Chapter 53 Flashcards
What is population ecology?
how biotic and abiotic factors influence density, distribution, size, and age structure of populations
How does population ecology vary?
in factos of 20x
What are three characteristics of a population?
Rely on the same resources,
are affected by the same environmental factors,
and are likely to breed and interact with each other
How are populations described?
by boundaries and size
what is density?
number of individuals per unit area or volume
what is dispersion?
the pattern of spacing among individuals within the boundaries of the population
three methods to estimate a population size
Extrapolating small samples
Index of population size (ex-number of nests)
Mark-recapture method
3 steps of mark and reacapture method
samples are captured, tagged, and released
time is given for individuals to mix back into the population
The second sample is captured to note how many are marked
Mark-recapture equation
N= sn/x
N= population size
n= second sample size
s= first sample size
x= marked amount in the second sample
What is density the result of?
interplay between processes that add individuals to a population and those that remove individuals
what is immigration?
the influx of new individuals from other areas
what is emigration?
movement of individuals out of a population
what adds new individuals to a population?
birth and immigration
what removed individuals from a population?
death and emigration
what influences spacing of individuals of a population?
environmental and social factors
what is clumped dispersion?
individuals aggregating in patches
what is clumped dispersion influenced by?
resource availability and behavior
what is uniform dispersion?
individuals are evenly distributed
what is uniform dispersion influenced by?
social interactions like territoriality
what is territoriality?
defense of a bounded space against other individuals
what is random dispersion?
the position of each individual is independent of other individuals
when does random dispersion occur?
in the absence of strong interactions or repulsions