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36 views

BCORchapter 53'10

Uploaded by

Esther Lim
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Population Biology

BCOR 012
Chapter 53
ri-Beta honors society will be having its re
bio tutoring sessions Monday and Tuesday af
, 6 - 8pm in Rowell 244.

is in addition to the regular Sunday session


g and Learning.
Ecology - the study of the interaction
between organisms and their environment
Ecology and evolutionary biology are closely
related disciplines: events that occur in
ecological time affect life on the scale of
evolutionary time.

Put another way, an important cause of


evolutionary change is the interaction of
organisms with their environment.
Organismal
ecology
The focus of
ecological studies
occurs at many different
Population scales.
ecology

Community
ecology

Ecosystem
ecology

Landscape
ecology

Global
ecology
Population Ecology
Chapter 53

I. Characteristics of Populations

A. Introduction

B. Two important characteristics of populations are density and the


spacing of individuals (= dispersion)

C. Demography

II. Life Histories

A. Natural selection favors strategies that maximize and individual’s


fitness.

B. Reproductive strategies

C. Trade-offs between reproduction and survival


Population ecology is concerned with:

• measuring changes in population size and


composition
• identifying the ecological causes of such
fluctuations
From Chapter 23:

So what is a
population?
A population is a set of individuals
of the same
in a species that
particular live close
geographic
enough area.
together to interbreed.
Density – the number of individuals
per unit area

Aerial census of African water buffalo in the Serengeti


Dispersion – the spacing among individuals
within the population boundaries
Demography
Study of the vital
statistics of populations
and how they change
over time

~ Birth and Death rates


A life table follows fate of a cohort from birth to death
Type I Idealized
Few offspring with good care
(mammals)
survivorship curves
Death rate low until older ages

Type II
Intermediate (rodents, annual
plants)
Death rate constant

Type III
Many offspring with little care
(marine invertebrates, long-lived
plants)
Initial death rate high, then low
Population Ecology
Chapter 53

I. Characteristics of Populations

A. Introduction

B. Two important characteristics of populations are density and the


spacing of individuals (= dispersion)

C. Demography

II. Life Histories

A. Natural selection favors strategies that maximize an individual’s


fitness.

B. Reproductive strategies

C. Trade-offs between reproduction and survival


Life history - the set of traits related to reproduction, including
frequency of reproduction, number of offspring, investment in
parental care, etc.
Fitness involves both individual survival and the
production of viable offspring that will live to reproduce
themselves.

Q. Therefore, why not a life history strategy that involves early


reproductive maturity, frequent reproduction, and many offspring
per brood?
A. Trade-offs between reproduction and survival:

Survivorship vs. brood size in European kestrel


Population Ecology
Chapter 53

III. Population Growth


A. Exponential Growth
B. Logistical Growth

IV. Population Limiting Factors


A. Density dependence
B. Population fluctuations
C. .

V. Human Population Growth


A. Earth’s carrying capacity
B. What can you do?
Population Growth

Growth rate results from


processes that add and
remove individuals

+ Births − Deaths

+ Immigration − Emigration
Therefore r = (b+i) - (d+e)
r is the per capita growth
rate, r = b - d, where b is
the per capita birth rate and
d is the per capita death rate
 Kingfish, Louisiana, had a population of 1,100
individuals. They had a birth rate of 12/100, a death
rate of 8/100, and an emigration (individuals leaving
the population) rate of 2/100. How many people were
added to Kingfish's population in one year?
What is r?
A. 0.02
r = (b+i) - (d+e)
B. 22
Clicker Question
r = 0.12 - (0.08+0.02) = 0.02
C. 44rN=(0.02)(1,100) = 22

D. 2

E. Not enough information given


good job!
As b decreases and/or d increases, r, the per
capita growth rate, decreases.
The carrying capacity (K) of an environment
is the maximum population size that the
environment can sustain with no degradation
of the habitat.
As the population size (N) approaches carrying capacity (K), the
population growth rate approaches zero.
The Logistical Growth Equation

dN K - N
dt = rmaxN  K 

By multiplying the exponential rate of increase rmaxN by


(K - N)/K, we reduce the actual growth rate of the population
as N increases.
The logistic model of population growth produces a sigmoid (S-shaped)
curve when N is plotted over time.
How well do actual populations fit the logistical model?

This laboratory population


of Paramecium grew according
a logistical model.

This laboratory population of


Daphnia overshot carrying capacity. And this natural
population of song
sparrows fluctuated
considerably in
response to environ-
mental stresses.
Population Ecology
Chapter 53

III. Population Growth


A. Exponential Growth
B. Logistical Growth

IV. Population Limiting Factors


A. Density dependence
B. Population fluctuations

V. Human Population Growth


A. Earth’s carrying capacity
B. What can you do?
Density-dependent factors limiting population
growth

• Plants: light, nutrients, water


• Animals: food, water, nesting/breeding
sites
• Increased predation
• Accumulation of waste in the
environment
• Increased transmission of disease
• Stress
Fluctuation in a moose population on Isle Royale,
Lake Superior

QuickTime™ and a
TIFF (Uncompressed) decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Population Ecology
Chapter 53

III. Population Growth


A. Exponential Growth
B. Logistical Growth

IV. Population Limiting Factors


A. Density dependence
B. Population fluctuations

V. Human Population Growth


A. Earth’s carrying capacity
B. What can you do?
The human population has been growing exponentially,
though the rate has slowed in recent decades

Where is K???
In the U.S., our ecological footprint is large

QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
So what can you do about it?

• Live sustainably
• Use resources wisely
• Eat more vegetable protein and less meat
• Support global family planning efforts
• Work for peace and justice

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