Consider a Biologist Who Is Studying a Fish

question 21

Essay

Consider a biologist who is studying a fish. The biologist conducts an experiment with four treatments in artificial ponds of the same size. In the first treatment he adds 10 fish to each pond. In the second treatment he adds 100 fish to each pond. In the third treatment he adds 10 fish and additional food. In the fourth treatment he adds 100 fish and additional food. At the end of the experiment he finds that female fish in ponds with only 10 fish produce many more eggs than female fish in ponds with 100 fish. However, adding food did not alter the number of eggs each female fish produced. Explain what this experiment tells us about how these fish are affected by density-independent, positive density-dependent, or negative density-dependent factors.

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Definitions:

Harmful Contact

Physical interaction that results in injury or damage to another person, considered to be a form of assault.

Intent to Confine

The deliberate intention to restrict an individual's freedom of movement unlawfully.

Actual Confinement

The physical detention of a person in a prison or similar facility following a legal conviction.

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

A noncancerous increase in the size of the prostate gland, leading to urinary symptoms in older men.