5 Characteristics of Populations
Are penguins an example of clumped, uniform, or random population distribution?
Uniform
What is the difference between birth rate (natality) and death rate (fatality)?
Birth rate is the number of individuals being born in a population and death rate is the number of individuals dying in a population.
What is ONE characteristic of an exponential growth graph?
Resources are unlimited
J-Shaped curve
No carrying Capacity
Give one example of a keystone species that we talked about in class.
sea otter
Wolves in Yellowstone National Park
Beaver
Predation, Parasitism, Disease, Stress from Overcrowding, and Herbivory are examples of Density-Dependent or Density-Independent?
Density-dependent Limiting Factors
What is the Geographic Range of a sea otter?
The west coast shores (Baja California to Alaska)
What is the difference between immigration and emigration?
Immigration is when an individual ARRIVES to a new area (country, land, etc.
Emigration is when an individual LEAVES (EXITS) an area (country, land. etc)
Examples are OK too.
Give ONE characteristic of a logistic growth graph.
Resources are limited
Reaches Carrying Capacity
S-Shaped curve
What is a keystone species?
a species in which other species in an ecosystem largely depend on such that if they were to be removed from the ecosystem, it would change drastically
What are the two different types of limiting factors that can affect a population?
Density Dependent Limiting Factors
Density Independent Limiting Factors
What are the 3 different types of Population Distribution. (Think of the way fish, penguins, and trees are distributed)
Clumped, Random, Uniform
Give 3 reasons why animals and/or humans might immigrate or emigrate.
There are many examples...
What is "carrying capacity"?
the maximum number of individuals in a species that an environment can support for the long term
What is the difference between a sea otter and a lionfish in their ecosystems?
Sea otter= keystone species
Lionfish=Invasive species
Give 3 examples of Density-Independent factors that could affect a population.
Natural disasters, earthquake, fire, climate change, etc...
Give an example of what CLUMPED population distribution (dispersion) looks like in real life.
School of Fish
Bison
Herd of elephants
What might cause a DECREASE in birth rate and an INCREASE in death rate?
Diseases, illness, lack of resources, poor healthcare, increase in predators, low space availability, etc...
Give 2 examples of what might cause a population to reach it's carrying capacity.
Immigration, lack of resources, not enough space, increase in birth rate, etc...
We know that monarch butterflies are in decline. Give 2 reasons why the monarch butterfly population is nearing extinction.
Herbicides
Pesticides
Insecticides
Climate Change
Logging (deforestation)
Urban Development
Why is parasitism an example of a Density-Dependent Limiting Factor?
Because it depends on the population size whether or not the parasite will have an effect or not on the entire population.
Also, the parasite depends on the animal it preys on.
Name ALL 5 of the Characteristics of Populations that Ecologists study.
1. Geographic Range
2.
3.
4.
5.
Geographic Range
Growth Rate
Population Density
Population Distribution
Age Range
Advancements in medicine, food availability, lack of predators, plenty of space, etc...
Give 3 examples of exponential growth that exist in real life.
Invasive species (sea urchin, lionfish deer in Yellowstone)
Human Population
China Population
COVID-19 cases in 2020
What caused the sea otter population to decline in the 18th and 19th centuries?
Fur trade (humans hunting sea otters for their fur)
What is the difference between Density Dependent and Density Independent?
Density-Dependent depends on the number of individuals that exist in a population and Density-Independent DOES NOT depend on the number of individuals in a population.