Chapter 8: Properties of Populations

Question 1

An organism, such as an arthropod or vertebrate, whose growth to adult form follows a determinate pathway, unlike modular organisms whose growth involves indeterminate repetition of units of structure

Answer 1

unitary organism

Question 2

Organism that grows by repeated iteration of parts, such as branches or shoots of a plant

Some parts may separate and become physically and physiologically independent

Answer 2

modular organism

Question 3

A genetic individual that arises from a single fertilized egg

Answer 3

genet

Question 4

An individual member of a plant clone

Answer 4

ramet

Question 5

The spatial location or area occupied by a population

Answer 5

distribution

Question 6

The distribution described by all the individuals of a species encompassed in a defined area

Answer 6

geographic range

Question 7

Restricted to a given region

Answer 7

endemic

Question 8

The number of individuals of a species in a given area

Answer 8

abundance

Question 9

The number of individuals in a population per unit area

Answer 9

population density

Question 10

The number of individuals per unit area

Answer 10

crude density

Question 11

Density measured in terms of the number of individuals per area of available living space

Answer 11

ecological density

Question 12

Let’s talk about sampling

Answer 12

Determination of density and dispersion requires careful sampling and appropriate statistical analysis of data.

For sessile organisms, researchers often use sample plots

For mobile organisms, researchers use capture-recapture techniques or determine relative abundance using indicators of animal presence, such as tracks or feces

Question 13

A population broken into sets of subpopulations held together by dispersal or movements of individuals among them

Answer 13

metapopulation

Question 14

The number of proportion of individuals within each age class defines the age structure of a population

Answer 14

age structure

Question 15

The relative number of males to females in a population

Answer 15

sex ratio

Question 16

Leaving an area of birth or activity for another area

Answer 16

dispersal

Question 17

Intentional, directional, usually seasonal movement of animals between two regions or habitats;

Involves departure and return of the same individual (a round-trip movement)

Answer 17

migration

Question 18

Movement of part of a population permanently out of an area

Answer 18

emigration

Question 19

Arrival of new individuals into a habitat or population

Answer 19

immigration

Question 20

Let’s talk about human-assisted dispersal

Answer 20

Humans have either accidentally or intentionally introduced plant and animal species to places outside their geographic range.

Sometimes these introductions are harmless, but often the introduced organisms negatively affect the populations of native species and ecosystems.