Population Growth and Life History Strategies

This set of flashcards covers key vocabulary and concepts related to population growth and life history strategies.

Population Growth

The change in the number of individuals in a population over time.

Life History

The schedule of an organism’s growth, development, reproduction, and survival, representing an allocation of limited time and resources.

Fecundity

The number of offspring produced by an organism per reproductive episode.

Parity

The number of reproductive episodes an organism experiences.

Parental Investment

The time and energy given to an offspring by its parents.

Longevity

The life span of an organism.

Slow Life History

Characterized by long time to sexual maturity, long life span, low fecundity, high parental investment, and high mortality late in life.

Fast Life History

Characterized by short time to sexual maturity, short life span, high fecundity, low parental investment, and high mortality early in life.

Age Structure

The distribution of individuals among age classes within a population.

Density-Dependent Factors

Factors that limit population size where the effect depends on the population size (N).

Density-Independent Factors

Factors that limit population size, which do not depend on population size (N).

Exponential Growth

Growth model where populations grow continuously without resource limitations.

Logistic Growth

Growth model where population growth is limited by available resources, resulting in an S-shaped curve.

Geometric Growth

Growth model for populations with discrete generations.

Carrying Capacity (K)

The maximum population size that an environment can sustain indefinitely.

Genotype-Environment Interaction

The continuous interplay between genetic makeup and the environment affecting the phenotype.

Microsatellite DNA Markers

Tools used to track genetic variation within and between populations over time.

Heritability

A measure of how much of the variation in a trait can be attributed to genetic differences.

Naturalization Phase

Phase during which a population becomes integrated into its new environment, often resulting in logistic growth.

Trade-offs in Parental Investment

Balancing the energy spent on offspring versus survival and future reproduction.