POPULATION ECOLOGY Chapter 53 Population = group of individuals of a single species living in same general area Density: # individuals / area Dispersion: pattern of spacing between individuals Introduction Determining population size and density: Count every individual Random sampling Mark-recapture method Patterns of Dispersal: Clumped ? most common; near required resource Uniform ? usually antagonistic interactions Random ? unpredictable spacing, not common in nature Additions occur through birth, and subtractions occur through death. Life table : age-specific summary of the survival pattern of a population Demography: the study of vital statistics that affect population size Survivorship Curve: represent # individuals alive at each age