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Ch. 52-Population Ecology

bold key terms from the whole chapter

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75745147population ecologythe study of populations in relation to the environment, including environmental influences on population density and distribution, age structure, and variations in population size
75745148populationa group of individuals of a single species living int he same general area
75745149densitythe number of individuals per unit area or volume. e.g. the # of oak trees per square kilometer in Minnesota county
75745150dispersionthe pattern of spacing among individuals within the boundaries of the population
75745151mark-recapture methodmethod used to estimate the total number of individuals in the population; researchers place traps within the boundaries of population; captured animals are marked with tags and then released; after a few days or weeks traps are set again.
75745152immigrationthe influx of new individuals from other areas
75745153emigrationthe movement of individuals out of a population
75745154clumped dispersionthe most common pattern of dispersion; individuals aggregated in patches, e.g. plants/fungi or wolves
75745155uniform dispersiona pattern of dispersion where individuals are evenly spaced; may result from direct social interactions between individuals in the population, like territoriality. e.g. penguins
75745156territorialitythe defense of a bounded physical space against encroachment by other individuals
75745157random dispersiona pattern of dispersion where individuals are spaced unpredictably; occurs in the absence of strong attraction or repulsions among individuals of a population or where key physical or chemical factors are relatively homogeneous across the study area. e.g. wild dandelions
75745158demographythe study of the vital statistics of populations and how they change over time
75745159life tablesage-specific summaries of the survival pattern of a population
75745160cohorta group of individuals of the same age
75745161survivorship curvea plot of the proportion or numbers in a cohort still alive at each age
75746129reproductive tableaka fertility schedule; an age-specific summary of the reproductive rates in a population
75771194life historymade up of the traits that affect an organism's schedule of reproduction and survival: when reproduction begins, how often the organism reproduces, and how many offspring are produced during each reproductive episode
75778440big-bang reproduction/semelparitya "one-shot" pattern where organisms live only for a few years to reproduce and then they die. e.g. pacific salmon and the agave plant
75778441repeated reproduction/iteroparitya pattern where organisms, for example, lizards produce a few large eggs during their second year of life, the repeat the reproductive act annually for several years
75778442zero population growth(ZPG)occurs when the per capita birth and death rates are equal (r=0); of course births/deaths still occur, they just balance each other out exactly
75778443exponential population growthpopulation increase under ideal conditions such as abundant food for members and freedom to reproduce at their physiological capacity; aka geometric population growth; the per capita rate of increase may assume the maximum rate for the species
75814621carrying capacitythe maximum population size that a particular environment can support; not fixed, but varies over space ant time with the abundance of limiting resources; symbolized as K
75814622logistic population growtha model where the per capita rate of increase declines as carrying capacity is reached
75814623K-selectiondensity-dependent selection; selection for life history traits that are sensitive to population density
75814624r-selectiondensity-independent selection; selection for life history traits that maximize reproductive success in uncrowded environments (low densities)
75814625density independenta birth rate or death rate that does NOT change with population density
75814626density dependenta death rate that rises as population density rises
75814627population dynamicsthe study of the complex interactions between biotic and abiotic factors that cause variation in population size
75814628metapopulationwhen a group of populations is linked
75814629demographic transitiona shift from zero population growth in which birth rates and death rates are high to zero population growth characterized instead by low birth and death rates; associated with an increase in the quality of health care and sanitation as well as improved access to education, esp. for women
75814630age structurethe relative number of individuals of each age
75814631infant mortalitythe number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births
75814632life expectancy at birththe predicted average length of life at birth
75814633ecological footprintconcept that summarizes the aggregate land and water area appropriated by each nation to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb all the waste it generates
75814634ecological capacitythe actual resource base of each country

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