human population growth; life histories

Question 1

acclimiatization

Answer 1

short-term, reversible responses to environmental fluctuations. Phenotypic change in an individual in response to short-term changes in the natural environment.

Question 2

two types of factors determine range:

Answer 2

• Abiotic factors – such as temperature, rainfall, the presence of geographical structures like mountains and oceans, and large-scale ongoing and historical processes such as continental drift.
• Biotic factors – such as the past and current presence of other species that provide habitat, food, or competition.

Question 3

In general, individual organisms can be arranged in different patterns within populations. The arrangement may be:

Answer 3

• Random – if the position of each individual is independent of the others, as may occur when seeds are dispersed by the wind.
• Clumped – if the quality of the habitat is patchy or the organisms associated in social groups.
• Uniform – if negative interactions occur among individuals, such as competition for space, water, or other resources.

Question 4

life table

Answer 4

summarizes the probability that an individual will survive and reproduce in any given time interval over the course of its lifetime.

Question 5

age class

Answer 5

group of individuals of a specific age.

Question 6

cohort

Answer 6

a group of the same age that can be followed through time.

Question 7

survivorship

Answer 7

defined as the proportion of offspring produced that survive, on average, to a particular age.

Question 8

Three general types of survivorship curves exist:

Answer 8

• Type I survivorship curve – humans; survivorship throughout life is high – most individuals approach the species’ maximum life span.
• Type II survivorship curve – occur in species where individuals have about the same probability of dying each year of life. Blackbirds and other songbirds.
• Type III curves – plants; a pattern defined by extremely high death rates for seeds and seedlings but high survival rates later in life.

Question 9

fecundity

Answer 9

the number of female offspring produced by each female in the population.

Question 10

age-specific fecundity

Answer 10

the average number of female offspring produced by a female in each age class.

Question 11

individuals from species with high fecundity

Answer 11

tend to grow quickly, reach sexual maturity at a young age, and produce many small eggs or seeds

Question 12

individuals from species with high survivorship

Answer 12

tend to grow slowly and invest resources in traits that reduce dam- age from enemies and increase their own ability to compete for water, sunlight, or food.

Question 13

fertility

Answer 13

average number of surviving children that each woman has during her lifetime.