chapter 53

Question 1

Population ecology

Answer 1

Study of populations in relation to their environment

Question 2

Population

Answer 2

group of individuals of a single species living in the same area

Question 3

Density

Answer 3

number of individuals per unit area or volume

Question 4

Dispersion

Answer 4

pattern of spacing among individuals withiin the boundaries of the population

Question 5

Mark - recapture method

Answer 5

population size can be estimated by either extrapolation from small samples (number of nests)

Question 6

immigration

Answer 6

influx of new individuals from other areas

Question 7

emigration

Answer 7

movement of individuals out of a population

Question 8

Patterns of dispersion

Answer 8

• clumped (individuals aggregrate in patches, influenced by resource availability and behaviour)
• uniform (even distribution, influenced by nesting arrangement)
• random (each individual is independent, absence of strong attractions)

Question 9

Demography

Answer 9

study of the vital statistics of a populations how they change over time (death and birth rate)

Question 10

Life table

Answer 10

age - specific summary of the survival pattern of a population

Question 11

Cohort

Answer 11

group of individuals of the same age

Question 12

survivorship curve

Answer 12

represents the data in a life table

• low death rates during early and middle life and an increase in death rates among old age groups
• a constant death rate over the organism’s life span
• high death rates for the young and a lower death rate for survivors

Question 13

reproductive table

Answer 13

age-specific summary of the reproductive rates in a population

Question 14

exponential population growth

Answer 14

population increase under idealized conditions

Question 15

carrying capacity (k)

Answer 15

maximum population size the environment can support

Question 16

Logistic population growth model

Answer 16

per capita rate of increase declines as carrying capacity is reached
starts with an exponential model and adds an expression that reduces per capita rate of increase as N approaches K
produces s shape

Question 17

semelparity (big bang production)

Answer 17

reproduce once and die

Question 18

iteroparity (repeated reproduction)

Answer 18

produces offspring repeatedly

Question 19

k-selection

Answer 19

selects for life history traits that are sensitive to population density

Question 20

r-selection

Answer 20

selects for life history traits that maximize reproduction

Question 21

density-independent populations

Answer 21

birth rate and death rate do not change with population density

Question 22

density-dependent population

Answer 22

birth rates fall and death rates rise with population density