DR. FILEMON C.

AGUILAR MEMORIAL COLLEGE

Golden Gate Subdivision, Talon 3, Las Piñas City
General Education Department

Course Code and Title : MST (Environmental Science)

Lesson Number : 3
Topic : Changes in the Living World

Introduction

Population is the number of organisms interacting and living in a particular area. When there
is an increase in population, it is called growth. Since populations can grow exponentially, resource
depletion can occur rapidly leading to specific environmental concerns such as global warming,
deforestation, and decreases biodiversity. Population growth in particular places increasing pressure
on the plant’s resources – water, forests, land, and the atmosphere which pose a challenge to
environmental sustainability.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the lesson, the student should be able to:

1. Determine the two changes that affect balance of ecosystem.

2. Relate the effect of population increase to the occurrence of environmental problems.
3. Compute population density of organism.

Pre-Assessment

Choose the letter of the best answer.

1. Which of the following does NOT contribute to maintenance of ecological balance?

a. Spraying insecticide over a rice field from a small airplane
b. Keeping population size within the carrying capacity of the land
c. Conserving biodiversity
d. A complex food web

2. The following factors limit the growth of the Philippine Eagle population. Which should be
eliminated from the list?
a. Deforestation
b. Overcollection
c. Frequent typhoons in the Philippines

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 d. Slow rate of reproduction of the eagle

3. Here are some current migration trends among Filipinos. Which can be omitted from the
list?
a. Migration of families to upland areas
b. Migration of young women from rural to urban areas
c. Migration of men and women in business from urban to rural areas
d. Migration of men and women of working age to other countries

4. A population where no migration takes place is called a closed population. Which of the
following illustrates a closed population?
a. Population of frogs in a rice field
b. Population of paramecia in a hay infusion
c. Population of green sea turtles in Philippine territorial waters
d. Population of bacteria (Escherichia coli to scientists) in the human intestine

5. The statements below are true of a climax community EXCEPT:

a. A climax forest community can be disturbed by an extensive fire.
b. A grassland community may become transformed into a forest community if seeds of
trees reach it and water is available to the seedlings.
c. Plant and animal populations in a climax community thrive in a harmonious
relationship.
d. Animal populations in a climax community no longer change in size and density.

Lesson Presentation

This module will present the implication of the increase or decrease in population size and
density in maintaining the stability of an ecosystem or the ability of an ecosystem to sustain itself.

PATTERN OF DISTRIBUTION OF POPULATION

The term population has several

meanings. In this module, it is used in two
different ways but both in the context of
ecology. It is defined as the total number
of a particular kind of organism occupying
a particular area. It also includes the total
number of people in a region. Also, it is a
group of interbreeding numbers of the
same species.

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 Population can be distributed in a specific pattern in an area. Take the rice field as an
example. The rice plants have a uniform pattern of distribution. The farmers plant them that way
because their roots compete for water and dissolved minerals as well as sunlight. The rest of species
in the rice field have clumped pattern of distribution. They cluster together in patches if the habitat
where conditions are more suitable to the individual than in other parts of the habitat. The weeds
have a random pattern of distribution because the environmental conditions are more or less the
same throughout the area.

POPULATION SIZE AND DENSITY

Even more crucial to the survival of

https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Book
%3A_Introductory_Biology_(CK-12)/06%3A_Ecology/6.17%3A_Population_Size
%2C_Density%2C_and_Distribution species than changes in population
distribution are changes in population size
and density. Population size is the number of individuals in a population. It influences the chances of a
species surviving or going extinct. Population size can be determined in several ways. For organisms
that move around such as fish, birds, and mammals, a technique called mark-recapture method is
used. For others, populations size is determined by direct observation and sampling.

Population density is the number of people per unit area, usually quoted per square kilometer
or square mile. To calculate the population density, you will divide the population by the size of the
area, thus:

no . of people
PD=
land area

A high population density implies that the population is high relative to the size of the country. The
ideal population density is 50-100 people per square kilometer.

FACTORS THAT AFFECT POPULATION SIZE

1. Slow rate reproduction

2. Presence of predators, parasites, and other enemies that prevent growth in population
3. Balance between biotic potential and environmental resistance
4. Migration
5. Immigration
6. Emigration

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PATTERNS OF POPULATION GROWTH

Two types of population growth

patterns may occur depending on specific
environmental conditions: An exponential
growth pattern (J curve) occurs in an ideal,
unlimited environment. A logistic growth
pattern (S curve) occurs when
environmental pressures slow the rate of
growth.

ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION

Ecosystems and biotic communities are dynamic. Once disturbed, they undergo slow but
progressive changes in plant and animal populations until a suitable community (climax community)
results. The sequence of communities that replace one another in a given area is called sere. In
ecological succession, the transition from one seral community to another happens as follows: when
the environmental conditions change, the plant and animal populations that cannot cope with the
new environmental conditions die out and are replaced by another set of organisms that are adapted
to those conditions. The climax communities will maintain itself over a long period of time as long as
there is a harmonious interaction between the biotic and abiotic components.

Evaluation

The orientation of the module is towards maintaining balance in the face of changes in the
ecosystem. To illustrate the dynamic nature of an ecosystem two changes were described. First is
changes in population and the second is ecological succession.

The student is expected to answer the following questions:

A. The Philippines has many mangrove swamps. If your mangrove forest is in the mouth of the
river, you will most likely find nipa plants growing along the banks of the river all the way
upstream. What distribution pattern is shown by the nipa plants? Explain your answer.

B. A dense growth of water hyacinth is a common sight in many waterways of the country. It
illustrates intense competition among the water plants.
1. What does dense growth mean?
2. What are the plants competing for?
3. What is the obvious effect of the competition on the plants?

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 C.
1. Imagine a newly completed house where a pair of mice (1 male and 1 female) moved in
during the month of January. By April the female gave birth to 6 babies (3 males and 3
females). Shortly after, another 2 mice both males moved into the house. But by June, a
total of 3 mice were caught by a cat. What is the total number of mice in the house by
end of June?

2. Suppose the 3 females from the first litter became sexually mature and gave birth also to
6 offspring each before the end of the year. Suppose also that a total of 5 mice have
moved out of the house from January-November, while a total of 10 mice were caught by
the cat during the same period. How many mice will there be in the house by the end of
the year?

D. A young island that is still in the process of being formed is called a cay. The narrow beach is
still barren. Is ecological succession possible? If so, how can it get started?

Reinforcement

Population change in size and density. Overpopulation implies an increase in population size
beyond the carrying capacity of the habitat. When this happens, the stability of an ecosystem is
disturbed.

The next module will present the effects of human activities in the balance of nature.