The Plankton Paradox

The competitive exclusion principle predicts that there would just be a few species of plankton, but instead there are thousands.

LEARN MORE
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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
- Competitive Exclusion Principle: The idea that two similar species cannot inhabit the same ecological niche.
- Phytoplankton: Microscopic flora that drift with the ocean currents.
- Lotka-Volterra Competitive Equations: A simple model of the population dynamics of species competing for the same resources.

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CREDITS
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David Goldenberg | Script Writer, Narrator and Director
Arcadi Garcia i Rius | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation
Nathaniel Schroeder | Music

MinuteEarth is produced by Neptune Studios LLC

OUR STAFF
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Sarah Berman • Arcadi Garcia i Rius
David Goldenberg • Julián Gustavo Gómez
Melissa Hayes • Alex Reich • Henry Reich • Peter Reich
Ever Salazar • Leonardo Souza • Kate Yoshida

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REFERENCES
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[nemodaremo]

Just gotta say, I love how Dr. Kujo keeps getting into the frames with any marine biologists at all

[DreamsMom]

They're all competing for the same thing... The Krabby Patty Formula

[josh]

MinuteEarth: That plankton may have a minor advantage that allows them to win over their competitors

Plankton: “I WENT TO COLLEGE!”

[EvTheFlickFan]

You betrayed me once more: that purple plankton was too suspicious.

[ftsch]

2:37 "the model is right, but it occasionally spits out something weird"
Basically the explanation on how to science

[LostInForums]

Including a marine biologist like Jotaro Kujo in the intro was a nice touch.

[SayaAensland]

0:19 That awkward moment when Flareon is the most competitively unviable Eeveelution.

[Kobolds_in_a_trenchcoat]

I love that flareon was the strongest eeveelution in this video when flareon has been competitively considered among the weakest due to it being a physical attacker while fire was, up until gen 4, a special type (also flareon having almost no good physical fire attacks even after that).

[imbattlnscurvy]

Ngl that one plankton was looking pretty sus

[trumanbeland]

I expected better research, there’s no way Flareon would outcompete Jolteon.

In all seriousness great video!

[legendarybroliz]

Krabs: you planted grass?

Plankton: GRASS?! HAHAHA!

[bramvanduijn]

Interesting! I haven't thought of the Lotka-Volterra model in a decade. I'm glad to be reminded of it :)
That chaotic semi-stability can only exist long term if the populations are humongous, since smaller populations are statistically more likely to go extinct through random chance.

[AverytheCubanAmerican]

If this is Plankton's new Plan Z to get us to say *"ALL HAIL PLANKTON"*, it's definitely working

[LordKittenfish]

0:22 Vaporeon sure tried something “different” alright…

[prathameshkapase]

Hahahah Jotaro Kujo the marine biologist

[mrbakeryx]

Everyone talks about plankton
Me: *looks at pink plankton*
Also me: AMONGUS

[galaxiaknight]

This is personally one of the most interesting videos you've made! I love seeing the equations I learnt in my Ecology course present in one of my favourite YouTube channels

[travcollier]

This multiple species complex (quasi) equilibrium was a result that came out of artificial life experiments (simulations) back in there early 2000s. Multiple resources are the key, but instead of getting a single species optimized for each particular resource, you get them optimizing for combinations.
Adding in randomness (eg a bit of stirring) is also pretty important as it selects for a degree of generalization.

[victorribera]

I don't want the amongus plankton to win, you wont be able to rely on planckton anymore

[fongus]

1:22 do you see the plankton on the left? it looks a little s-
GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD GET OUT OF MY HEAD