conservation bio exam 1 Flashcards
How do we predict how populations change?
can use Demography
Incorporating Demography
- Most populations do not grow constantly
- Most models treat the entire population as one unit when in it
might be better divided into different cohorts - for most species, reproduction and mortality vary by cohort (ex: age, size, or stage)
- survivorship curves, reproductive value
demography definition
the study of statistics such as births, deaths, income, or the incidence of disease, which illustrate the changing structure of human populations.
The contributions of different age/stages/ sizes to the next generation are heavily dependent on:
The survivorship of individuals of a particular cohort
* The fecundity of members of the cohort
* The number of individuals in that cohor
fecundity
the ability to produce an abundance of offspring or new growth; fertility.
cohort- structured information
(birth, death, growth rate, etc.)
Demographic Matrix Models
demographic technique for understanding population dynamics based on cohort- structured information (birth, death, growth rate, etc.)
cohort definition
a group of people banded together or treated as a group.
cohort definition
a group of people banded together or treated as a group.
What proportion of immature individuals survive? (take a look at the graph and come back!)
0.5 (stay immature) + 0.2 (develop to maturity) = 0.7 or 70%
50% of the immature (I) population survives from one year to the next as immature.
20% of the immature (I) population survives and moves on to the next, mature (M) stage.
None of the immature (I) population moves on to the final, post-fertile (P) stage.
What proportion of mature individuals survive?
0.6 (stay mature) + 0.2 (develop to post-fertility) = 0.8 or 80%
- For each mature fertile adult, 0.8 new offspring are born each year
- 60% of the mature (M) population survives from one year to the next as mature.
- 20% of the mature (M) population survives and moves on to the next, post-fertile (P) stage.
What proportion of post-fertile individuals survive?
- 0.7 (survive as post-fertile) = 0.7 or 70%
- Post-fertile adults (P) produce no offspring
- None of the post-fertile adults get younger.
- 70% of the post-fertile (P) population survives.
do you understand how to read a demographic matrix model?
yes
How can we calculate population growth within each demographic over time?
- multiply the proportion alive by how much you started with– both for many survive and how many are born or mature
- then add to each other
Why Bother with Demographic Matrix Models?
-To summarize per capita survival and reproduction rates
-the rate at which the population size changes per individual in the population
- determined by birth, death, emigration, and migration rates
- To calculate finite population growth rate (λ) and generation
time
- gives the proportional change in population size from one time period to the next
- Can be used to determine the status of threatened and endangered species
how to find allele frequency
divide the amount of the allele of interest by the total amount of alleles
percent polymorphism
-add the loci that are polymorphic to together
remember that
-polymorphic means that it has two different alleles
What would genotype frequencies be at locus 2 in this population if it were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium?
- If individuals 1-3 were males and individuals 4-6 were females, what would be the effective population size of this population (all are breeders)?
Effective population size (NE)
- the size of an ideal population (i.e., one that meets all the Hardy-Weinberg assumptions) that would lose heterozygosity at a rate equal to that of the observed population
- a number that, in some simplified scenarios, corresponds to the number of breeding individuals in the population
Ne =
(4Nm Nf) / Nm + Nf
If 50 females & 50 males, what is Ne?
If 20 females & 80 males, what is Ne?
100
64
Models of Population Dynamics
- In models, parameters are values that are crucial to describing the behavior of a particular system – for instance a particular population’s growth.
-They are typically constant for a given situation (e.g., a particular population) as compared to variables (such as time and population size).
Models of Population Dynamics
- In models, parameters are values that are crucial to describing the behavior of a particular system – for instance a particular population’s growth.
-They are typically constant for a given situation (e.g., a particular population) as compared to variables (such as time and population size).
Exponential Growth
Continuous increase or decrease in a population in which the rate of change is proportional to the number of individuals at any given time
Population Growth at High Density
Density dependence
- when an effect is proportional to the population density
-Example: death by starvation, disease
*the proportion that die increase as the density itself facilitates the problem
Density independence
- not related to population density
Example: increased death rate due to extreme weather conditions
*the proportion that die increase as the density itself facilitates the problem.
equilibrium density
is termed the carrying capacity, K
carrying capacity
an equilibrium between the availability of habitat and the number of animals of a given species the habitat can support over time
carrying capacity also
represents a population density
The impacts of density-dependent factors become more severe as population size increases
– at equilibrium density, the population size (N) will be at carrying capacity (K)
– We can approximate the impacts of density on the growth rate by using the carrying capacity (K):
Logistic Growth
– a population’s per capita growth rate gets smaller and smaller as population size approaches a maximum imposed by limited resources in the environment, known as the carrying capacity (K)
*Carrying capacity represents a pop. density
not a constant and can fluctuate
Growth in Natural Populations
–Not all population growth will naturally fit a perfect exponential or logistic growth model
– rate of change can fluctuate
–Population booms and busts
–Stochastic variation in K
Time Lags in Logistic Growth
–Time lags are due to synchrony of various life history events
–organisms are buffered from changes and make life history
–for example, events that lead to poor condition of population members (high competition) in one season may not show up as higher d and lower b until much later
*organisms are buffered from hangs and Make life history
“decisions.”
biodiversity and evolution
the core things we care about in Conservation Bio.
can’t look at one pop. level
change in genetics and demographics
Current population size may depend on the population size at some previous time when something happened to influence future growth
–as time lag increases, the growth rate of the population depends more and more on far-past population sizes
–important implications for the ability to predict population size