Table of contents

1. Introduction to Biology2h 42m
2. Chemistry3h 37m
3. Water1h 26m
4. Biomolecules2h 23m
5. Cell Components2h 26m
6. The Membrane2h 31m
7. Energy and Metabolism2h 0m
8. Respiration2h 40m
9. Photosynthesis2h 49m
10. Cell Signaling59m
11. Cell Division2h 47m
12. Meiosis2h 0m
13. Mendelian Genetics4h 44m
14. DNA Synthesis2h 27m
15. Gene Expression3h 6m
16. Regulation of Expression3h 31m
17. Viruses37m
- Viruses
  37m
18. Biotechnology2h 58m
19. Genomics17m
- Genomes
  17m
20. Development1h 5m
21. Evolution3h 1m
22. Evolution of Populations3h 53m
23. Speciation1h 37m
24. History of Life on Earth2h 6m
25. Phylogeny2h 31m
26. Prokaryotes4h 59m
27. Protists1h 12m
28. Plants1h 22m
29. Fungi36m
- Fungi
  19m
- Fungi Reproduction
  17m
30. Overview of Animals34m
- Overview of Animals
  34m
31. Invertebrates1h 2m
32. Vertebrates50m
33. Plant Anatomy1h 3m
34. Vascular Plant Transport1h 2m
- Water Potential
  1h 2m
35. Soil37m
- Soil and Nutrients
  20m
- Nitrogen Fixation
  16m
36. Plant Reproduction47m
- Flowers
  33m
- Seeds
  14m
37. Plant Sensation and Response1h 9m
38. Animal Form and Function1h 19m
39. Digestive System1h 10m
- Digestion
  1h 3m
- Blood Sugar Homeostasis
  7m
40. Circulatory System1h 49m
41. Immune System1h 12m
42. Osmoregulation and Excretion50m
- Osmoregulation and Excretion
  50m
43. Endocrine System1h 4m
- Endocrine System
  1h 4m
44. Animal Reproduction1h 2m
- Animal Reproduction
  1h 2m
45. Nervous System1h 55m
- Neurons and Action Potentials
  1h 8m
- Central and Peripheral Nervous System
  46m
46. Sensory Systems46m
- Sensory System
  46m
47. Muscle Systems23m
- Musculoskeletal System
  23m
48. Ecology3h 11m
49. Animal Behavior28m
- Animal Behavior
  28m
50. Population Ecology3h 41m
51. Community Ecology2h 46m
52. Ecosystems2h 36m
53. Conservation Biology24m
- Conservation Biology
  24m

50. Population Ecology

Introduction to Population Ecology

General Biology

50. Population Ecology

Introduction to Population Ecology

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1:20 minutes

Problem 10

Textbook Question

What are some factors that might have a density-dependent limiting effect on population growth?

Verified step by step guidance

Understand the concept of density-dependent factors: These are factors that affect population growth based on the population's density. As the population size increases, these factors become more significant in limiting growth.

Identify examples of density-dependent factors: Common examples include competition for resources (such as food, water, and shelter), predation, disease, and parasitism. These factors intensify as population density rises.

Explain how competition works: When a population grows, individuals compete more intensely for limited resources. This can lead to reduced reproduction rates, increased mortality, or migration to less crowded areas.

Discuss the role of disease and parasitism: Higher population density facilitates the spread of diseases and parasites, as individuals are in closer contact with one another. This can reduce population size by increasing mortality rates.

Consider predation: Predators may target denser populations because they are easier to locate. This can lead to a decrease in population size as predation rates increase with density.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Density-Dependent Factors

Density-dependent factors are environmental influences that affect population growth in relation to the population's density. As a population increases, these factors, such as competition for resources, predation, disease, and waste accumulation, become more pronounced, leading to a decrease in growth rate. For example, in a crowded habitat, individuals may struggle for food, resulting in lower reproductive success.

Carrying Capacity

Carrying capacity refers to the maximum number of individuals of a species that an environment can sustainably support. It is influenced by the availability of resources such as food, water, and shelter. When a population exceeds its carrying capacity, density-dependent factors often lead to increased mortality or decreased reproduction, stabilizing the population size.

Population Dynamics

Population dynamics is the study of how and why populations change over time, influenced by factors such as birth rates, death rates, immigration, and emigration. Understanding these dynamics helps explain how density-dependent factors can regulate population growth, leading to fluctuations in population size and structure. This concept is crucial for predicting future population trends and managing wildlife resources.

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Related Practice

Textbook Question

Which of the following statements about human populations in industrialized countries is incorrect?

a. Birth rates and death rates are high.

b. Average family size is relatively small.

c. The population has undergone the demographic transition.

d. The survivorship curve is Type I.

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Textbook Question

According to data on ecological footprints

a. The carrying capacity of the world is 10 billion

b. Earth's resources are sufficient to sustain future generations at current levels of consumption

c. The ecological footprint of individuals in the United States is more than twice the world average

d. Nations with the largest ecological footprints have the fastest population growth rates

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Textbook Question

When wild plant and animal populations are logged, fished, or hunted, only the oldest or largest individuals tend to be taken. Many of the commercially important species are long lived and are slow to begin reproducing. If harvesting is not regulated carefully and exploitation is intense, what impact does harvesting have on a population's age structure? How might harvesting affect the population's life table and growth rate?

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Textbook Question

Demographic momentum refers to the tendency for

a. Low population growth rates to continue to decline

b. High population growth rates to continue to increase

c. Populations to continue to grow in number even when growth rates reach zero

d. Populations to continue to grow in number even when women are reducing the number of children they bear

e. Women to continue to have children even though they no longer wish to

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Textbook Question

Make a rough sketch of the age distribution in a developing versus a developed country, and explain why the shapes of the diagrams are different. How is AIDS, which is a sexually transmitted disease, likely affecting the age distribution in countries hard hit by the epidemic?

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Textbook Question

What is survivorship?

What does a survivorship curve show?

Explain what the three survivorship curves tell us about humans, squirrels, and clams.

2019

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Textbook Question

<Image>

Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) are constricting snakes that can reach enormous sizes (up to 7 meters in length). They are native to Southeast Asia but were released into southern Florida from the pet trade. Many other snakes occur naturally in this area. Are the introduced pythons a problem?

Burmese pythons were first found in the wetlands of Everglades National Park in the 1980s, but only rarely. The accompanying graph shows what happened next. Most of the data are derived from chance encounters of pythons on roads (pythons are notoriously difficult to find). How would you describe the type of population growth in pythons from 2000 to 2008?

a. Logistic

b. Exponential

c. Linear

d. Logarithmic

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Textbook Question

Describe the factors that might produce the following three types of dispersion patterns in populations.

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