Chapter 53 - Population Ecology

Question 1

population

Answer 1

A group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area and interbreed, producing fertile offspring.

Question 2

density

Answer 2

The number of individuals per unit area or volume.

Question 3

dispersion

Answer 3

The pattern of spacing among individuals within the boundaries of a population.

Question 4

mark-recapture method

Answer 4

A sampling technique used to estimate the size of animal populations.

Question 5

immigration

Answer 5

The influx of new individuals into a population from other areas.

Question 6

emigration

Answer 6

The movement of individuals out of a population.

Question 7

territoriality

Answer 7

A behavior in which an animal defends a bounded physical space against encroachment by other individuals, usually of its own species.

Question 8

demography

Answer 8

The study of changes over time in the vital statistics of populations, especially birth rates and death rates.

Question 9

life table

Answer 9

An age-specific summary of the survival pattern of a population.

Question 10

cohort

Answer 10

A group of individuals of the same age in a population.

Question 11

survivorship curve

Answer 11

A plot of the number of members of a cohort that are still alive at each age; one way to represent age-specific mortality.

Question 12

reproductive table

Answer 12

An age-specific summary of the reproductive rates in a population.

Question 13

zero population growth (ZPG)

Answer 13

A period of stability in population size, when additions to the population through births and immigration are balanced by subtractions through deaths and emigration.

Question 14

exponential population growth

Answer 14

Growth of a population in an ideal, unlimited environment, represented by a J-shaped curve when population size is plotted over time.

Question 15

carrying capacity

Answer 15

The maximum population size that can be supported by the available resources, symbolized as [italicized] “K.”

Question 16

logistic population growth

Answer 16

Population growth that levels off as population size approaches carrying capacity.

Question 17

life history

Answer 17

The traits that affect an organism’s schedule of reproduction and survival.

Question 18

semelparity

Answer 18

Reproduction in which an organism produces all of its offspring in a single event; also known as big-bang reproduction.

Question 19

iteroparity

Answer 19

Reproduction in which adults produce offspring over many years; also known as repeated reproduction.

Question 20

K-selection

[italicized “K”]

Answer 20

Selection for life history traits that are sensitive to population density; also called density-dependent selection.

Question 21

r-selection

[italicized “r”]

Answer 21

Selection for life history traits that maximize reproductive success in uncrowded environments; also called density-independent selection.

Question 22

density independent

Answer 22

Referring to any characteristic that is not affected by population density.

Question 23

density dependent

Answer 23

Referring to any characteristic that varies with population density.

Question 24

population dynamics

Answer 24

The study of how complex interactions between biotic and abiotic factors influence variations in population size.

Question 25

metapopulation

Answer 25

A group of spatially separated populations of one species that interact through immigration and emigration.

Question 26

demographic transition

Answer 26

In a stable population, a shift from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates.

Question 27

age structure

Answer 27

The relative number of individuals of each age in a population.

Question 28

ecological footprint

Answer 28

The aggregate land and water area required by a person, city, or nation to produce all of the resources it [he/she] consumes and to absorb all of the wastes it [he/she] generates.