SimUText - Understanding Population Growth Models

Species

group of individual organisms that are all capable of reproducing with each other.

Population model

description of how the size of a population changes over time

Exponential growth model

occurs when the increase in a population's size is proportional to its current size

Intrinsic growth rate

highest per capita growth rate that a population can achieve when resources are not limited and no other factors are slowing growth

Per capita growth rate

growth rate of a population divided by the number of individuals in the population

when r > 0 the population is

increasing

when r < 0 the population is

shrinking

carrying capacity

when a population is using all of some necessary resource available

carrying capacity represents

a stable population size for a specific population in a specific environment

distribution of a pop’n depends on

dispersal ability of species

genet

genetically distinct

ramet

gentically identical

direct counts

for organisms that aren’t too numerous and don’t move around too much

area-based counts

for plants and other sessile organisms using quadrats

volume-based counts

for small aquatic or soil organisms

mark-recapture counts

for mobile organisms

mark-recapture assumptions

marks are not lost or destroyed, closed population, no differential mortality, equal trappability

biological control

introducing a non-native pest specialist to limit a non-native pest