Module 4 - Population Ecology Flashcards
What is population density?
The number of organisms per unit area
What is dispersion?
The pattern of spacing of a population within an area
What is population range?
The places on the biosphere that the species can be found
What are density independent facotors?
Any factor in the environment that does not depend on the number of members in a population per unit area. Usually abiotic, such as weather events or other natural phenomena
What are density-dependent factors?
Any factor in the environment that depends on the number of members in a population per unit area. Often biotic factors
What is population growth rate?
How fast a given population grows
What are natality and mortality?
The birthrate, or number of individuals born in a given time period, is called natality
The death rate, or the number of deaths that occur in the population during a given time period, is called mortality
What is emigration?
the number of individuals moving away from a population
What is immigration?
the number of individuals moving into a population
What are the main parts of a Logistic Population Growth graph?
The lag phase is first where the population is at zero or very low. Once the population starts, it grows exponentially (proportional to the size of the population), forming the “S-curve”, but resources become limited and population growth slows, hitting the carrying capacity.
What is carrying capacity?
The maximum number of individuals in a species that an environment can support for the long term
What is the r-strategy of reproduction?
The rate strategy is an adaptation for living in an environment where fluctuation in biotic or abiotic factors occurs. It is used by small organisms that have short life spans and many offspring. They spend little to no energy in raising their young to adulthood. The strategy is to produce as many offspring as possible in a short time period. Don’t tend to reach carrying capacity.
What is the k-strategy of reproduction?
The carrying capacity strategy is an adaptation for living in environments that are fairly stable. It is to produce only a few offspring that have a better chance of living to reproductive age because of the energy, resources, and time invested in the care for the young. These strategists are larger organisms, have longer life spans, and produce fewer offspring.
What is demography?
The study of human population size, density, distribution, movement, and birth and death rates
Why is the human population growth rate declining?
Diseases such as AIDS and population control
