Vocab 1
What is ecology
The study of how organisms interact with each other and with their environments
What is an age structure diagram?
Relative number
of organisms of each age group within population
Describe how a population, community differ from a species
Population is a group of the same species. Community is all living things living in the same area and a species is a group of similar organisms living together.
List advantages and disadvantages of low density
Advantage: Less competition and more resources
Disadvantage: Harder to find mates
Describe the factors that influence population’s growth rate
Mortality, Natality, births and deaths
What is an ecosystem
all the organisms living in an area together
What are abiotic factors. Provide 3 examples
Nonliving factors. Gases in atmosphere, water, sunlight.
What are the three ways populations can be distributed. Provide an example of each.
Clumped: Elephants
Uniform: Trees
Random: Wildflowers
List advantages and disadvantages of high pop density
Advantage: Easier to find mates
Disadvantages: More competition for resources and less space
What do survivorship curves do?
Predict the likelihood of death.
What are biotic factors
living parts of the ecosystem
Exponential growth
a population increases by a fixed percentage per year; J-shaped curve
What factors will dramatically decrease population size
Loss of habitat
Loss of resources
Disease
What is the equation for determining population growth?
(Births + immigration) – (deaths + emigration)
Define a type 1 curve.
High mortality at old age.
What is an organism
an individual living thing
Logistic growth
describes how a population’s exponential growth is slowed and finally stopped by limiting factors; S-shaped curve
Explain the usefulness of tracking population sizes
What things do a habitat need to be suitable for life
Resources such as food and water, shelter, and mates.
Define a type 2 curve.
Equal chance of dieing at any age.
What is a population
all the members of the same species that live in the same place at the same time
Population density
number of individuals in a population per unit area
List the stages of ecological organization in order
Individual --> population --> community --> ecosystem --> biosphere
How do we track population sizes in large areas (Ex: 1,000 acres of habitat)
Reduce the size of the study area, sample the area, and make an estimation.
Define a type 3 curve
High chance of dying at a young age.