Generalist
Predator
Specialist
Prey
Invasive Species
Cooperative
NICHE Game
Species
# of
M&M’s in
cup
Survive
winter?
A
Round 1
B
C
A
Round 2
B
C
A
Round 3
B
C
Round 4
A
B
C
Round 1 Questions:
1. Which 2 species occupied the same niche in this community? How do you know?
The two species that ate the same food occupy the same niche.
2. Why will 2 species not be able to occupy the same niche in a community for very long?
These two species are competing for food, with twice as many organisms there will not be enough food
for both.
Round 2 Questions:
3. What type of symbiotic relationship do A & B have with C? How do you know?
A & B are prey species to C’s predator species. I know this because C ate A and B (their M&M represent
the organism).
Round 3 Questions:
4. What type of relationship did all 3 species share? How do you know?
Cooperative Mutualism. I know because each specie helped the other get food.
Round 4 Questions:
5. If the environment changed suddenly, for example because of global warming, do you think generalist or
specialist species would be better able to adapt and avoid going extinct? Why?
Generalist species would have a better chance at survival because they generally eat more types of
things and can live in a wider range of habitats.
6. What would happen if a new invasive species came into your ecosystem that ate blue, red, and orange
M&Ms and was better at collecting food than all three of your species?
Any species that ate blue, red or orange food would be out-competed for that food in this ecosystem.
Also, as this new species is better at collecting food that all three species (regardless of what they eat),
there will be more offspring from the invasive species (more food generally equals more offspring being
born and surviving to adulthood).