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Population Ecology. ORTIS Project Lesson 10. Major Vocab Word. Population: a group of individuals of a single species living in the same place at the same time. Difficulty in studying populations: Where are the barriers/boundaries that define a given population?.
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Population Ecology ORTIS Project Lesson 10
Major Vocab Word Population: a group of individuals of a single species living in the same place at the same time. Difficulty in studying populations: Where are the barriers/boundaries that define a given population?
The interests of the population ecologist lie within 3 areas. • Density of the population • Dispersion of the population • Demographics of the population
Population Density • The number of individuals per unit area.
Dispersion of the population • Clumped – organisms living in clusters • Uniform – organisms are evenly dispersed • Random – there is no pattern to the dispersion
Demographics • Density and Dispersal cover the results of: • Ecological needs of the species • Structure of the environment • Inter-population relations • Demographics: • Studying birth rates and death rates over time • How these rates vary among individuals and between males and females
Population size is limited • Carrying Capacity: • Carrying capacity is the number of individuals in a population that an ecosystem can support over a relatively long period of time. carrying capacity for the organism # of organisms time
Types of population growth • Exponential growth – “J - curve” carrying capacity # of organisms time
Types of population growth • S – curve population growth carrying capacity # of organisms time
Population growth: explanations • Most populations have limited resources – these become limiting factors to population growth. • Food • Space • Water • When limiting factors exist, S – curve population growth occurs. • When does J – curve population growth occur?