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AP BIO > Population Ecology > Flashcards

Population Ecology Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

what is population ecology?

A

the study of intraspecific interactions

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2
Q

what are intraspecific interactions?

A

“intra” - within

organisms interacting with members of the same species in relation to environment

how both biotic and abiotic factors affect density, distribution, size, and age structure

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3
Q

what is density?

A

of individuals per unit area or volume

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4
Q

what is dipersion?

A

pattern of spacing among individuals within the population

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5
Q

what are two ways population ecologists measure density?

A

count individuals

quadrant sampling

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6
Q

what is count individuals?

A

count nests, burrows, tracks, or scat

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7
Q

what is quadrant sampling?

A

count number of oak trees in several randomly located 100m x 100m plots in Troy and calculate an average for the city

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8
Q

how can you create a more accurate representation with quadrant sampling?

A

increase sample size

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9
Q

what is the mark-recapture method? what is it also known as?

A

capture-recapture method

taking a sample of a population, marking those individuals and releasing them back into the population. after the individuals have mixed freely with unmarked individuals, take new samples and record marked to unmarked individual ratio

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10
Q

how to calculate ratio of marked to unmarked individuals?

A

1st catch x 2nd catch total
____________________
number of recaptures in 2nd catch

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11
Q

what increases population density?

A

birth/natality/fecundity

immigration

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12
Q

what decreases population density?

A

death/mortality

emmigration

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13
Q

what are the 3 types of dispersion? give examples

A

clumped - most common (seastars)

uniform - most rare (penguins)

random (dandelions)

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14
Q

what is a demography?

A

studies vital statistics of populations and how they change over time

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15
Q

what are life tables?

A

age specific summaries of the survival pattern of a population which tracks cohorts from birth to death

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16
Q

at are cohorts

A

individuals of the same age

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17
Q

what is a survivorship curve?

A

data from a life table put into a graph

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18
Q

what is a reproductive table?

A

based on female cohorts producing offspring from birth to death

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19
Q

hoe many days on average are many female squirrel species fertile each year?

A

few hours/1-3 days

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20
Q

what cycle do squirrels and most other mammals have that reabsorbs the endometrial lining when not pregnant? humans?

A

estrous cycle; menstrual cycle

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21
Q

most mammals have a bone in the penis to aid in copulation, what is called?

A

baculum

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22
Q

what is generation time?

A

the amount of time between the birth of an individual and the birth of their progeny (offspring)

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23
Q

how long are generation times for small organisms?

A

short

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24
Q

how to some bacteria divide?

A

asexually by binary fission every 20 minutes

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25
Q

how long are generation times of large animals? giev an example

A

long; redwood trees (tallest trees in the world) and sequoia trees (widest trees) do not reproduce until 10 years old

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26
Q

while some bacteria can reproduce this quickly, what are some limiting factors that affect their colony size? (4)

A

limited resources (food, water, nutrients, energy and space)

toxic waste accumulation

predation

bacteriophages

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27
Q

what are bacteriophages?

A

viruses that infect bacteria

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28
Q

what are two things a virus has at a minimum

A

nucleic acid (dna or rna)

capsid (protein coat)

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29
Q

what is exponential population growth? other name? what shape curve does it create?

A

geometric population growth

a population whose members all have access to abundant resources and reproduce without limits

J -shaped curve

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30
Q

when does exponential growth occur?

A

when a population is introduced into a new envirnoment after a catastrophic event

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31
Q

what does in vitro mean?

A

in glass

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32
Q

what is logistic population growth? what curve shape does it create?

A

a population with limited resources that cause a population to reach a plateau point as the population increases

S shaped curve/ sigmoid curve

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33
Q

what is the name of the plateau in a logistic growth curve?

A

carrying capacity

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34
Q

what letter do population ecologists use to represent the carrying capacity?

A

K

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35
Q

what are the two types of reproductive efforts an organism can make?

A

semelparity & iteroparity

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36
Q

what is semelparity?

A

a single large reproductive effort (salmon)

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37
Q

what is iteroparity?

A

repeated reproductions

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38
Q

agave americana plant grows in desert climates and send up large flowering stalk to produce seeds and die. what type of reproduction is this?

A

semelparity

39
Q

fermented agave make what drink?

A

tequila

40
Q

what are annual plants?

A

live for one growing season

41
Q

what are perennial plants?

A

longer lives and come back each year

harvest energy into roots and freeze resistant buds

42
Q

are petunias annual or perennial plants? what type of reproduction do they have?

A

perennial; semelparity

43
Q

what is a life history chart?

A

they include traits that affect an organism’s schedule of reproduction and survival

44
Q

what do life histories include?

A

when reproduction starts

how often an organism reproduces

how many offspring per reproductive episode

45
Q

what is r-selected?

A

reproductive success in uncrowded (low density) environments

46
Q

what is k selected?

A

life history traits that are sensitive to population density

47
Q

is r-selected or K-selected life history associated with logistic population growth?

A

k selected

48
Q

is an r selected or k selected life history associated with exponential population growth?

A

r selected

49
Q

what does r mean?

A

per capita rate of increase

50
Q

what is there between reproduction and adult survival?

A

“trade off”

51
Q

what is the effect of larger/smaller clutch (# of baby birds) on parental survival?

A

fewer offspring=longer lifespan for parents

more offspring=more energy invested in reproduction and rearing of the offspring

52
Q

what is the principle of allocation?

A

states an organism only has limited energy so if it uses energy for one function, it will have less energy for other functions

53
Q

where do most organisms allocate their energy?

A

during breeding season

54
Q

what is called when monarch butterflies allocate their energy by entering a non-reproductive phase till spring?

A

reproductive diapause

55
Q

what are density dependent factors?

A

factors that affect populations as the number of individuals increase the population becomes more dense

56
Q

what are density independent factors?

A

factors that affect population size regardless of the number of individuals (weather, wildfire, hurricanes)

57
Q

will parasites increase or decrease as the population density increases?

A

increase

58
Q

will reproduction/birthrates increase or decrease as the population density increases?

A

decrease

59
Q

will nutrient availability increase or decrease as the population density increases?

A

decrease

60
Q

will diseases increase or decrease as the population density increases?

A

increase

61
Q

will food availability increase or decrease as the population density increases?

A

decrease

62
Q

will toxic wastes increase or decrease as the population density increases?

A

increase

63
Q

will territoriality increase or decrease as the population density increases?

A

increase

64
Q

will smaller body size of organisms increase or decrease as the population density increases?

A

increase

65
Q

will competition increase or decrease as the population density increases?

A

increase

66
Q

what can monet do to produce larger, healthier plants?

A

space the plants out and prune (trim) them regularly

67
Q

Is the bubonic plague density dependent or density independent factor?

A

density-dependent

68
Q

bubonic plague was caused by a bacterium. what organism was the vector to transmitting this bacterium to humans?

A

fleas on rats

69
Q

what is the death of tissue called?

A

necrosis

70
Q

what children’s nursery rhyme is linked to the plague?

A

ring around the rosy

71
Q

what is a boom and bust cycle? give two examples

A

cycles where some populations of organisms fluctuate in density

periodic cicada insects have cycles in 13-17 years depending upon the species

hare and lynx population - 10 years

72
Q

what are the exoskeletons of cicadas made of?

A

chitin

73
Q

how rare is a blue-eyed cicada?

A

one in a million

74
Q

what is the cause of the hare population cycling?

A

a combination of

food supply decreasing in winter
other predators besides lynx eat hares

75
Q

what is the cause of the lynx population cycling? is this a density dependent or density independent factor?

A

lynx almost feed exclusively on hares

density dependent

76
Q

how is the global human population growing?

A

not increasing exponentially anymore, but still rapidly

77
Q

how often is the population census taken?

A

every 10 years

78
Q

approx how many people are there worldwide?

A

8 billion

79
Q

country with most people?

A

china 1.45 bill

80
Q

second country with most people

A

india 1.41 bill

81
Q

the human population skyrocketed after the industrial revolution (1760-1830) but slowed in 1962, why?

A

famine in china

82
Q

what is causing the human population to depart from true exponential growth?

A

diseases, decreased birth, china “voluntary” population control (1979-2015)

83
Q

what are age structure pyramids?

A

the relative number of individuals of each age in the population graphed

84
Q

which age structure has lots of young people who will most likely grow up and sustain explosive growth with their own reproduction?

A

wide bottom pyramids

afghanistan

85
Q

what is the bulge in US age structure pyramid?

A

baby boom

86
Q

what is the current reproduction rate in us per female?

A

1.8 children

87
Q

what pyramid has no growth to their population?

A

small base pyramids as people younger than reproductive age are underrepresented in the population

italy

88
Q

which sex tends to live longer?

A

females

89
Q

why do people in industrialized nations tend to live longer?

A

better quality healthcare. sanitation, improved access to education

90
Q

what is ecological footprint?

A

the land and water required by each person, city, or nation to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb all the waste it generates

91
Q

what benchmark do ecologists use to measure ecological footprint?

A

the planet can sustain 1.7 hectares (2.5 acres) per person per year

92
Q

how much does an american use? is this sustainable?

A

10 ha/person/year; unsustainable for Earth’s resources

93
Q

what limiting factors could lead to the Earth reaching its carrying capacity? (4)

A

food (malnutrition and famine)

sustainable space

running out of resources (nonrenewable metals and fossil fuels and renewable fresh water)

environment unable to absorb its waste

AP BIO (30 decks)

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