Use Inequalities Generated by the Lotka-Volterra Competition Model to Determine $\alpha$

question 32

Essay

Use inequalities generated by the Lotka-Volterra competition model to determine whether two species of Paramecium (P. caudatum is "species 1" and P. aurelia is "species 2") will coexist or drive each other to extinction in the three scenarios below. In these examples, N₁ = N₂, and K₁ = K₂ = 50.
Scenario 1: Determine the outcome of the competitive interaction between P. caudatum and P. aurelia if $\alpha$ = 0.3, and $\beta$ = 0.6.
Scenario 2: Determine the outcome of the competitive interaction between P. caudatum and P. aurelia if $\alpha$ = 1.5, and $\beta$ = 0.6.
Determine how each species affects the other under scenario 1.Answer the following questions:
a) Each individual of species 2 has the same effect on species 1 as how many individuals of species 1?
b) Each individual of species 1 has the same effect on species 2 as how many individuals of species 2?