Prelecture Worksheet Chapter 52
Name: __________________________________
1. What are the four components that contribute to population dynamics?
2. What are three patterns of dispersion and what is an example (besides those in the book) of
each type?
3. Explain the terms in the following equation:
4. In a population that is growing as described by the logistic growth model,
a. the number of individuals added per unit time is greatest when N is close to zero. (The
key equation is dn/dt = rmax N(K - N/K).)
b. the per capital growth rate (r) increases as N approaches K.
c. population growth is zero when N equals K.
d. the population grows exponentially when K is small.
e. the birth rate (b) approaches zero as N approaches K.
5. What is the difference between r-selected and k-selected species. What is an example of each?
6. Identify three density dependent factors that limit population size and explain how each exerts
a negative feedback.