Biology Population Dynamics

These flashcards cover key vocabulary and concepts related to population dynamics in biology.

Information storage and transfer

Includes genetics, cell cycle, meiosis, and how organisms sense & respond to their environments.

Structure & function

Involves how enzymes work, how cells transport material, membranes, and how an ecosystem is structured.

Energy & matter

Explains how plants transform light to chemical energy and how energy & matter flow in an ecosystem.

Evolution

Underlies all other biological key concepts, involves natural selection, population change, and alleles.

Census

A method used by wildlife & plant biologists to count populations.

Sampling/estimation

A technique used to estimate populations, particularly for small organisms or those in patchy occurrence.

Population density

The number of individuals per area.

Dispersal

How organisms are distributed in space: clumped, random, or uniform.

Demography

Average characteristics of population members, including sex, age, and vital rates such as births and deaths.

K-selected species

Species that produce fewer offspring with more parental investment, often found in stable environments.

r-selected species

Species that produce many offspring with less parental investment, often found in unstable environments.

Carrying capacity (K)

The maximum sustainable population size for a given environment.

Density-dependent factors

Variables that affect population growth in relation to the population density, such as resource availability and disease.

Density-independent factors

External factors that affect population size regardless of density, such as climate or catastrophic events.

Exponential Growth Model

Describes how populations grow in ideal conditions, where resources are abundant.

Logistic Growth Model

Population growth that levels off as it approaches carrying capacity (K).

Birth rate (b)

The number of births per individual in a population.

Death rate (d)

The number of deaths per individual in a population.

Survivorship curves

Graphical representations of the number of individuals surviving at each age for a given species.

Vital rates

The rates of birth and death within a population.

Population dynamics

The study of how and why populations change over time.