CH:11 ORGANISMS AND POPULATIONS

POPULATIONS
A population is a group of individuals of the same species that live in a given geographical area,
share or compete for similar resources and potentially reproduce.

E.g. All the cormorants in a wetland, rats in an abandoned dwelling, teakwood trees in a forest
tract, bacteria in a culture plate lotus plant in a pond etc.

Population ecology is an important area of ecology as it links ecology to population genetics &
evolution.

Population Attributes
• Birth rates: Refer to per capita births.
E.g. In a pond, there were 20 lotus plants last year and through reproduction 8 new plants were
added.
Hence, the current population = 28
The birth rate = 8/20 = 0.4 offspring per lotus per year.
• Death rates: Refer to per capita deaths.
E.g. For 4 individuals in a laboratory population of 40 fruit flies died during a week.
Hence, the death rate = 4/40 = 0.1 individuals per fruit fly per week.
• Sex ratio: A population has a sex ratio.
E.g. 60% of the population is females and 40% males.
• Age pyramid: It is the structure obtained when the age distribution (% individuals of a given
age or age group) is plotted for the population.

For the human population, age pyramids generally show the age distribution of males and
females in a combined diagram.

Representation of age pyramids for the human population

• Population size or population density (N): It is the number of individuals of a species

per unit area or volume.
E.g. The population density of Siberian cranes at Bharatpur wetlands in any year is <10.
It is millions for Chlamydomonas in a pond.
• Population size is also measured in % cover or biomass.
E.g. In an area, 200 Parthenium plants and a huge banyan tree are seen. In such cases,
measuring the % cover or biomass is meaningful to show the importance of the banyan
tree.
• The total number is a difficult measure for a huge population. In such cases, relative
population density (without knowing absolute population density) is used.
 E.g. The number of fish caught per trap indicates the total population density in the lake.
• In some cases, indirect estimation of population sizes is performed.
E.g. Tiger census in national parks & tiger reserves based on pug marks & fecal pellets.

POPULATION GROWTH
The population size changes depending on factors like food availability, predation pressure &
weather.
Changes in population density give some idea about the population – whether it is flourishing or
declining.

4 basic processes that fluctuate the population density:

1. Natality (B): It is the number of births in a population during a given period.
2. Mortality (D): It is the number of deaths in a population during a given period.
3. Immigration (I): It is the number of individuals of the same species that have come into
the habitat from elsewhere during a given time period.
4. Emigration (E): It is the number of individuals of the population who left the habitat and
went elsewhere during a given time period.
Natality & immigration increase the population density and mortality & emigration
decrease the population density.

If N is the population density at time t, then its density at time t +1 is

Nt+1 = Nt + [(B + I) – (D + E)]
Population density increases if B+I is more than D+E. Otherwise, it will decrease.

Under normal conditions, births & deaths are important factors influencing population density.
The other 2 factors have importance only under special conditions.
E.g. for a new colonising habitat, immigration may be more significant to population growth
than birth rates.

Growth Models

a. Exponential growth
-Resources (food & space) are essential for the unimpeded population growth.
-If resources are unlimited, each species shows its full innate potential to grow in number. -Then
the population grows in an exponential or geometric fashion.

If population size = N, birth rates (per capita births) = b and death rates (per capita deaths) = d,
then the increase or decrease in N during a unit time period t (dN/dt) will be

dN/dt = (b – d) × N

Let (b–d) = r, then

dN/dt = rN
The r (‘intrinsic rate of natural increase’) is an important parameter for assessing the impacts of
any biotic or abiotic factor on population growth.

r value for the Norway rat = 0.015

r value for the flour beetle = 0.12

r value for human population in India (1981) = 0.0205

The integral form of the exponential growth equation is

Where, Nt = Population density after time t

N0 = Population density at time zero

r = intrinsic rate of natural increase

e = the base of natural logarithms (2.71828)

Population growth curves

a = exponential growth (J-shaped curve)

b = logistic growth (Sigmoid curve)

b. Logistic growth

• No population in nature has unlimited resources for exponential growth. This leads to
competition among individuals for limited resources.

• Eventually, the ‘fittest’ individuals survive and reproduce.

• In nature, a given habitat has enough resources to support the maximum possible number,
beyond which no further growth is possible. It is called carrying capacity (K).

• A population with limited resources shows initially a lag phase, phases of acceleration
& deceleration and finally an asymptote. This type of population growth is called
Verhulst-Pearl Logistic Growth. It is described by the following equation:
 Where, N = Population density at time t

r = Intrinsic rate of natural increase

K = Carrying capacity

Since resources for growth for most animal populations are limited, the logistic growth model is
more realistic.

Population Interactions
Organisms interact in various ways to form a biological community.
Interaction between two species is called Interspecific interactions. They include

Species Species
Name of interaction A B
Mutualism: Both species are
benefitted (+) + +
Competition: Both species
are harmed (-) - -
Predation: One (predator) is
benefitted. Other (prey) is harmed + -
Parasitism: One (parasite) is
benefitted. Other (host) is harmed + -
Commensalism: One is benefitted.
Other is unaffected (0) + 0
Amensalism: One is harmed.
Other is unaffected - 0

In predation, parasitism & commensalisms, the interacting species live closely together.

PREDATION
In a broad ecological context, all carnivores, herbivores etc. are predators. About 25 % of insects
are phytophagous.

If a predator overexploits its prey, then the prey might become extinct. It results in the extinction
of predators. Therefore, predators in nature are ‘prudent’.

Importance of predators
• Predators control prey populations.
• When certain exotic species are introduced into a geographical area, they spread fast due
to the absence its natural predators. E.g. the Prickly pear cactus introduced into Australia
(1920s) caused havoc by spreading. Later, it was controlled by introducing a cactus-
feeding predator moth.
• Predators are used in Biological control methods.
• Predators maintain species diversity in a community by reducing competition among prey
species.
 E.g. the predator starfish Pisaster in the rocky intertidal communities of the American
Pacific Coast. In an experiment, all these starfishes were removed from an enclosed
intertidal area. It caused the extinction of over 10 invertebrate species within a year, due
to interspecific competition.

Defences of prey species to lessen the impact of predation

• Camouflage (cryptic colouration) of some insects & frogs.

• Some are poisonous and so avoided by predators.
• The monarch butterfly is highly distasteful to its predator bird. It is due to a special
chemical in its body. It is acquired during its caterpillar stage by feeding on a poisonous
weed.
• Thorns (Acacia, Cactus etc.) are the most common morphological means of defence of
plants.
• Many plants produce chemicals that make the herbivore sick, inhibit feeding or digestion,
disrupt its reproduction or kill it. E.g. Calotropis produce highly poisonous cardiac
glycosides. Therefore, cattle or goats do not eat it. Nicotine, caffeine, quinine, strychnine,
opium, etc. are defences against grazers and browsers.

COMPETITION
• It is a process in which the fitness of one species (‘r’ value) is significantly lower in the
presence of another species.
• Interspecific competition is a potent force in organic evolution.
• Competition occurs when closely related species compete for the same limited resources.
• Unrelated species can also compete for the resource. E.g. Flamingoes & fishes in some
shallow South American lakes compete for zooplankton.
• Competition occurs in abundant resources also. E.g. In interference competition, the
feeding efficiency of one species is reduced due to the interfering and inhibitory presence
of other species, even if resources are abundant.

Evidence for competition:

• The Abingdon tortoise in the Galapagos Islands became extinct within a decade
after goats were introduced on the island, due to the greater browsing efficiency
of the goats.
• Competitive release: It is the expansion of the distributional range of a species
when the competing species is removed.
• Connell’s field experiments: On the rocky sea coasts of Scotland, there are 2
barnacle species: Balanus (larger & competitively superior) & Chathamalus
(smaller). Balanus dominates the intertidal area and excludes Chathamalus.
When Connell experimentally removed Balanus, Chathamalus colonised the
intertidal zone

Gause’s ‘Competitive Exclusion Principle’:

• It states that two closely related species competing for the same resources cannot coexist
indefinitely and the competitively inferior one will be eliminated eventually.
• This may be true in limited resources, but not otherwise.
• Species facing competition may evolve mechanisms for co-existence rather than
exclusion.
E.g. resource partitioning.
Resource partitioning:

It is the division of limited resources by species to avoid competition. For this, they choose
different feeding times or different foraging patterns.
E.g. MacArthur showed that five closely related species of warblers living on a tree could avoid
competition and co-exist due to behavioural differences in their foraging activities.

PARASITISM
Many parasites are host-specific (they can parasitize only a single host species). They tend to co-
evolve. i.e., if the host evolves special mechanisms against the parasite, the parasite also evolves
mechanisms to counteract them to remain with the same host species.

Adaptations of parasites: Loss of sense organs, presence of adhesive organs or suckers to cling
on to the host, loss of digestive system, high reproductive capacity etc.

The life cycles of parasites are often complex.

E.g.
• Human liver fluke depends on 2 intermediate hosts (a snail & a fish) to complete its life
cycle.
• The malarial parasite needs mosquitoes to spread to other hosts.
Parasites harm the host. They may reduce the survival, population density, growth and
reproduction of the host. They may make the host physically weak and more vulnerable to
predation.

Types of parasites:

1.Ectoparasites
Parasites that feed on the external surface of the host. E.g.
• Lice on humans.
• Ticks on dogs.
• Ectoparasitic Copepods on many marine fishes.
• Cuscuta plant on hedge plants.

Cuscuta has no chlorophyll and leaves. It derives its nutrition from the host plant.
Female mosquito is not considered a parasite, because it needs our blood only for reproduction,
not as food.

2. Endoparasites
• Parasites that live inside the host body at different sites (liver, kidney, lungs, RBC etc).
• The life cycles of endoparasites are more complex.
• They have simple morphological & anatomical features and high reproductive potential.

Brood parasitism in birds:

• Here, the parasitic birds lay eggs in the nest of their host and let the host incubate them.
• During evolution, the eggs of the parasitic bird have evolved to resemble the host’s egg
in size and colour. So, the host bird cannot detect and eject the foreign eggs easily. E.g.
Brood parasitism between cuckoo and crow.
COMMENSALISM
Examples:
• Orchid (+) growing as an epiphyte on a mango branch (0).
• Barnacles (+) growing on the back of a whale (0).
• Cattle egret (+) & grazing cattle (0). The egrets forage close to where the cattle are
grazing. As the cattle move, the vegetation insects come out. Otherwise, it is difficult for
the egrets to find and catch the insects.
• Sea anemone (0) & clown fish (+). Stinging tentacles of sea anemones give protection to
fish from predators.

MUTUALISM
Examples:
• Lichen: It is a mutualistic relationship between a fungus & photosynthesizing algae or
cyanobacteria.
• Mycorrhizae: Associations between fungi & the roots of higher plants. The fungi help
the plant in the absorption of essential nutrients from the soil while the plant provides the
fungi with carbohydrates.
• Mutualism b/w plant & animal through pollination and seed dispersion:
• Examples:
- Fig trees & wasps. The fig species is pollinated only by its ‘partner’ wasp species.
Female wasp pollinates the fig inflorescence while searching for suitable egg-laying
sites in fruits. The fig offers the wasp some developing seeds, as food for the wasp
larvae.
- Orchids show a diversity of floral patterns. They can attract the right pollinator
insects (bees & bumblebees) to ensure pollination. Not all orchids offer rewards.
- ‘Sexual deceit’ of Ophrys (Mediterranean orchid). One petal of its flower resembles
a female bee in size, colour & markings. So male bees ‘pseudocopulates’ with the
flower and are dusted with pollen. When this bee ‘pseudocopulates’ with another
flower, it transfers pollen to it.
- If the female bee’s colour patterns change slightly during evolution, pollination
success will be reduced unless the orchid flower co-evolves to maintain the
resemblance of its petals to the female bee.