1.
age structure: the relative number of individuals of each age
2.
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)
3.
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
4.
carrying capacity: (K), the maximum population size that a particular environment can support, varies over time and space with the abundance of limiting resources
5.
clumped: the most common pattern of dispersion, where individuals are aggregated in patches
6.
cohort: a group of individuals of the same age
7.
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
8.
demography: the study of the vital statistics of populations and how the change over time, attention to birth/death rates
9.
density: the number of individuals per unit area or volume
10.
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)
11.
density independent: a birth/death rate that does not change with population density
12.
dispersion: the pattern of spacing among individuals within the boundaries of the population
13.
ecological capacity: the actual resource base of each country
14.
ecological footprint: land/water area appropriated by each nation to produce all resources it consumes and to absorb all the waste it generates
15.
emigration: the movement of individuals out of a population
16.
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
17.
extrinsic: environmental
18.
immigration: the influx of new individuals from other areas
19.
infant mortality: the number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births
20.
intrinsic: physiological
21.
iteroparity: aka repeated reproduction, a life history in which adults produce large numbers of offspring over many years
22.
K-selection: density-dependent selection, selection for life history traits that are sensitive to population density
23.
life expectancy at birth: the predicted average length of life at birth
24.
life history: the traits the affect an organism's schedule of reproduction and survival (from birth through reproduction to death)
25.
life tables: age-specific summaries of the survival pattern of a population
26.
logistic population growth: the per capita rate of increase declines as carrying capacity is reached, sigmoid growth curve (S-shaped)
27.
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
28.
metapopulation: a subdivided population of a species (concerned with immigration/emigration)
29.
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
30.
population dynamics: study focussing on the complex interactions between biotic and abiotic factors that cause variation in population size
31.
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
32.
R-selection: density-independent selection, selection for life history traits that maximize reproductive success in low densities, maximizes r (the rate of increase)
33.
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
34.
reproductive table: fertility schedule, an age specific summary of the reproductive rates in a population
35.
survivorship curve: a plot of the proportion or numbers in a cohort at each age
36.
uniform: evenly spaced pattern of dispersion, often as a result of antagonistic social interactions
37.
zero population growth (ZPG): occurs when the per capital birth and death rates are equal (r=0)
