Inter specific interactions are the relationships demonstrated between two species and how one species affects the other. The four main types of these interactions are competition, predation, commensalisms, and mutualism. Spanish moss is a plant found living on many trees in the subtropics. The two objectives of my study were to discover if Spanish moss was tree species specific and what inter specific interaction it exhibits with trees. I observed the amount of Spanish moss coverage on Palm, Pine, and Oak trees. I used the chi-square test statistic to assess whether there is a strong correlation between moss abundance and tree species. With an α-value of 0.05 I concluded that Spanish moss is tree species specific (χ2 =62.53; p-value 0.001). This conclusion was justified by the necessity of a large tree surface area to exist in the form of branches and leaves in order for Spanish moss to attach to the tree. Other reasons were also explored in supporting tree species specificity and attempting to define the accurate inter specific interaction such as mineral abundance and precipitation collection in the canopies of tree.
[...] and Schlesinger, W.H Mineral Cycling and the Niche of Spanish Moss, Tillandsia usneoides. American Journal of Botany. 64: 1254-1262 Vliet, K. 2008a. A Lab Manual for Integrated Principles of Biology Part I BSC2010L. Third Edition. Pearson Custom Publishing. Boston, Massachusetts. Vliet, K. 2008b. A Lab Manual for Integrated Principles of Biology Part II BSC2011L. Fourth Edition. Pearson Custom Publishing. Boston, Massachusetts. Table 1. Observed data of the amount of Spanish [...]
[...] I tested my hypothesis by counting how many of each tree species had low, medium, and high coverage of Spanish moss among a large random sample of trees on the University of Florida campus. I then used the statistical chi-square test to determine whether or not my hypothesis should be rejected. Method. In order to determine whether Spanish moss was tree species specific, I had to observe the amount of moss coverage on the three tree species found around the University of Florida campus. [...]
[...] The expected observations were the amount of each tree species with associated moss loads if the Spanish moss were not tree species specific. I used the chi-square equation χ2=(o-e)2/e to calculate my test statistics for each tree species and moss load combination, in which o was the observed value of trees, e was the expected value of trees, and was the deviation between the two values. The sum of all the test statistics, χ2, was used to find the probability value, p-value, of committing a Type I error by using the χ2 table. [...]
[...] In my experiment I examined the interaction between Spanish moss and three different species of trees in order to determine whether Spanish moss is species specific, meaning whether it prefers one species of tree to another. In my observations and research I also aspired to define the actual type of inter specific interaction the Spanish moss exhibited with the tree. Spanish moss or Tillandsia Usneoides is considered, by most, an epiphyte that nourishes itself but grows on other plants (Vliet et al. [...]
[...] The four main inter specific interactions that define the relationship between two species are competition, predation, commensalisms, and mutualism. Competition occurs when two species rely on the same limited resource such as food and must therefore try to obtain it before the other by all means possible (Vliet et al. 2008b). In predation the predator population experiences the positive effect of maintaining survival and the chance for reproduction while the prey population suffers the negative effect of being consumed or killed (Campbell and Reece 2005). [...]
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