plant abundance along moisture gradients
what are the santa catalina mountains?
- study on plants.
- change in elevation corresponds to change in moisture
- bottom wet, top dry.
what is population size?
the number of individuals in a population
what is the correlation between plant mass and population density?
also negative correlation. but individual plants can change over their lifetime.
What is the current population?
Nt
what are life tables?
a way of representing the patterns of survival and mortality in a population.
how are variations used on a small scale?
we can use variations in environmental conditions on a small scale to better understand the conditions a species need which helps us understand its distribution across a wider region.
what is population density?
number of individuals in a population in a particular unit area
ex) #/km^2
competition between individuals in the same population as they grow up.
How many individuals are being added?
Births, immigration
what is a survivorship curve?
a way of representing the patterns of survival in a population
what is the correlation between animal size and population density?
negative correlation.
ex) large mammals live in populations with low population density. small mammals live in population with high population density. this is driven by their need for resources
what is the result?
not all individuals of the same age reach adulthood.
ex) foresters take advantage of this and thin out plantations to let the trees grow with less competition.
How many individuals are being taken away?
Deaths and emmigration
what is understanding for BIDE dynamics?
pattern relevance is calculated by understanding the biology of the species.
ex) turtles quantified by decade. fruit flied quantified by hour.
what is biomass?
the mass or volume of an organism
what is population structure?
trying to understand more of the population than simply the population size or density
What is the size of population in future?
Nt+1
how are insects quantified?
quantified by stages instead of age because age is less relevant.
what is biomass density?
when we quantify biomass per unit area or volume
- both biomass and biomass density have commercial value for fish and trees. used because it affects how that species is sold in markets.
what is the example of the significance of population structure?
determines whether a commercial fishery is leaving enough mature breeding individuals to sustain than population.
what are per-capita rates?
allow you to compare different populations that differ in size.
human population varies based on loaction.
why is natural history important in ecology?
help us understand the biology of the species we are working with so we can make better decisions about quantifying the analyses we're interested in.
ex) life tables.