Chapter 5 Study Guide

Question 1

What is a population?

Answer 1

A group of individuals of the same species living in one place at one time.

Question 2

What is demography?

Answer 2

The statistical study of all populations

Question 3

What is population size?

Answer 3

The number of individuals in a population.

Question 4

What is population density?

Answer 4

The number of individuals that live in a given area.

Question 5

What is dispersion?

Answer 5

The way individuals are arranged in space.

Question 6

What is a population model?

Answer 6

A hypothetical population that attempts to exhibit the key characteristics of a real population.

Question 7

What is growth rate?

Answer 7

The rate at which the population grows or shrinks.

Question 8

What is exponential growth?

Answer 8

When populations grow uncontrollably.

Question 9

What does the exponential growth graph look like?

Answer 9

J Curve.

Question 10

What is the carrying capacity?

Answer 10

When growth slows and the population is stable. (Max amount of individuals.)

Question 11

What are density-dependent factors?

Answer 11

Limited resources that are depleted because a population is too large.

Question 12

What are some examples of limiting factors?

Answer 12

Competition, predation, parasitism, and disease.

Question 13

What is an example of predation?

Answer 13

The Isle Royale moose/wolf relationship.

Question 14

What are density-independent factors?

Answer 14

Uncontrollable environmental or human conditions that are random.

Question 15

What are rapidly growing populations called?

Answer 15

r-strategists

Question 16

What are some rapidly growing population characteristics?

Answer 16

Populations grow exponentially
Short life spans
Reproduce early in life
Many offspring

Question 17

What are some rapidly growing populations examples?

Answer 17

Bacteria, plants, many insects, etc.

Question 18

What are rapidly growing populations’ offspring like?

Answer 18

Small
Mature rapidly without parents

Question 19

What are slowly growing populations called?

Answer 19

K-strategist

Question 20

What are some slowly growing population characteristics?

Answer 20

Populations usually near carrying capacity
Long life span
Reproduce later in life
Few offspring

Question 21

What are some slowly growing populations examples?

Answer 21

Whales, bears, tigers, etc.

Question 22

What are slowly growing populations’ offspring like?

Answer 22

Large
Slow maturing process

Question 23

What are slowly growing populations’ environments like?

Answer 23

Stable environments
Populations are likely to go extinct if their environment is threatened.

Question 24

Do populations generally tend to increase with time?

Answer 24

Yes.

Question 25

When did the human population begin to exponentially increase?

Answer 25

500 years ago.

Question 26

How did the human population begin to increase?

Answer 26

Decrease in illness, and increase in technology such as agriculture, industrial, sanitation, and medical.

Question 27

What does demography do for humans?

Answer 27

Allows us to study the structure of the human population by examining birthrates, death rates, and age structure.

Question 28

What is age structure?

Answer 28

The number of individuals at each age level.

Question 29

What is an age structure diagram?

Answer 29

A diagram that shows the age structure of a population.

Question 30

What is the three different groups of an age structure diagram?

Answer 30

Pre-reproductive age, reproductive age, and post-reproductive age.

Question 31

What are the four types of age structure diagrams?

Answer 31

Increasing rapidly, increasing slowly, stable, and decreasing?

Question 32

What does an increasing rapidly graph look like?

Answer 32

Lots on the bottom, very little on the top.

Question 33

What does an increasing slowly graph look like?

Answer 33

More towards the bottom, enough to look like a pyramid.

Question 34

What does a stable graph look like?

Answer 34

Same amount all the way up, with a little less on top.

Question 35

What does a decreasing graph look like?

Answer 35

Very little on the bottom, Lots on top.

Question 36

What is a survivorship curve?

Answer 36

Curves that represent three major kinds of age structure.

Question 37

What is Type 1 survivorship curve?

Answer 37

Convex curves. Up for long time then exponentially down very fast.

Question 38

What is Type 2 survivorship curve?

Answer 38

Straight line. Down constantly.

Question 39

What is Type 3 survivorship curve?

Answer 39

Concave curve. Down exponentially, then flat.

Question 40

What is an example of a Type 1 survivorship curve?

Answer 40

Humans and elephants.

Question 41

What is an example of a Type 2 survivorship curve?

Answer 41

Small birds and mammals.

Question 42

What is an example of a Type 3 survivorship curve?

Answer 42

Oysters, redwood trees, and snapping turtles.