8.3 Population Ecology

Living systems are organized in a hierarchy of structural levels that interact. Describe factors that influence growth dynamics of populations. Populations comprise individual organisms that interact with one another and with the environment in complex ways. Many adaptations in organisms are related to obtaining and using energy and matter in a particular environment-- Population growth dynamics depend on a number of factors. Reproduction without constraints results in the exponential growth of a population.

population

individual organisms that belong to the same species and interbreed

different species in an ecosystem are connected via a food chain

producers → primary consumers → secondary consumers → tertiary consumers

population growth

x

exponential growth

result of ideal reproduction without constraints

bottom-up regulation

population size of producers impacts rest of ecosystem

top-down regulation

removal of higher trophic levels causes the food web to collapse