In laboratory experiments, two species of the protist Paramecium (species 1 and 2) were grown alone and in the presence of the other species. The following graphs show growth of species 1 and species 2, both alone and when in mixed culture with the other species. Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from the graphs ?

Question

In laboratory experiments, two species of the protist Paramecium (species 1 and 2) were grown alone and in the presence of the other species. The following graphs show growth of species 1 and species 2, both alone and when in mixed culture with the other species. <img class="img-fluid question-image" alt="image" src="https://cdn.tardigrade.in/img/question/biology/fda02bb8dac634efd0b8b77dd6318f28-.jpeg" /> Which of the following conclusions can be drawn from the graphs ? (A) Competitive exclusion occurred in these experiments (B) Both species are affected by interspecific competition but species 1 is affected less (C) Both species are affected by interspecific competition but species 2 is affected less (D) Both species are affected equally by interspecific competition

Tardigrade Admin · Accepted Answer

When species 1 was kept with species 2, its number of individuals fell drastically while when species 2 was kept with species 1, its number of individuals was not much affected. Hence, both species are affected by inter-specific competition but species 2 is less affected.

Competitive exclusion occurred in these experiments

Both species are affected by interspecific competition but species $1$ is affected less

Both species are affected by interspecific competition but species $2$ is affected less

Both species are affected equally by interspecific competition

When species $1$ was kept with species $2$ , its number of individuals fell drastically while when species $2$ was kept with species $1$ , its number of individuals was not much affected. Hence, both species are affected by inter-specific competition but species $2$ is less affected.