1st sem., 2013-2014.



ABSTRACT

Population growth and competition on two aquatic species,
Lemna and Spirodela were observed in respect with population size and
carrying capacity. Fronds of both plants were placed in jars labelled as
pure and mixed culture, with two treatments for each culture. The
cultures were observed every other day for three weeks with the number
of fronds being counted on each observation. After observations, both
aquatic species generally increased population in both pure and mixed
cultures. Therefore, population size can exceed the carrying capacity.



INTRODUCTION

In a certain population, the number of individuals increases or decreases with
time. This change in the number of individuals in a population is termed as population
growth. Processes such as birth and immigration controls the growth rate at which there
are new individuals that will be added to a certain population In contrast, death and
emigration controls the growth rate at which individuals leave a certain population
(Smith & Smith, 2009). A population may grow in either two ways. The first is
exponential population growth, which is a geometric increase of a population. Second,
the logistic growth, indicates a growth levelling off as population size approaches the
carrying capacity of a specific environment (Cuevas et al., 2012).
According to Begon, Townsend & Harper (2006), a competition is the interaction
between individuals brought about by a requirement in common resources that may
lead to deprivation of another individual who is also competing with. There are two
types of competition: intraspecific and interspecific. The former is a competition among



similar species while the latter is a competition between different species (Cuevas et al.,
2012).
This exercise, conducted on June 24, 2013 at the Institute of Biological Sciences
in the University of the Philippines Los Baos, aimed to observe and analyze the
population growth and competition in Lemna sp. And Spirodela sp. The specific
objectives were:
1. to demonstrate changes in the populations of pure and mixed cultures of Lemna
sp. and Spirodela sp.;
2. to compare the growth of Lemna sp. and Spirodela sp. in different types of
media; and
3. to determine the effects of intraspecific and interspecific competition on both
species.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Three replicate jars were prepared for treatments A and B. Treatment A has 50
mL tap water and treatment B has 5 g soil plus 50 mL tap water. 8 fronds of Lemna were
introduced to one set of treatments A and B. The same number of fronds of Spirodela
was also introduced to another set of the same treatments. The separating of fronds
was avoided during the preparation of the experiment. These represented pure cultures
of Lemna and Spirodela where the initial population (N
o
) was 8. Four fronds of Lemna
sp. and four fronds of Spirodela sp. were introduced to the remaining set of treatments.



These represented the mixed culture of Lemna and Spirodela where the initial
population was also 8.
After preparing the cultures, the jars were then covered with transparent plastic
and was punched few small holes for aeration. The cultures were kept in the designated
areas, making sure that all fronds were floating on the media.
For each treatment, the total number of fronds of Lemna and Spirodela were
counted every other day until the frond count levels off. Visible new buds which were
almost half the size of the old buds were also counted as separate individuals. It was
noted that fronds that have turned yellow or those that have dried up will not be
counted. After each observation, it was made sure that no fronds were left adhering to
the sides of the bottle and that all fronds should be floating on the media.
Graphs of pure and mixed cultures of Lemna and Spirodela grown in the different
treatments were constructed and was separated for each treatments. Frond count vs.
time was plotted on the first graph for Lemna grown as pure and mixed cultures while
the pure and mixed cultures of Spirodela were plotted on the second graph.
The instantaneous rate of growth (r) at each observation interval in all
cultures was computed using the formula:
r = ln = N
(t+1)
/ N
t
where = annual finite rate of increase
N
t
= population in time t
N
(t+1)
= population at the next observation
day





RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

As seen in Table 2D.1, results showed that both species of aquatic plants
generally increased in populations in both the pure and mixed cultures on both
treatments.
In the pure culture section, Lemna has a higher population in the tap water
treatment compared to its population in the tap water + soil treatment. Based on the
carrying capacity on tap water treatment, Lemna has a higher carrying capacity than
Spirodelas. The tap water used in treatment A maybe rich in nutrients because Lemna
grows best in eutrophic waters with an element of organic enrichment from leaf litter
(Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, 2004). This may explain why it has less population in
the tap water + soil treatment, since the soil may contain some nutrients not needed by
Lemna that lessened the nutrients of the tap water that is needed by Lemna. In the
other hand, Spirodela has a higher population in the tap water + soil environment
compared to its population in the tap water environment. Based on carrying capacity on
tap water + soil treatment, Spirodela has higher carrying capacity than Lemnas. A
possible reason for this is that Spirodela eats up pollutants in water. It also sokes up
excessive amounts of nitrogen, phosphates and potassium out of detergents, ammonia
and waste water and also survives off the nitrates produced by waste products of fish
and other animal residents (LIFE 1020 Student Group 9, 2013).



In the mixed culture section, the two aquatic plants has the highest population in
the tap water + soil environment compared to their population in the tap
water









Table 2D.1. Population growth of pure culture and mixed culture of Lemna and Spirodela sp.
Observation
Number
Date of Observation
Age of
Culture
(days)
Population Size
Lemna
Pure
Cultures
Spirodela
Pure
Cultures
Mixed Cultures
A B A B
A B
L S L S
1 June 24 1 8 8 8 8 4 4 4 4
2 June 26 3 22 14 12 12 5 5 8 9
3 June 28 5 26 18 19 16 6 8 12 10
4 July 01 8 36 21 25 27 7 10 14 22
5 July 03 10 37 29 31 33 8 11 24 24
6 July 05 12 40 35 34 37 10 14 27 29
7 Jul 08 15 42 42 37 44 13 18 31 33
8 July 10 17 49 47 39 49 20 24 47 35
9 July 12 19 54 49 47 53 27 29 54 39






environment, with Lemna having a higher population compared to Spirodela. In the tap
water environment, Spirodela has a higher population compared to Lemna.
Since Lemna grows best in eutrophic waters (Centre for Ecology & Hydrology,
2004), theoretically, Lemna should have a higher population compared to the Spirodela
population in the tap water treatment. A possible source of error maybe due to lack of
time in observation of the cultures. Another source of error maybe that the tap water
may be polluted or that it may contained some nutrients such as nitrogen, ammonia,
etc. that made the Spirodela boosted in population more than the Lemna population.
On the tap water + soil treatment, it is shown that Lemna has a higher
population compared to the Spirodela population. A possible reason for this is that the
Spirodela may be taking in nutrients from the treatment that does not need by Lemna,
which to the advantage of Lemna, takes in the rest of the nutrients that it really needs.
On the interspecific competition of the mixed cultures on the two treatments,
the Competitive Exclusion Principle was the dominant concept. It states that no
competing species cannot coexist. However, coexistence was permitted on the two
competing aquatic species because of their difference in ecological niche (Silvertown
and Doust, 1993).
All of the population growth curves on Figures 2D.1 to 2D.4 exhibited an S-curve,
except for the population growth curve of Lemna mixed culture on Figure 2D.1. As



8
22
26
36
37
40
42
49
54
4
5
6
7
8
10
13
20
27
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 5 10 15 20
P
o
p
u
l
a
t
i
o
n

S
i
z
e

(
N
)

Age of Cultures (Days)
Lemna Pure Culture
Lemna Mixed Culture
observed, the Lemna cultures has a well-established S-curves compared to that of
Spirodela.
Results shown in Table 2D.2 that Lemna and Spirodela cultures, pure and mixed,
on both treatments, showed an instantaneous rate of growth greater than one, which
meant














Figure 2D.1. Population growth curve of pure and mixed culture of Lemna sp. grown in
tap water.





8
12
19
25
31
34
37
39
47
4
5
8
10
11
14
18
24
29
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
0 5 10 15 20
P
o
p
u
l
a
t
i
o
n

S
i
z
e

(
N
)

Age of Cultures (Days)
Spirodela Pure Culture
Spirodela Mixed Culture


















Figure 2D.2. Population growth curve of pure and mixed culture of Spirodela sp. grown
in tap water.






8
14
18
21
29
35
42
47
49
4
8
12
14
24
27
31
47
54
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 5 10 15 20
P
o
p
u
l
a
t
i
o
n

S
i
z
e

(
N
)

Age of Cultures (Days)
Lemna Pure Culture
Lemna Mixed Culture


















Figure 2D.3. Population growth curve of pure and mixed culture of Lemna sp. grown in
soil + tap water.






8
12
16
27
33
37
44
49
53
4
9
10
22
24
29
33
35
39
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
0 5 10 15 20
P
o
p
u
l
a
t
i
o
n

S
i
z
e

(
N
)

Age of Cultures (Days)
Spirodela Pure Culture
Spirodela Mixed Culture



















Figure 2D.4. Population growth curve of pure and mixed culture of Spirodela sp. grown
in soil + tap water.



































that the population on all the treatments, whether pure or culture, was exponentially
increasing.
The population size can be greater than the carrying capacity. This is possible
because of an abundance in resources in a specific environment. However, the growth
of the population will be negative, indicating a population decrease until the population
size and the carrying capacity will become equal and stable (Cuevas et al., 2012).

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION

Population growth and competition were observed in two aquatic species,
Lemna and Spirodela. Fronds of each were placed in jars labelled as Pure and Mixed
culture, with two treatments for each culture. Treatment A has tap water only while
treatment B has tap water + soil. The cultures were observed every other day for three
weeks with the number of fronds being counted on each observation.
In the pure culture section, Lemna has a higher population on the tap water
treatment compared to its population in the tapwater + soil treatment with Spirodela
showing opposite results.



In the mixed culture section, Lemna has a higher populations on both treatments
than the Spirodela population.
On computation of the instantaneous growth, a general trend occur in both
aquatic plants in which their population is exponentially increasing with an r value
greater than one.
Therefore, population size can exceed its carrying capacity. But when this
happen, growth will be negative, indicating a population decrease until the population
size will equal the carrying capacity and become stable. However, this speculation needs
to be validated by further studies on population growth and competition on other
relative species. It is also recommended that the time of observation on the cultures
should take about a month so as to get significant results.

LITERATURE CITED

Begon M., Townsend, C.R. & Harper, J.L. (2006). Ecology: From individuals to
ecosystems (4th ed). Oxford, UK: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.


Centre for Ecology & Hydrology. (2004). Information sheet: Lemna species (Duckweeds).
Retrieved from http://www.ceh.ac.uk/sci_programmes/documents/duckweeds.
pdf. Accessed July 22, 2013.


Cuevas, V.C., Cervancia, C.R., Zafaralla, M.T., Lit, I.L., Jr., Barrion-Dupo, A.L.A. & Lambio,
I.A.F. (2012). Exploring Ecology (no ed.). University of the Philippines Los Baos:
Environmental Biology Division, IBS.





Life 1020 Student Group 9. (2013). Growth of Spirodela polyrhiza in creek water,
distilled water, and tap water. Retrieved from
https://sites.google.com/site/experiments
spring2013/duckweed-populations/group-9. Accessed July 23, 2013.


Smith, T.M. & Smith, R.L. (2009). Elements of Ecology (7th ed). San Francisco, CA:
Pearson Benjamin Cummings.