Ch 55 Population Ecology

Objectives

• 1. Define population.

  2. Explain giving examples how populations can change over time (dynamic).

  3. Explain some of the limits and factors that regulate populations.

  4. Use any aspect one of the above three objectives and relate it to human populations.

  5. Know the four key elements of the physical environment and understand their importance to individuals and populations.

  6. Describe and give examples of individual responses to environmental changes.

  7. Identify examples of evolutionary responses to environmental variations.

  8. Understand what constitutes a population and distinguish the changes that can occur in its characteristic features, e.g., range expansion and contraction.

  9. Differentiate among random, uniform, and clumped spacings of populations.

  10. Describe several methods used by terrestrial plants to disperse their seeds.

  11. Understand what a metapopulation is and how it is associated with source and sink populations.

  12. Define demography and describe factors that can affect population growth rates.

  13. Recognize the value of life tables and be able to use the information provided by one.

  14. Draw the three types of survivorship curves, explain, and give examples of each.

  15. Understand why and how reproductive success is maximized by organisms using different reproductive strategies.

  16. Distinguish between of the exponential and logistic growth models and explain the significance to a population’s growth when it experiences either one.

  17. Define carrying capacity and understand how it can affect population size.

  18. Compare density-dependent and density independent growth regulating effects and give examples of each.

  19. Understand the reasons for predator-prey cycles and give examples.

  20. Differentiate between r-selected and K-selected life history adaptations.

  21. Be able to interpret information provided by a population pyramid.

  22. Comprehend the concept of ecological footprints and what they mean to the future of the Earth.