Chapter 12-Population Ecology

Population Ecology

studies population sizes and how and why they change over time

community ecology

investigates species interactions and how they affect species assemblages and organization

ecosystem ecology

studies energy flow and ecosystem structure as a result of the interaction between organisms and their biotic and abiotic environment

global ecology

examines how local/regional interactions affect global changes in energy flow and species dynamics

population

a group of individuals of the same species living in the same area

population ecology

studies population sizes and how and why they change over time

what information is needed to develop and demonstrate a successful restoration program

information on what caused the decline, population requirements, changes in population sizes over time

mark-recapture method (MATH)

capture and mark an initial set of individuals, release to population, use proportion of re-caught individuals in second capture to estimate total population

math for mark-recapture method

proportion of marked in capture 2=proportion of marked in capture 1 to whole population

proportions for mark recapture method

number marked in second sample/total caught in second sample=number marked in first sample /size of whole population

per capita birth rate

number of offspring produced by average member of the population per unit time

per capita death rate

expected rate of death per unit time

logistic growth model

population growth slows as it approaches carrying capacity

carrying capacity

the maximum population size that a given environment can sustain

survivorship

percent of a population that survives to a given age

type 1 survivorship curve

high survival rate until later age. relatively few offspring with high parental care

type 2 survivorship curve

roughly equal proportions die in each age class

type 3 survivorship curve

very high mortality in early life but low mortality for older age groups. production of large #s of offspring without parental careq