Chapter 8

Population Ecology
 Chapter Overview Questions
 What are the major characteristics of
populations?
 How do populations respond to changes in
environmental conditions?
 How do species differ in their reproductive
patterns?
 Updates Online
The latest references for topics covered in this section can be found at
the book companion website. Log in to the book’s e-resources page at
www.thomsonedu.com to access InfoTrac articles.

 InfoTrac: One Hatchling at a Time. Brownsville Herald

(Brownsville, TX), July 2, 2006.
 InfoTrac: Where the Cattle Herds Roam, Ideally in Harmony
With Their Neighbors. Jim Robbins. The New York Times,
July 11, 2006 pF3(L).
 InfoTrac: A nudge for nature. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,
July 10, 2006.
 Earth Island Institute
 Environmental Defense: Creating a Conservation
Community in
Oregon’s Williamette Valley
 Marine Bio: Habitat Conservation
 Core Case Study:
Southern Sea Otters: Are They Back
from the Brink of Extinction?
 They were over-
hunted to the
brink of extinction
by the early
1900’s and are
now making a
comeback.

Figure 8-1
 Core Case Study:
Southern Sea Otters: Are They Back
from the Brink of Extinction?
 Sea otters are an
important keystone
species for sea
urchins and other
kelp-eating
organisms.

Figure 8-1
 POPULATION DYNAMICS AND
CARRYING CAPACITY

 Most populations live in clumps although other

patterns occur based on resource distribution.
Figure 8-2
(a) Clumped (elephants) Fig. 8-2a, p. 162
(b) Uniform (creosote bush) Fig. 8-2b, p. 162
(c) Random (dandelions) Fig. 8-2c, p. 162
 Changes in Population Size:
Entrances and Exits

 Populations increase through births and

immigration

 Populations decrease through deaths and

emigration
 Age Structure: Young Populations
Can Grow Fast
 How fast a population grows or declines depends
on its age structure.
 Prereproductive age: not mature enough to
reproduce.
 Reproductive age: those capable of reproduction.
 Postreproductive age: those too old to reproduce.
 Limits on Population Growth:
Biotic Potential vs. Environmental
Resistance
 No population can increase its size
indefinitely.
 The intrinsic rate of increase (r) is the rate at
which a population would grow if it had unlimited
resources.

Carrying capacity (K): the maximum population
of a given species that a particular habitat can
sustain indefinitely without degrading the habitat.
Exponential and Logistic Population
Growth: J-Curves and S-Curves
 Populations grow
rapidly with ample
resources, but as
resources become
limited, its growth
rate slows and
levels off.

Figure 8-4
 Environmental
Resistance

Carrying capacity (K)

Population size (N)

Biotic
Potential
Exponential
Growth

Time (t)
Fig. 8-3, p. 163
Exponential and Logistic Population
Growth: J-Curves and S-Curves
 As a population
levels off, it
often fluctuates
slightly above
and below the
carrying
capacity.

Figure 8-4
 Overshoot
Carrying capacity
Number of sheep (millions)

Year
Fig. 8-4, p. 164
Exceeding Carrying Capacity: Move,
Switch Habits, or Decline in Size
 Members of
populations which
exceed their
resources will die
unless they adapt or
move to an area with
more resources.

Figure 8-6
 Population
overshoots
carrying
capacity
Number of reindeer

Population
Crashes

Carrying
capacity

Year Fig. 8-6, p. 165

Exceeding Carrying Capacity: Move,
Switch Habits, or Decline in Size
 Over time species may increase their
carrying capacity by developing adaptations.
 Some species maintain their carrying
capacity by migrating to other areas.
 So far, technological, social, and other
cultural changes have extended the earth’s
carrying capacity for humans.
 How Would You Vote?
To conduct an instant in-class survey using a classroom response
system, access “JoinIn Clicker Content” from the PowerLecture main
menu for Living in the Environment.

 Can we continue to expand the earth's

carrying capacity for humans?
 a. No. Unless humans voluntarily control their
population and conserve resources, nature will
do it for us.

b. Yes. New technologies and strategies will
allow us to further delay exceeding the earth's
carrying capacity.
 Population Density and Population
Change: Effects of Crowding
 Population density: the number of individuals
in a population found in a particular area or
volume.
 A population’s density can affect how rapidly it
can grow or decline.
• e.g. biotic factors like disease
 Some population control factors are not affected
by population density.
• e.g. abiotic factors like weather
 Types of Population Change
Curves in Nature
 Population sizes may stay the same, increase,
decrease, vary in regular cycles, or change
erratically.
 Stable: fluctuates slightly above and below carrying
capacity.
 Irruptive: populations explode and then crash to a more
stable level.
 Cyclic: populations fluctuate and regular cyclic or
boom-and-bust cycles.
 Irregular: erratic changes possibly due to chaos or
drastic change.
 Types of Population Change
Curves in Nature

 Population sizes often vary in regular cycles

when the predator and prey populations are
controlled by the scarcity of resources.
Figure 8-7
Population size (thousands)

Hare
Lynx

Year

Fig. 8-7, p. 166

 Case Study: Exploding White-Tailed
Deer Populations in the United States
 Since the 1930s the white-tailed deer
population has exploded in the United States.
 Nearly extinct prior to their protection in 1920’s.
 Today 25-30 million white-tailed deer in U.S.
pose human interaction problems.
 Deer-vehicle collisions (1.5 million per year).
 Transmit disease (Lyme disease in deer ticks).
 REPRODUCTIVE PATTERNS
 Some species reproduce without having sex
(asexual).
 Offspring are exact genetic copies (clones).
 Others reproduce by having sex (sexual).

Genetic material is mixture of two individuals.
 Disadvantages: males do not give birth, increase
chance of genetic errors and defects, courtship
and mating rituals can be costly.

Major advantages: genetic diversity, offspring
protection.
Sexual Reproduction: Courtship
 Courtship rituals
consume time and
energy, can transmit
disease, and can
inflict injury on males
of some species as
they compete for
sexual partners.

Figure 8-8
 Reproductive Patterns:
Opportunists and Competitors
 Large number of
smaller offspring with
little parental care (r-
selected species).
 Fewer, larger offspring
with higher invested
parental care (K-
selected species).

Figure 8-9
 Carrying capacity
K

K species;
experience
K selection
Number of individuals

r species;
experience
r selection

Time
Fig. 8-9, p. 168
 Reproductive Patterns

 r-selected species tend to be opportunists

while K-selected species tend to be
competitors.
Figure 8-10
 r-Selected Species
Cockroach

Dandelion

Many small offspring

Little or no parental care and protection of offspring
Early reproductive age
Most offspring die before reaching reproductive age
Small adults
Adapted to unstable climate and environmental
conditions
High population growth rate (r)
Population size fluctuates wildly above and below
carrying capacity (K)
Generalist niche
Low ability to compete
Early successional species
Fig. 8-10a, p. 168
 K-Selected Species

Elephant Saguaro

Fewer, larger offspring

High parental care and protection
of offspring
Later reproductive age
Most offspring survive to reproductive age
Larger adults
Adapted to stable climate and environmental
conditions
Lower population growth rate (r)
Population size fairly stable and usually close to
carrying capacity (K)
Specialist niche
High ability to compete
Late successional species
Fig. 8-10b, p. 168
 Survivorship Curves:
Short to Long Lives

 The way to represent the age structure of a

population is with a survivorship curve.
 Late loss population live to an old age.

Constant loss population die at all ages.
 Most members of early loss population, die at
young ages.
Survivorship Curves:
Short to Long Lives

 The populations
of different
species vary in
how long
individual
members
typically live.

Figure 8-11
Percentage surviving (log scale) Late loss

Co
n st
an
t lo
ss

Early loss

Age
Fig. 8-11, p. 169