POPULATIONS
By: Jessica Eaton
POPULAION ECOLOGY
STUDIES THE DYNAMICS OF SPECIES’
POPULATION AND HOW THESE POPULATIONS
INTERACT WITH THE ENVIRONMENT.
PVA POPULATION VIABILITY ANALYSIS- ALLOWS
ECOLOGIST TO PREDICT LONG-TERN
PROBABILITY OF A SPECIES PERSISTING IN A
HABITAT.
LIVING IN GROUPS PROVID ADVANTAGES SUCH
AS INCREASED PROTECTION AND INCREASED
MATING.
Carrying Capacity
O - number of organisms that can be supported in a given
area. What determines the carrying capacity are things
like availability of food, space, oxygen, and nutrient
levels.
O Predation removes very old, very young, and the
weakest members of the population. It may reduce the
population of the prey
O Biotic potential is the maximum rate at which a
population can grow
O http://www.gdrc.org/uem/footprints/carrying-
capacity.html
Thomas Malthus
O Malthus was a political economist who was
concerned about what he saw as the decline of living
conditions 19th century England.
O Reasons
O The overproduction of children
O Resources couldn’t keep up with the rising
population
O The irresponsibility of the lower class.
O Suggested- smaller family size, postponement of
marriage (lower birth rate), correct condition of lower
class, & improving agricultural productivity.
Reproductive Strategies
O http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_repro
R- ductive_strategies
strategies
K- strategies
Mature rapidly
Mature slowly
Short lived
Long lived
Tend to be prey
Both predator and prey
Low parental care
High parental care
Generally not endangered
Population near carrying
capacity
Tend to be small
Larger
Ex: most insects, annual
plants
Humans. Elephants, cacti
Survivorship
O Survivorship curves show age distribution
characteristics of species, reproduction strategies,
and life history.
O Each represents a balance between natural resource
limitations and interspecific competition.
http://www.youtube.com/watc
h?v=RBOsqmBQBQk