Chapter 6

Question 1

population dynamics

Answer 1

the study of how and why populations change in size over time

Question 2

Why is population dynamics useful?

Answer 2

So the ecologist knows the size and distribution of a population, and how these factors change over time.

Question 3

Exponential

Answer 3

the increase is proportional to the number of organisms that already exist.

Question 4

J-shaped growth factors

Answer 4

a type of exponential growth that is slow at first then increases rapidly

Question 5

S-shaped growth form

Answer 5

starts off like the j-shaped form but eventually slows and finally stabilizes at the carrying capacity.

Question 6

carrying capacity

Answer 6

the amount that a region can support without environmental degredation

Question 7

fertility rate

Answer 7

number of birth that an individual female will have in her lifetime

Question 8

What are reproductive strategies (k vs. r)

Answer 8

Characteristics that have the effect of increasing the number of fertile offspring an organism bears.

Question 9

k-selected species

Answer 9

usually larger, longer lived, aka equilibrium species. reproduction involves motherly care. They are density dependent.

Question 10

density dependent

Answer 10

factors like food supply and living space affect a population as it grows

Question 11

r-selected species

Answer 11

opportunist species, rapid reproduction, usually small, short lived, density-independent.

Question 12

density-independent

Answer 12

physical forces on the environment like frost, temperature, and rain.

Question 13

How is human population changing? Is it growing linearly or logistically? Why?

Answer 13

Human population is growing at an exponential rate.

Question 14

Summarize Dr. Hans Rosling’s video on population (box by box)

Answer 14

The only way to get the world population to stop is to continue to improve child survival.

Question 15

How many humans are there on Earth?

Answer 15

7.6 billion.

Question 16

What is the difference in human population growth rates among the different levels of development?

Answer 16

Populations are growing faster in poor nations while populations are declining in industrialized nations.

Question 17

What is the demographic transition for economic development? Where is the most growth - which phase?

Answer 17

Phase 2 - birth rates increase while death rates drop.

Question 18

how is fertility rate correlated with income?

Answer 18

Fertility rates tend to be high when incomes are low.

Question 19

How is fertility rate correlated with education level in females?

Answer 19

Lower education rates in females means higher fertility rates

Question 20

Reasons for large families in developing countries?

Answer 20

Old age security, infant and childhood mortality rates, and children are an asset.

Question 21

What factors influence family size?

Answer 21

children viewed as economic assets or liabilities, status of women, and cultural views on child-bearing

Question 22

How is poverty linked to environmental degredation?

Answer 22

Overusing resources for survival which leads to environmental degradation

Question 23

The poverty cycle

Answer 23

Poverty > environmental degradation > high fertility > less resources because more people need them > more poverty

Question 24

How can we reach a sustainable human population?

Answer 24

Lower fertility rates, consumption must decrease, protect the environment.

Question 25

Affluence in the US

Answer 25

eat more than 3 times the global average in meat, lead the world in paper consumption, environment improves with increasing affluence.

Question 26

How is development level of a place linked with its ecological footprint?

Answer 26

The average American puts 20 times the demand on Earth’s resources as does an average person in Bangladesh.

Question 27

The 1994 Cairo Conference

Answer 27

All nations agreed that population is an issue of crisis proportions that must be confronted.

Question 28

The 1994 of ICPD Program of Action

Answer 28

Enhancing productivity of natural resources, empowerment of women, emphasis on family.

Question 29

limiting factors

Answer 29

factors that affect the size of a population as it increases but can also be affected by density-independent factors

Question 30

environmental resistance

Answer 30

the sum of limiting factors that drive a population to change.

Question 31

The IPAT model

Answer 31

our total impact (i) on the environment results from the interaction among population (p), affluence (a), and technology. I = P x A x T

Question 32

How does human population affect the environment?

Answer 32

intensifies impact on the environment as more individuals take up space, use natural resources, and generate waste.

Question 33

How does affluence affect the environment?

Answer 33

through greater per capita resource consumption. Lower affluence can affect the environment too.

Question 34

How can technology affect the environment?

Answer 34

enhances our abilities to exploit minerals, fossil fuels, forests, or fisheries, but can also reduce impact.

Question 35

Demography

Answer 35

a social science that applies the principles of population ecology to the study of change in human population

Question 36

demographers

Answer 36

study population size, density, distribution, age structure, sex ratio, birth and death rates, immigration, and emigration of people.

Question 37

demographic transition

Answer 37

a model of economic and cultural change to explain declining birth and death rates in Western nations as they industrialized.

Question 38

During which stage of the demographic transition does the population increase the most?

Answer 38

The transitional stage.

Question 39

Is growth toward the beginning or the end of the demographic transition?

Answer 39

The end.

Question 40

Pre-industrial stage

Answer 40

birth and death rates are high because medical care is scarce. Birth rates are high because of infant mortality.