bold key terms from the whole chapter
75745147 | 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 | |
75745148 | population | a group of individuals of a single species living int he same general area | |
75745149 | density | the number of individuals per unit area or volume. e.g. the # of oak trees per square kilometer in Minnesota county | |
75745150 | dispersion | the pattern of spacing among individuals within the boundaries of the population | |
75745151 | mark-recapture method | method 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. | |
75745152 | immigration | the influx of new individuals from other areas | |
75745153 | emigration | the movement of individuals out of a population | |
75745154 | clumped dispersion | the most common pattern of dispersion; individuals aggregated in patches, e.g. plants/fungi or wolves | |
75745155 | uniform dispersion | a pattern of dispersion where individuals are evenly spaced; may result from direct social interactions between individuals in the population, like territoriality. e.g. penguins | |
75745156 | territoriality | the defense of a bounded physical space against encroachment by other individuals | |
75745157 | random dispersion | a 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 | |
75745158 | demography | the study of the vital statistics of populations and how they change over time | |
75745159 | life tables | age-specific summaries of the survival pattern of a population | |
75745160 | cohort | a group of individuals of the same age | |
75745161 | survivorship curve | a plot of the proportion or numbers in a cohort still alive at each age | |
75746129 | reproductive table | aka fertility schedule; an age-specific summary of the reproductive rates in a population | |
75771194 | life history | made 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 | |
75778440 | big-bang reproduction/semelparity | a "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 | |
75778441 | repeated reproduction/iteroparity | a 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 | |
75778442 | zero 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 | |
75778443 | exponential population growth | population 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 | |
75814621 | carrying capacity | the 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 | |
75814622 | logistic population growth | a model where the per capita rate of increase declines as carrying capacity is reached | |
75814623 | K-selection | density-dependent selection; selection for life history traits that are sensitive to population density | |
75814624 | r-selection | density-independent selection; selection for life history traits that maximize reproductive success in uncrowded environments (low densities) | |
75814625 | density independent | a birth rate or death rate that does NOT change with population density | |
75814626 | density dependent | a death rate that rises as population density rises | |
75814627 | population dynamics | the study of the complex interactions between biotic and abiotic factors that cause variation in population size | |
75814628 | metapopulation | when a group of populations is linked | |
75814629 | demographic transition | a 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 | |
75814630 | age structure | the relative number of individuals of each age | |
75814631 | infant mortality | the number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births | |
75814632 | life expectancy at birth | the predicted average length of life at birth | |
75814633 | ecological footprint | concept 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 | |
75814634 | ecological capacity | the actual resource base of each country |