Populations and Sustainability Flashcards
What are the three stages of a population growth curve?
- Slow growth phase
- Rapid growth (increased no. of breeding individuals)
- Stable state
What are the limiting factors for populaton growth?
BIOTIC -predators -disease -competition ABIOTIC -temperature -light -pH -availability of water/oxygen
What is the carrying capacity?
Maximum population size an environment can support
What are density independent factors?
Factors that have an effect on the whole population regardless of its size
Examples of density independent factors:
- Earthquakes
- Forest fires
- Volcanic eruptions
- Storms
What is the competitive exclusion principle?
When two species are competing for limited resources, the one that uses the resources more effectively (more adapted) will ultimately eliminate the other (outcompete)
What is the effect of intraspecific competition on a population?
- Stage 1: When resource is plentiful, all organisms have enough resource to survive, causing increase in pop. size
- Stage 2: Due to increased pop. size, more individuals share food or space available. Resources are no able to supply every organism so pop. decreases
- Stage 3: Less competition due to less organisms means pop. size increases again as resources are plentiful enough
What is predation?
Where an organism (predator) kills and eats another organism (prey)
General shape of a predator-prey graph:
- Increase in prey population provides more food for the predators, so pop. size increases
- Increased predator population decreases prey population as more are being eaten
- Reduced prey population can no longer support the large predator population, increased intraspecific competition decreases predator population
- Reduced predator number means less prey being killed so their population increases
What is conservation?
Maintenance of biodiversity through human action or management
What are the features of conservation?
- Involves management of ecosystems so natural resources can be used without running out
- Also includes reclamation, which is the process of restoring ecosystems that have been damaged or destroyed
- Is dynamic and needs to adapt to change
What is preservation?
Protection of an area by restricting or banning human interference so that the ecosystem is kept in its original state
When is preservation used?
To protect ecologically, archaeologically, paleontologically sensitive resources
What is a key feature of preservation?
Often involves restricting or completely banning visitation
Economic importance of conservation:
- Protect resources that humans need to survive and to provide an income
- e.g. rainforest species provide medicinal drugs, clothing and food that can be traded
Social importance of conservation:
-People enjoy the natural beauty of wild ecosystems as well as using them for activities which are beneficial to health by providing a means of relaxation and exercise
Ethical importance of conservation:
- All organisms have a right to exist, and most play an important role in their ecosystem
- Many people believe that we should not have the right to decide which organisms can survive, and which we could live without
- Have a moral responsibility for future generations to conserve the natural environment for them
What is sustainability?
The economic exploitation of a resource in such a way that it will not diminish or run out
Aims of sustainability:
- Preserve the environment
- Ensure resources available for future generations
- Allow humans in all societies to live comfortably
- Enable LEDCS to develop, through exploiting their natural resources in a sustainable way
- Create more even balance in the consumption of these resources between MEDCS and LEDCS
Coppicing:
-Used in small scale timber production
-Tree trunk is cut close to the ground
-New shoots form from cut surface and mature
-Eventually these shoots are cut and in their place more are produced
-These shoots have many uses, including fencing
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What is rotational coppicing?
Woodland is divided into sections and trees are only cut in a particular section until all have been coppiced. Coppicing then begins in a different area, allowing time for the newly coppiced trees to grow