[Ecoed] competition btw organisms

[Kristen Lennon]

Hi,

I am working on collecting examples of phenomena that I will provide to
teachers to demonstrate specific ecological concepts to middle school
students (grades 6-8). Currently, we are talking about competition
between organisms for such things as food, water, air, space and shelter
(including nesting sites). While it is relatively easy to find examples
of what students will think of as "classic" competition that involves
direct, interactive competition between organisms (usually with visible
conflict), we are trying to find examples of competition that do not
involve this contact. For example exploitative competition in which one
organism uses (or exploits) a resource more quickly or efficiently than
another. This is much harder to find good examples of that can be used
with children of this age. I would be grateful for any ideas that you
may have - either examples that I can use or strategies for introducing
students to this concept.

Thanks again for your help.

Best,
Kristen

Kristen A. Lennon, Ph.D.
Research Associate
Project 2061
American Association for the Advancement of Science
1200 New York Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20005 USA


Tel:202-326-7032
E-mail: klennon at aaas.org
http://project2061.aaas.org