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Population Ecology. Population – all the individuals of the same species in a specific area. 4 characteristics of populations: Geographic distribution Density Growth rate Age. 1. Geographic distribution – where the population is located, its range.
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Population Ecology
Population – all the individuals of the same species in a specific area. 4 characteristics of populations: • Geographic distribution • Density • Growth rate • Age
1. Geographic distribution – where the population is located, its range 2. Population Density - number of organisms per square unit volume Which state is the most densely populated?
A. Random - some areas with many individuals, some with few.ex: seeds dispersed by windB.Uniform (Even) - all areas with the same number and the same distance between organisms. ex: trees in an orchard
C. Clumped – groups of many individuals, with large spaces between the groupsClumped distribution could result from individuals using a common resource ex:buffalo around water holes
1. What else might cause organisms to be clumped? 2. What else might cause organisms to be evenly distributed? 3. Which of these 3 types of distributions would be least likely to occur for a population of organisms in nature? 4. When might a population be both uniform and clumped?
Population Sampling: 2. Mark and recapture – animals are caught, tagged and released. They are periodically recaptured, and a formula is used to estimate the population: Number caught x number tagged number caught with tag 1. Random sampling – estimating a population by sampling a small area and scaling up. ex: if there are 5 in one square foot, there would be 50 in 10 square feet.