Chapter 53: Population Ecology II

Question 1

Importance of population growth?

Answer 1

• Impacts harvesting regulations, endangered species

Question 2

Learn from demography of human populations that…

Answer 2

• Humans cannot grow indefinitely

Question 3

What is known about population growth of humans globally in different regions

Answer 3

• Grow most rapidly in Asian countries; relatively rapidly in Americas

Question 4

Age structure (def. + what it informs us)

Answer 4

• Distribution of various age groups in a population (form semblance of pyramid)
• Illustrates growth pattern of population

Question 5

Immigration (def.)

Answer 5

Influx of individuals

Question 6

Emigration (def.)

Answer 6

Movement of individuals out of an area

Question 7

Importance of immigration and emigration in metapopulations?

Answer 7

Populations are linked together through emigration and immigration

Question 8

Metapopulation (def.)

Answer 8

Group of populations that are separated by space; spatially separated populations interact

Question 9

Importance of habitat fragmentation?

Answer 9

• Affects the makeup of the population

Question 10

Relationship between patch area and population extinction rate/distance between patches and population extinction rate?

Answer 10

• Colonization increases when distance between patches is lower
• Population also increases with larger patch area

Question 11

How population ecologists study populations?

Answer 11

• Direct observations (traps, nets, fluorescent powder)

- Indirect observations (scat, tracks, other signs)

Question 12

Estimating population size?

Answer 12

• N = sn/x (x = number of marked individuals recaptured in second sampling; s = number of individuals captured in first sample; n = total number of individuals captured in second sampling)

Question 13

Challenges in studying populations?

Answer 13

• Incomplete sampling (incomplete and variable detection)

Question 14

Dispersion pattern effects on sampling?

Answer 14

• Clumped = varying results