population ecology

Define population

A group of organisms of similar species species that share a habitat and have the ability to interbreed randomly and produce viable and fertile offspring

Define species

a group of organisms that share similar characteristics that have the ability to interbreed randomly to produce fertile and viable offspring

Factors that influence population size?

Natality, mortality, immigration, emigration, carrying capacity, limiting factors

Define community

a number of different populations occupying the same habitat

How to increase the reliability of an estimate or indirect method of calculating population size

Repeating the procedure, choosing the samples randomly, allowing the tagged animals some time to mix with the untagged animals

What are some density dependent factors?

Food, space, disease, shelter, predation

Density independent factors?

Climate, natural disasters

How to make the mark recapture technique valid?

Make sure the mark doesn’t interfere with the animals behavior or movement, the mark must be visible, population should be closed (no animals coming in and out), period between samples must be brief so that no births or deaths occur. Time to mix with the population or untangled animals

Formula for mark recapture?

Total of marked animals in the first sample x the total of animals of the second sample divided by the number of marked animals in the second sample

Define ecosystem

A community of living organisms and their relationship of each other and to the environment

Define population ecology

The ecological study of the dynamics of populations of a single species

Formula for quadrat?

Number of animals x area of habitat divided by the area of the quadrat