Name: ________________ Ecology Study Guide 2 Population Ecology

Date:________
Concept 53.1: Basics of Population Dynamics
1. Define Population. Use an example to clarify your response.

2. Population ecologists study the

a) Structure of populations which include their size, density, distribution, and
demographics.
b) Factors that influence the population structure ecological needs of a species,
structure of the environment, interactions among individuals of the population etc.
c) Dynamics of populations or how populations change over time and the abiotic and
biotic factors that influence/regulate these changes
and apply these concepts and models to predict what will happen to certain populations in the
future.
3. Define population size:

4. To count # of a plant or fungal species (immobile) over a certain area, ecologists simply
mark off quadrants (as many samples permitted by time, money and energy), simply
count the individuals and figure out the total number of individuals in the given area. To
count animals can get a little tricky. Watch these videos to see how it is done.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nr9rQpm2A4 about 4 minutes, a good overview
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVcQZerdIdE Good video to see how the population is
estimated based on the mark-release-recapture method. Think about the basic
assumptions and the limitations of this method.
You can watch videos to see how this is actually done in the wild with snakes and sharks
and many more! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_1iXEcMxwg sharks in Palmyra
atoll
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DR50IgvE7g snakes
5. See if you can solve this problem:

A population ecologist wished to determine the size of a population of white-footed

deer mice, Peromyscus leucopus, in a 1-hectare field. Her first trapping yielded 80
mice, all of which were marked with a dab of purple hair dye on the back of the neck.
Two weeks later, the trapping was repeated. This time 75 mice were trapped, out of
which 48 of the mice were marked. What is the size of the population of the whitefooted deer mice in this field? Show work.

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6. In the mark-release-recapture technique, it is assumed that the marked individuals

have the same probability of being captured as the unmarked individual. Describe
a situation when this assumption may not be valid. How would this then affect the
size of your calculated population?
7. What is population density?
8. List the factors that might cause changes in population densities of a species. Explain
how and why each of these factors influences population densities.
Factors
Explanations
Birth Rates
Mating which leads to reproduction can increase
the population in a certain area
Death Rates
When one species dies that lowers the population
Immigration
When one animal transfers from one population to
another, the amount of species in its new
population will increase
Emigration

When one animal transfers from one population

to another, the amount of species in its old
population will decrease

Add more rows if required.

9. Label the dispersion pattern shown by each population in the figure below. Second,
and most important, what do the dispersion patterns tell us about the population and
its interactions?

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10.Demography is the study of vital statistics of a population, and how this changes over
time. Such vital statics include birth rate, death rate, survival patterns, life expectancies
of the population or cohorts within a population.
What do they mean?
Birth rate:
Death rate:
Cohort:
Look at the life table of the ground squirrels on p. 1173. How many cohorts are there? ______
How was death rate calculated for each cohort?
Compare the death rate of each cohort and summarize the trend observed.

If you did a mark-recapture of such a population, what would be the probable gender and age of
the first squirrel you capture? Give your reasons.

11. Survivorship curves show patterns of survival. In general terms, survivorship curves
can be classified into three types. Using the figure below, label and explain the three
idealized survivorship patterns.

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a) Type 1
b) Type II
c) Type III
Why might crabs have a staircase-like survivorship curve?
What is the meaning of a log scale?
12.Each female of a particular species of fish produces millions of eggs a year. What would
the survivorship curve of this species look like? Explain.

13. In the natural world, many species show survivorship curves that are combinations of
the standard curves. How would an open nesting songbirds survivorship curve appear
if it was Type III for the first year and then Type II for the rest of its life span? Sketch
this curve on the survivorship curve graph in question 11.

14.What do reproductive tables show? Why are these important for demographers?

15.Since individuals of a population reproduce, the dynamics of the population will change
over time. High reproductive rates may not lead to rapid increase in populations because
certain resources that allow individuals to survive and reproduce may become limited.
Individuals can emigrate. Or an invasive species may enter the picture and out compete
for the same resources. So things can get complicated. Lets take this one step at a time.
Lets start with a population with a few individuals living in an ideal environment with
unlimited resources. There is no immigration or emigration or invasive species. In such a
population, what will the change in population size depend on? How will the population
size change over generations?

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Concept 53.2: Exponential Growth Model

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6pcRR5Uy6w - Exponential Growth video by Mr. Anderson.
I hope you know how to make spreadsheets and insert formulas. If not, try your own using Mr.
Andersons model. You can also use algebra to predict changes in population size. The best way
is by using calculus- which most of you havent learnt yet.
Insert a spreadsheet with graph of rabbit problem.

Rabbit Growth
30000

25000

20000
N
15000

10000

5000

Calculate population size of rabbits in 35 years if growth rate (r) = 0.2

In the graph below, explain why the line with the value of 1.0 shows a steeper slope that
reaches exponential growth more quickly than does the line with the value of 0.5. On this
graph, add a third line that approximates a population with an exponential value of 1.25.

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Concept 53.3: Logistic Growth Model

16.Now watch the next Bozeman video with logistic growth. https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=rXlyYFXyfIM
a) So whats the difference between exponential growth and logistic growth?
b) What is carrying capacity?
c) Why do most ecosystems have a carrying capacity for a particular population?
d) Study Figure 53.9. Look at the shape of the curves for the two types of population
growth. What do you notice about the growth rates in each case?
e) Can the carrying capacity for a population vary over space and time? Justify your
answer using examples.
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f) Why are logistic models derived from lab grown organisms slightly different from real
populations? Look at Figure 53.10. What assumptions about the logistic model may
not hold good in real populations?
g) Now that you know something about logistic growth in real populations, explain how
conservation biologists identify endangered species.

Concept 53.4: Life History Traits

17.Life Histories of species determine its schedule of survival and reproduction. The three
main things to consider are
i)
average reproductive age of individuals
ii)
frequency of reproduction
iii)
number of offspring per reproductive episode
Other things under consideration might be infant mortality rate, death of females during
childbirth, time and energy investment in parental care, etc.
Different species have different life history strategies which are a product of natural selection.
Compare the following life history strategies:
Life
Histories

Semelparit
y

Reproductive
Opportunitie
s
One
opportunity

Number and Size

of offspring

Trade-offs between
reproduction & survival

Examples

Produce large
amounts of
offspring

Reproduction occurs when

adult survival is low

Pacific salmon,
squid, mayflies,
and plants that
die after they set

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Iteroparity

Repeated
opportunities

Few, but large

offspring

Reproduction occurs when

adult survival is high and
population growth rate is low

their seeds
Most large
mammals
including humans

18.Consider two rivers: One is spring fed and has a constant volume of water and
temperature year round; the other drains a desert landscape and floods and dries out at
unpredictable intervals. Which river would you predict is more likely to support many
species of semelparous animals? Why?

19.You were already introduced to the concept of r-selected and K-selected species. These
represent two extremes in the actual range of actual life histories, just like semelparity or
iteroparity. Read p. 1181 and watch https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bu6ouKt9zhs .
Then answer the following:
a) ________________ is selection for traits that maximize reproductive success in
I)
low-density or uncrowded environments,
II)
face little competition from members of the same population
III)
are below carrying capacity,
IV)
Maximize r or growth rate
b) ________________ is selection of traits that maximize reproductive success in
I)
High density environments
II)
Population faces high intraspecific competition
III)
Populations living near or at carrying capacity (K)
Compare the traits of r and K selected species
Traits

r-selected species

K-selected species

Most likely to
be
semelparous
or
iteroparous

Semelparous

Iteroparous

Fecundity

Have maximum reproductive success

Have minimum reproductive success

Time to
become
reproductivel
y mature

Quick to mature

Take some time to mature

Generation
time

Does not take much time for the next

generation to appear since the species

Takes some time for the next

generation to appear since it

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(Time taken
for next
generation to
appear)

itself dies after reproducing

repeatedly reproduces

Life
expectancy
or
survivorship
curve

Short life expectancy

Long life expectancy

Number of
offspring

Have a lot (many times a million) of

offspring, but just once

Have a few offspring repeatedly

Body size of
offspring

Small in size

Large in size

Offspring
dispersed or
in one place

Offspring are dispersed

Offspring are usually together

Parental care

Little care for offspring

Plenty of care for offspring

Mice, rabbits, weed, and bacteria

Birds, large mammals, and large plants

Sketch Type
of population
growth curve
Examples

20.In general, population grows if

a) Birth rate _____ death rate
b) Emigration ______ immigration

Concept 53.4 Factors that regulate population growth rate

21.Many factors regulate population growth rate. Some of them are density independent and
some of them are density dependent. Read p. 1182-4
a) What are density independent factors?
b) Give examples:

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c) What are density dependent factors?

d) Explain how negative feedback plays an essential role in the unifying theme of
regulation of populations. Does negative feedback play a role in both densityindependent and density- dependent regulation?
e) Complete the following chart:

Density-Dependent Population Regulation

Negative Feedback
Mechanisms
Competition for resources

Toxic Wastes

Predation

Intrinsic Factors

Territoriality

Disease

Explanation

Examples

Increasing population density

leads to the fight for resources
which leads to the decline in
reproductive rates
Alcohol that is found in
beverages like wine is toxic to
yeasts

Lions and leopards competin

for the same prey

If a predator captures more

food as the population density
of the prey increases, it can be
a cause of density-dependent
mortality
Drop in reproduction with
aggressive interaction and
hormonal changes that delay
sexual maturation and depress
the immune system lead to a
decrease in birth rates and an
increase in death rates
Can limit population density
when animals compete for
space
If the transmission rate of a
disease depends on certain
levels of crowding in a
population, then the diseases
impact is density dependent

The alcohol content of wine

less than 13% because that
the maximum concentration
ethanol that most-wine
producing yeast cells can
tolerate
Cutthroat trout concentrate
a few days on a particular
insect species

Reproductive rates of mice in

field enclosure can drop whe
food and shelter are abunda

Cheetahs use a chemical

marker in urine to warn othe
cheetahs of their territorial
boundaries
In humans, the influenza
spreads through the air when
an infected person sneezes o
coughs

22.Though K-selected species are supposed to show equilibrium in population growth once
carrying capacity has been reached, long term studies of these populations have shown
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that this is not the case. These populations do fluctuate over time though not as
drastically as the boom-bust cycles of r-selected species.
a) Look at figure 53.18 (Fluctuations in the moose and wolf populations in Isle Royale.
What are the factors that can cause the fluctuations in the moose and wolf populations
over time? Which of these factors are density dependent and density independent?
b) Look at the 11 year cycles of snow hare and lynx in Figure 53.19. What are the likely
causes for this cycle and what empirical evidence is there to support it?

Concept 53.6: Human Population Growth (Note: This is an older edition of the textbook. So
some stats have changed)
23.https://www.populationeducation.org/content/world-population-video - Watch the yellow
dots through history! Why do you think India and China had so many yellow dots to begin
with?
24.If you have an hour watch this great video by Prof. Hans Gosling about human population
growth rate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dymPP9RhPjw Its long, but it is
informative and upliftinga must watch.
25.This Ted Talk by Prof. Gosling on the future of global human population growth is shorter.
ihttp://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_on_global_population_growth?language=en
Any comments?
26.Look at Fig 53.22. Why do you think the global human population sky rocketed after the
Industrial Revolution?
27.What are the reasons why the rate of human population growth is NOT increasing
exponentially right now?
28.How many children must a couple produce assuming the kids would survive till adulthood
if the global population must stay the same (zero population growth)?
29.Age Structure Pyramids: Watch this video first https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=OpOEHjndywk
30. You should be able to look at age-structure graphs and make predictions about the
future growth of the population. Using Figure 53.25, describe the key features for the
three age- structure graphs and predict how the population of each country will grow.
Country

Key Features

Afghanistan

A large portion of its

population is young

USA

Age structure is even;

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Predicted pattern of future population

growth
Employment and education opportunities
will continue to be a problem for
Afghanistan
A small number of the young people will

Italy

however, we see a minor

outburst at ages 40-49
representing the baby
boomers; population will
grow due to immigration, not
due to the amount of
children a couple produces
Italys population consists of
mostly the elder and not the
younger

have soon have to support a high number

of the elder working people

A small number of the young people will

have soon have to support a high number
of the elder working people

31.How are age structure pyramids related to economic growth?

32.What is ecological footprint? What choices can you make to influence your own ecological
footprint?
33. Can the worlds population sustain an ecological footprint that is currently the average
American footprint? Explain.

Test your Understanding: Try to answer and then check answer at the back of textbook.
Level 1:

1. ____

2. ____

3. _____ 4.____ 5. ____

Level 2:

6. ____

7. ____

8. _____ 9.____ 10. ____

Level 3:

11, 12, 13, 14

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