Demography and Life History

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to demography, life history strategies, survivorship curves, population dynamics, community interactions, and climate patterns.

Eury

An individual that has restricted time and energy due to limited resources.

Survivorship Curve

A graph showing the distribution of individuals in a population by age.

Type I Survivorship Curve

A curve in which most individuals survive to adulthood and die later in life.

Type II Survivorship Curve

A curve in which the death rate is constant across all ages.

Type III Survivorship Curve

A curve where most individuals die young but if they survive, they tend to live longer.

K-selected species

Organisms that tend to mature slowly, invest more in parental care, and have fewer offspring.

r-selected species

Organisms that tend to reproduce quickly, have many offspring, and allocate less parental care.

Population Density

The number of individuals per unit area.

Logistic Growth

Population growth that levels off as population size approaches carrying capacity.

Density-dependent factors

Biotic factors in the environment that have an increasing effect as population size increases.

Density-independent factors

Abiotic factors that affect population size regardless of the population's density.

Exponential Growth

A growth pattern where the population increases rapidly due to abundant resources.

Commensalism

A relationship between two species where one benefits and the other is not significantly affected.

Competition

An interaction between organisms or species in which both are harmed as they compete for limited resources.

Mutualism

A relationship between two species where both benefit from the interaction.

Abiotic factors

Non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment.

Biotic factors

Living components of the environment that affect organisms.

Carrying Capacity

The maximum population size that an environment can sustain indefinitely.

Quadrant Method

A sampling method used to estimate population size in a specified area.

Mark and Recapture Method

A technique to estimate wildlife populations by capturing, marking, releasing, and recapturing individuals.

Community Ecology

The study of interactions between species in communities and their environment.

Climate Patterns

Long-term averages of weather conditions in an area.

Hadley Cell

A large-scale atmospheric circulation pattern that influences tropical climates.