Envi Sci Cutie 1 :D

• Population ecology- the study populations and their interactions with their environment
• Population Dynamics- the study of how, when, and why populations change over time
• Populations Density- refers to the number of individuals per unit area or volume
• Dispersion- the pattern of spacing among individuals within the boundaries of the population
• Clumped Pattern- the most common pattern of population dispersion
• Uniformly dispersed- evenly spaced over the area they occupy
• Random dispersion- population have an unpredistable distribution
• Limiting factors- determine the population density of organisms classified as either density-dependent or density-independent
• Density-inDependent- birth rate or death rate does not change with population density
• Density-Dependent- birth rate decreases and the death rate increase at higher populaion density
• Exponential Growth- will be exhibited if a population has unlimited acccesss to resources
• Logistic Growth- when population abundance is high, the limited environmental resources impose a ceiling for growth
• Carrying Capacity (K)- the upper limit on population size, theorical maximum number of individuals of a given species
• Rapid life-history pattern ( R-Selection)- A strategy common in species that have a small body size, reproduce early, highly mobile, and have a short life span that do not reach sexual maturity
• Slow life-history pattern (K-Selection)- larger species life mammals and birds that live in more stable environments
• Cooperative Interactions- allow more efficient use of resources and reduce death rates
• Two types of cooperative Interactions- Commensalism and mutualism
• commensalism and mutualism- encourage population growth
• predation- refers to a negative regulatory effect on both predator and prey
• Interspecific and Intraspecific competition- for limited environmental resources also regulates population size
• Territoriality- also limits populations density as territory space becomes the desired resource for competing individuals
• Crowding- lead to stress which impacts the population negatively
• Emigration- movement away from an area
• Immigrate- into a new settlement and the ones that remained behind that are allocated more resourceful.