Chapter Objectives: Chapters 52 & 53 Population and Community Ecology
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Define the scope of population ecology
Distinguish between population and density
Explain how ecologists measure species density
Describe conditions which may result in clumped dispersion, random
dispersion, and uniform dispersion of populations
Explain how age structure, generation time, and sex structure of populations
can affect population growth
Describe the characteristics of populations which exhibit Type I, Type II,
and Type III suvivorship curves
Explain how carrying capacity of the environment affects the intrinsic rate
of increase of a population
Explain how density dependent factors affect population growth
Describe how weather and climate can function as density-independent
factors in controlling population growth
Explain how density-dependent and density-independent factors may work
together to control a population's growth
List the 3 major characteristics of a life history and explain how each
affects the
a. number of offspring produced by an individual
b. population's growth
Explain how predation can affect life history through natural selection
Distinguish between r-selected and K-selected populations
Explain how a stressful environment may alter the standard r-selection and
K-selection characteristics
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15. Compare and contrast the individualistic hypothesis of H. A. Gleason and the
interactive hypothesis of F. E. Clements with respect to communities
16. Explain the relationship among species richness, relative abundance, and
diversity
17. List 4 properties of a community and explain the importance of each
18. Explain how interspecific competition may affect community structure
19. Describe the competitive exclusion principle and explain how competitive
exclusion may affect community structure
20. Distinguish between an organism's fundamental niche and realized niche
21. Explain how resource partitioning can affect species diversity
22. Describe the defense mechanisms evolved by plants to reduce predation by
herbivores
23. Explain how cryptic coloration and aposematic coloration aid an animal in
avoiding predators
24. Distinguish between Batesian mimicry and Mullerian mimicry
25. Describe how predators use mimicry to obtain prey
26. Explain the role of predators in community structure
27. Distinguish among parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism
28. Explain why it is difficult to determine what factor is most important in
structuring a community
29. Distinguish between primary succession and secondary succession
30. Explain how inhibition and facilitation may be involved in succession
31. Describe how natural and human disturbances can affect equilibrium and
species diversity
32. List the factors involved in limiting a species to a particular range
33. Describe the mechanisms which contribute to the global clines in diversity
34. Explain the factors which determine what species eventually inhabit islands
Chapter Terms:
Chapter 52 Terms
population
fecundity
density
death rate
exponential population
growth
carrying capacity
dispersion
generation time
logistic population growth
mark-recapture method
sex ratio
K-selected populations
clumped
life table
equilibrial populations
random
survivorship curve
r-selected populations
uniform
life history
opportunistic populations
biogeography
semelparity
intraspecific competition
demography
iteroparity
density-dependent factor
age structure
zero population growth
density-independent factor
birth rate
intrinsic rate of increase
cohort
Chapter 53 Terms
species richness
mimicry
resource partitioning
relative abundance
predator
character displacement
species diversity
Batesian mimicry
symbiosis
predation
Mullerian mimicry
symbiont
individualistic hypothesis
parasite
commensalism
interactive hypothesis
hosts
mutualism
secondary succession
endoparasites
keystone species
interspecific interactions
ectoparasites
exotic species
coevolution
interspecific competition
stability
parasitism
interference competition
disturbances
parasitoidism
exploitative competition
ecological succession
herbivory
competitive exclusion
principle
primary succession
community
recruitment
ecological niche
biogeography
fundamental niche
dynamic equilibrium
hypothesis
cryptic coloration
prey
aposematic coloration
intermediate disturbance
hypothesis
realized niche
Chapter Outline Framework
A. Characteristics of Populations
1. Density
2. Individual spacing
3. Demography is the study of factors that affect population growth
and decline
B. Life History Traits
1. Life histories are highly diverse by exhibit patterns in their
variability
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2. Limited resources mandate trade-offs between investments in
reproduction and survival
Population Growth Models
1. Experimental models describe idealized populations in unlimited
environments
2. Logistic growth model considers carrying capacity
Regulation of Population Growth
1. Density-dependent factors regulate population growth by varying
with density
2. Occurrence and severity of density-independent factors are
unrelated to population density
3. Mix of density-dependent and density-independent factors limits
growth of most populations
4. Some populations have regular boom and bust cycles
Human Population Growth
1. Growing exponentially for centuries but will not be able to do so
indefinitely
Early Hypotheses of Community Structure
1. Interactive and individualistic hypothesis pose alternative
explanations of community structure
Interactions Between Populations of Different Species
1. Intraspecitic interactions can be strong selection factors in
evolution
2. Interspecific interactions may have positive, negative, or neutral
effects on population density
3. Predation and parasitism are +/- interactions
4. Interspeciffic competitions are -/- interactions
5. Commensalism is a +/0 interaction
6. Mutualism is a +/+ interaction
Interspecific Interactions and Community Structure
1. Predators can alter community structure by moderating competition
among prey species
2. Mutualism and parasitism can have community-wide effects
3. Interspecific competition influences populations of many species and
can affect community structure
4. A complex interplay of interspecific interactions and environmental
variability characterizes community structure
Disturbance and Nonequilibrium
1. Nonequilibrium resulting from disturbance is a prominent feature of
most communities
2. Humans are the most widespread agents of disturbance
3. Succession is a process of change that results from disturbance in a
community
4. The nonequilibrial model views communities as mosaics of patches at
different stages of succession
Community Ecology and Biogeography
1. Dispersal and survivability in ecological and evolutionary time account
for the geographical ranges of species
2. Species diversity on islands tends to reach dynamic equilibrium in
ecological time