Life History Strategies

Question 1

population ecology

Answer 1

study of how & why number of individuals in a population changes over time & space

Question 2

population density

Answer 2

number of individuals of a population per unit area

Question 3

metapopulation

Answer 3

population made up of many small, physically isolated populations connected by migration
- forced to move

(ie) Native American migration throughout history
(ie) animal habitats in the city - houses to forest ratio

Question 4

immigration

Answer 4

migration INTO a particular population from other population
- increase population

IMI

Question 5

emigration

Answer 5

migration AWAY from one population to another
- decreases population

EMA

Question 6

demography

Answer 6

study of factors that determine size & structure of populations through time

Question 7

age structure

Answer 7

proportion of individuals in a population that are of each possible age

Question 8

generation

Answer 8

avg. time btwn mother’s 1st offspring & her daughter’s 1st offspring

Question 9

life table

Answer 9

(data set) summarize probability when an individual in a certain population will survive & reproduce in any given year over the cause of its lifetime

Question 10

age class

Answer 10

all individuals of a specific age in a population

Question 11

cohort

Answer 11

group of individuals that are the same age & can be followed through time

Question 12

survivorship

Answer 12

avg. proportion of offspring that survive to a particular age
- can be calculated

Question 13

survivorship curve

Answer 13

graph depicting percentage of a population that survives to diff. ages

Question 14

fecundity

Answer 14

avg # of female offspring produced by each female over course of her lifetime

Question 15

age-specific fecundity

Answer 15

avg # of female offspring produced by a female in a certain age class

Question 16

net reproductive rate (Ro)

Answer 16

growth rate of a population/generation

- equivalent to avg # female offspring each female produces over her lifetime

Question 17

fitness trade-off

Answer 17

(evolutionary biology) inescapable compromise btwn 2 traits that cannot be optimized simultaneously

(ie) either spend energy reproducing or else surviving

Question 18

life history

Answer 18

sequence of events in an individual’s life from birth to reproduction to death

• how individual allocates resources to growth, reproduction & activities or structures related to survival
• shaped by NS

Question 19

arrangement patterns (AP)

Answer 19

(1) random
(2) clumped
(3) uniform

Question 20

random (AP)

Answer 20

position is independent of others

(ie) seed dispersion

Question 21

clumped (AP)

Answer 21

habitat quality = patchy or cliques

(ie) fish school

Question 22

uniform (AP)

Answer 22

negative interactions occur among individuals

(ie) competition for space, H2O, resources

Question 23

central processes of demography

Answer 23

(1) birth
(2) death
(3) emigration
(4) immigration

Question 24

why are females the main focus of studying generations?

Answer 24

number of males rarely affect population growth

Question 25

which age class is most important to save in conservation ecology?

Answer 25

The age-class producing the most babies

Question 26

types of survivorship

Answer 26

(1) Type I
(2) Type II
(3) Type III

Question 27

Type I survivorship

Answer 27

high survivorship throughout life
- most approach species max. life span

(ie) humans

Question 28

Type II survivorship

Answer 28

same probability of dying each year of life

(ie) blackbirds & songbirds

Question 29

Type III survivorship

Answer 29

extremely high death rates, but high survival rates later in life

(ie) plant seedlings

Question 30

reason fitness trade-off occurs

Answer 30

individual has restricted amount of time energy @ dispersal
- limited resources

(ie) balance reproducing w/ staying healthy & alive

Question 31

aspects of life history

Answer 31

(1) survivorship
(2) age-specific fecundity
(3) age @ first reproduction
(4) growth rate