Study Guide Chapter 5 - Population Ecology
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Key Terms
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Age distribution
Age structure
Biosphere
Birth rate
Carrying capacity
Communities
Community ecology
Death rate
Density dependent factor
Density independent
factor
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Ecosystem ecology
Emigration
Exponential growth
Extinction
Growth rate
Habitat
Immigration
K-selected
Limiting factors
Logistic growth curve
Niche
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Population
Population density
Population dispersion
Population distribution
Population ecology
Population size
R-selected
Sex ratio
Species
Survivorship curve
Know and Understand:
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Ecologists study life at many levels from individual organisms to the entire biosphere.
Ecosystems include both abiotic and biotic factors.
Organisms depend on resources provided by their habitat for survival
The overall health of a population can often be monitored by tracking how its size changes.
A population's density is a measure of how crowded it is.
Populations can be distributed randomly, uniformly, or in clusters.
Age structure diagrams show the number of males and females in different age groups within a population.
A population's growth rate is determined by births, deaths, immigration and emigration.
Populations can grow exponentially or logistically.
Limiting factors and biotic potential regulate a population's growth.
Questions to Ponder
1.
What is habitat selection, and how does it differ for different organisms?
2.
Write the equation used to determine growth rate.
3.
Differentiate between habitat and niche.
4.
Differentiate between K-selected and R-selected organisms.
5.
The departure of individuals from a population is called ________.
6.
Differentiate between exponential and logistic growth curves. Give examples of the conditions under which each
would occur.
7.
Is a carrying capacity fixed for a population/environment? Discuss the role of humans in regulating carrying
capacity for the human species and in altering the carrying capacity for other species.
8.
A population of quail live in an area of prairie grasslands. In good years, a pair of quail can have four clutches of
young, with as many as 12 to 14 eggs in each clutch. Despite this, the population size remains stable over the long
term. Discuss possible limiting factors, using terms you learned in this section.
9.
Distinguish between density-independent and density-dependent limiting factors.