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Characteristics of Population Growth. A) Growth rate is affected by : #of births #of deaths immigration and emigration. Growth rate = birth rate – death rat e Growth rate may be positive, negative, or 0. B) Exponential Growth. Populations will grow exponentially if
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A) Growth rate is affected by:#of births#of deathsimmigration and emigration Growth rate = birth rate – death rate Growth rate may be positive, negative, or 0
B) Exponential Growth Populations will grow exponentially if • resources are unlimited • individuals reproduce at a constant rate
ex: E. Coli bacteria reproduce asexually every 20 minutes in 6 hours – over 200,000 in 2 days – enough to cover the planet! WHY DON’T THEY?
C) Logistic Growth Limited resources will cause the growth to slow down or stop Carrying Capacity – the largest number of individuals of a population that the environment can support
LogisticGrowth rate:S curve K = carrying capacity
Fictional "Tribbles" from Star Trek: One of the more peculiar species encountered, the defining characteristic of the Tribbles is their extreme reproductive rate. Over half of a Tribbles metabolism is devoted to reproduction, allowing them to bear a litter of young every twelve hours. With an average litter of ten, a single Tribble can therefore create a population of 1,771,561 within three days, and an amazing 304,481,639,541,400,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000, 000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 in thirty days!
D) Limiting Factors on Human Populations: Famine, Disease, War Will we reach carrying capacity and level off? What are the consequences if we don’t?
E) Density Independent Factors Affect all populations, regardless of size or density Ex: weather natural disasters seasonal cycles certain human activities clearcutting forests, damning rivers, filling wetlands, building roads, etc.
F) Density-Dependent Factors Effect depends on the population size or density Ex: competition for food or shelter predation disease/parasites spread easily in dense populations, may wipe out small populations
Predator/Prey Populations Lynx and Snowshoe hare
Small populations are very vulnerable to extinction • If only a few remain, inbreeding will occur. This reduces genetic variations. • Populations with low genetic variability are less able to adapt to changing environmental conditions.
The genetic diversity of cheetahs is so low that biologists think their population was reduced to a very small size in the past.
Page 123 – Compare the Fruit Fly population growth and the Rabbit population growth. 1. Which one shows logistic growth and has reached carrying capacity? 2. How would the growth curve change for the rabbit population if more predators moved into their habitat?