Behavioral & Population Ecology

Question 1

Population

Answer 1

group of individuals of the same species that live in a population changes over time and space

Question 2

Is behavior a phenotype?

Answer 2

yes

Question 3

Tinbergen’s 4 questions

Answer 3

Proximate (HOW)
-Causation (mechanism) mechanistic explanations for how an organism’s structures work
-Development (ontogeny) developmental explanations for changes in individuals, from DNA to current form
Ultimate (WHY)
-Function (Current role)
-Evolution (Phylogeny) the history of evolution of sequential changes in a species over many generations

Question 4

population ecology

Answer 4

study of how and why the number of individuals in a population changes over time and space

Question 5

the two factors that determine the distribution range

Answer 5

Abiotic: temperature, rainfall, presence of geographical structures
Biotic- past and current presence of other species that provide habitat, food, or competition

Question 6

population density

Answer 6

number of individuals per unit area

Question 7

patterns of population density

Answer 7

• random
• clumped
• uniform

Question 8

Metapopulation

Answer 8

population of populations connected by migration

-due to human destruction

Question 9

demography

Answer 9

Study of factors that determine the size and structure of populations through time

Question 10

number of individuals in a population depends on:

Answer 10

• birth
• death
• immigration
• emmigration

Question 11

Reproductive alturism

Answer 11

behavior that increases another organisms fitness while decreasing the fitness of the actor’s own fitness

Question 12

the formula which specifies the conditions of reproductive alturism

Answer 12

Hamilton's rule
Br-C > 0
-B: benefit to the recipient
-C: cost to the actor
-r: coefficient of relatedness

Question 13

Null hypothesis

Answer 13

The null hypothesis attempts to show that no variation exists between variables, or that a single variable is no different than zero. It is presumed to be true until statistical evidence nullifies it for an alternative hypothesis.

Question 14

alternate hypothesis

Answer 14

difference we observed is not best explained by chance, notable difference

Question 15

Degrees of freedom

Answer 15

number of observations that are free to vary

Question 16

p-value

Answer 16

the probability that the test statistic we calculated is explained by the null hypothesis

Question 17

3 Properties of populations

Answer 17

• size
• distribution
• density

Question 18

Survivorship

Answer 18

proportion of offspring that survive to aparticualr age

Question 19

age specific fecundity

Answer 19

average number of female offspring produced by a female in ach age class per year

Question 20

survivorship X age specific fecundity=

Answer 20

average births per year per female

Question 21

net reproductive rate Ro=

Answer 21

average births per year per female

Question 22

population pyramids with a more rectangular shape…

Answer 22

would create a higher Ro

Question 23

per capita growth rate (r)=

Answer 23

difference in birth rate and death rate per individual
ln(Ro)/g
-Ro=net reproductive rate
-Ln= natural logarithm
-g= generation time

Question 24

carrying capacity K

Answer 24

influenced by availability of resources in the environment for all of the populations

Question 25

what happens when the carrying capacity is not close to the population growth

Answer 25

the K-N would be large, so the population grows faster

Question 26

what happens to population growth (N) when the populations size is very close the K

Answer 26

the K-N would be small therefore the populations would grow slowly

Question 27

what happens when N=K

Answer 27

the population stops growing

Question 28

what happens if the N is larger than K

Answer 28

the population starts decreasing

Question 29

how do you measure population size?

Answer 29

- Transects: count everything observed along predetermined survey lines - Quadrats: survey areas established at random locations - Capture mark release method: capture a sample , mark them, release presuming they mix with a population then recapture a sample and count how many original captured individuals in the new sample

Question 30

equation for the capture mark release method

Answer 30

m2/n2=m1/N - m2=number of recaptured - n2= number of 2nd captured sample - m1=number of marked individuals - N: population size (unknown)

Question 31

what is a sink?

Answer 31

where the death rate is higher than the birthrate | ex) attractive sink/ ecological traps