Chapter 5 Study Guide Flashcards
What is a population?
A group of individuals of the same species living in one place at one time.
What is demography?
The statistical study of all populations
What is population size?
The number of individuals in a population.
What is population density?
The number of individuals that live in a given area.
What is dispersion?
The way individuals are arranged in space.
What is a population model?
A hypothetical population that attempts to exhibit the key characteristics of a real population.
What is growth rate?
The rate at which the population grows or shrinks.
What is exponential growth?
When populations grow uncontrollably.
What does the exponential growth graph look like?
J Curve.
What is the carrying capacity?
When growth slows and the population is stable. (Max amount of individuals.)
What are density-dependent factors?
Limited resources that are depleted because a population is too large.
What are some examples of limiting factors?
Competition, predation, parasitism, and disease.
What is an example of predation?
The Isle Royale moose/wolf relationship.
What are density-independent factors?
Uncontrollable environmental or human conditions that are random.
What are rapidly growing populations called?
r-strategists
What are some rapidly growing population characteristics?
Populations grow exponentially
Short life spans
Reproduce early in life
Many offspring
What are some rapidly growing populations examples?
Bacteria, plants, many insects, etc.
What are rapidly growing populations’ offspring like?
Small
Mature rapidly without parents
What are slowly growing populations called?
K-strategist
What are some slowly growing population characteristics?
Populations usually near carrying capacity
Long life span
Reproduce later in life
Few offspring
What are some slowly growing populations examples?
Whales, bears, tigers, etc.
What are slowly growing populations’ offspring like?
Large
Slow maturing process
What are slowly growing populations’ environments like?
Stable environments
Populations are likely to go extinct if their environment is threatened.
Do populations generally tend to increase with time?
Yes.
When did the human population begin to exponentially increase?
500 years ago.
How did the human population begin to increase?
Decrease in illness, and increase in technology such as agriculture, industrial, sanitation, and medical.
What does demography do for humans?
Allows us to study the structure of the human population by examining birthrates, death rates, and age structure.
What is age structure?
The number of individuals at each age level.
What is an age structure diagram?
A diagram that shows the age structure of a population.
What is the three different groups of an age structure diagram?
Pre-reproductive age, reproductive age, and post-reproductive age.
What are the four types of age structure diagrams?
Increasing rapidly, increasing slowly, stable, and decreasing?
What does an increasing rapidly graph look like?
Lots on the bottom, very little on the top.
What does an increasing slowly graph look like?
More towards the bottom, enough to look like a pyramid.
What does a stable graph look like?
Same amount all the way up, with a little less on top.
What does a decreasing graph look like?
Very little on the bottom, Lots on top.
What is a survivorship curve?
Curves that represent three major kinds of age structure.
What is Type 1 survivorship curve?
Convex curves. Up for long time then exponentially down very fast.
What is Type 2 survivorship curve?
Straight line. Down constantly.
What is Type 3 survivorship curve?
Concave curve. Down exponentially, then flat.
What is an example of a Type 1 survivorship curve?
Humans and elephants.
What is an example of a Type 2 survivorship curve?
Small birds and mammals.
What is an example of a Type 3 survivorship curve?
Oysters, redwood trees, and snapping turtles.
