AP Biology Chapter 52: Population Ecology
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fizzedupttly on April 27, 2011
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37 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 population ecology | the study of populations in relation to the environment, including environmental influences on population density and distribution, age structure, and variations in population size |
| population | a group of individuals of a single species living in the same general area, relying on the same resources, influenced by similar environmental factors, have a high likelihood of interacting with and breeding with one another |
| density | the number of individuals per unit area or volume |
| dispersion | the pattern of spacing among individuals within the boundaries of the population |
| mark-recapture model | sapling technique used to estimate wildlife populations, captured animals are marked and then released, traps are set again, researchers then estimate the total number of individuals in the population |
| immigration | the influx of new individuals from other areas |
| emigration | the movement of individuals out of a population |
| clumped | the most common pattern of dispersion, where individuals are aggregated in patches |
| uniform | evenly spaced pattern of dispersion, often as a result of antagonistic social interactions |
| random dispersion | occurs in the absence of strong attractions or repulsions among individuals of a population or where key physical or chemical factors are relatively homogenous across the study area ex. plants because of windblown seeds |
| demography | the study of the vital statistics of populations and how the change over time, attention to birth/death rates |
| life tables | age-specific summaries of the survival pattern of a population |
| cohort | a group of individuals of the same age |
| survivorship curve | a plot of the proportion or numbers in a cohort at each age |
| reproductive table | fertility schedule, an age specific summary of the reproductive rates in a population |
| life history | the traits the affect an organism's schedule of reproduction and survival (from birth through reproduction to death) |
| big-bang reproduction | aka semelparity, a life history in which adults have but a single reproductive opportunity to produce large numbers of offspring, such as the life history of the Pacific salmon |
| iteroparity | aka repeated reproduction, a life history in which adults produce large numbers of offspring over many years |
| zero population growth (ZPG) | occurs when the per capital birth and death rates are equal (r=0) |
| exponential population growth | aka geometric population growth, under these conditions, the per capita rate of increase may assume the maximum rate for the species (called the intrinsic rate of increase, rmax), J shaped curve |
| carrying capacity | (K), the maximum population size that a particular environment can support, varies over time and space with the abundance of limiting resources |
| logistic population growth | the per capita rate of increase declines as carrying capacity is reached, sigmoid growth curve (S-shaped) |
| allee effect | individuals may have a more difficult time surviving or reproducing if the population size is too small (ex. exposed plant damaged by wind when standing alone, also important in conservation biology) |
| K-selection | density-dependent selection, selection for life history traits that are sensitive to population density |
| R-selection | density-independent selection, selection for life history traits that maximize reproductive success in low densities, maximizes r (the rate of increase) |
| density independent | a birth/death rate that does not change with population density |
| density dependent | a death rate that rises as a population density rises, or a birth rate that falls with rising density, forms of negative feedback (without this, a population would not stop growing) |
| intrinsic | physiological |
| extrinsic | environmental |
| population dynamics | study focussing on the complex interactions between biotic and abiotic factors that cause variation in population size |
| metapopulation | a subdivided population of a species (concerned with immigration/emigration) |
| demographic transition | a shift from zero population growth in which birth rates and death rates are high to zero population characterized instead by low birth rates and low death rates |
| age structure | the relative number of individuals of each age |
| infant mortality | the number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births |
| life expectancy at birth | the predicted average length of life at birth |
| ecological footprint | land/water area appropriated by each nation to produce all resources it consumes and to absorb all the waste it generates |
| ecological capacity | the actual resource base of each country |
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