Quiz

• Population


  Group of individuals of a single species inhabiting an area with the potential to interbreed
• Population

  • Dynamic entities, in which they change
  • Population ecology focuses on the various factors that affect a population
  • Population studies are significant in solving practical problems such as controlling pest, managing populations
  • All populations have their own characteristics, including size, density, distribution, and age structure
• Population size


  Total number of members a species has
• Migration


  Large-scale movement of a species to another area
• Population density

  Number of species present in a given space
• Population dispersion


  Distribution of the species in a specific space at a given time
• Natality

  Species birth rate
• Mortality


  Rate of death within a species
• Sex ratio


  Ratio of male to female in the population
• Age structure


  Proportionate numbers of people in different age categories in a given population for a defined time
• Random dispersion

  Species have no definitive pattern and may be found in the area sporadically
• Uniform dispersion


  Species are dispersed evenly within an area with similar distance between each species
• Clumped dispersion


  Species tend to live and move about in groups
• Local population

  Group of organisms of the same species that occupy a specific geographic area or habitat within a larger ecosystem
• Local population extinction


  Occurs when all individuals of a species disappear from a particular area or habitat. The species may still persist in other regions
• Metapopulation


  Group of same individuals living in different places forming 'patches'. The movement of individuals from one population to another occurs regularly
• Patch


  Areas of habitat suitable for a species of interest, defined by their boundaries
• Metapopulation models


  • Classical model (Levin's model)
  • Mainland model
  • Patch occupying model (Clumped population)
  • Non-equilibrium model
  • Intermediate model
• Primer


  Short nucleic acid sequence that provides a starting point for DNA synthesis
• Population genetics

  Field of biology that studies the genetic composition of biological populations and the changes in genetic composition that results from the operation of various factors including natural selection
• Natural selection


  Process by which some organisms in a population survive and reproduce while others do not based on their bodies and behavior
• Population dynamics


  Study of how the size, structure, and growth of populations of organisms change over time and in response to various environmental factors
• Birth rate (natality)


  Number of offspring produced per unit of time within a population
• Death rate (mortality)


  Number of individuals that die per unit of time within a population
• Immigration


  Movement of individuals into a population
• Emigration


  Movement of individuals out of a population
• Population growth rate (r)


  Net change in population size per unit of time, calculated as the difference between birth rate and death rate
• Exponential growth

  Population size increases rapidly and continuously over time in the absence of limiting factors
• Carrying capacity


  Maximum population size that an environment can support sustainably over the long term
• Logistic growth


  Initial exponential growth phase followed by a stabilization of population size as it approaches carrying capacity
• Density-dependent factors


  Factors that have a greater impact as population density increases (e.g., competition, predation, disease)
• Density-independent factors


  Factors that affect population growth regardless of population density (e.g., weather events, natural disasters)
• Mutualism


  Symbiotic relationship where species benefit from one another
• Parasitism

  Interaction where one species (parasite) benefits at the expense of another species (host)
• Commensalism

  Interaction in which one species benefits, while the other is neither helped nor harmed
• Cohort life table


  One of the three ways to determine the patterns of survival
• Static life table


  One of the three ways to determine the patterns of survival
• Age distribution


  One of the three ways to determine the patterns of survival
• Demography


  Application of population dynamics to the human species
• Crude birth rate (CBR)


  Total number of births per 1000 individuals