organism

population
community
ecosystem
biosphere

Population Ecology
AP Biology
 Why Population Ecology?
 Scientific goal
 understanding the factors that influence the
size of populations
 general principles
 specific cases
 Practical goal
 management of populations
 increase population size
 endangered species
 decrease population size
 pests
 maintain population size
 fisheries management
 maintain & maximize sustained yield
AP Biology
 Life takes place in populations
 Population
 group of individuals of same species in
same area at same time
 rely on same
resources
 interact
 interbreed

AP Biology Ecology: What factors affect a

Population a population?
population?
 Factors that affect Population Size
 Abiotic factors
 sunlight & temperature
 precipitation / water
 soil / nutrients
 Biotic factors
 other living organisms
 prey (food)
 competitors
 predators, parasites,
disease
 Intrinsic factors
 adaptations
AP Biology
 Characterizing a Population
 Describing a population
 population range 1966
1964 1965
1970
1960

1943
 pattern of Dispersion 1961 1951
Equator 1958 1937
1956
 Density of population Immigration
from Africa
1970
 #individuals per unit area ~1900

range

AP Biology
 Population Range
 Geographical limitations
 abiotic & biotic factors
 temperature, rainfall, food, predators, etc.
 habitat
adaptations to adaptations to
polar biome rainforest biome

AP Biology
 Population Dispersion
 Spacing patterns within a population
Provides
Provides insight
insight into
into the
the
environmental
environmental associations
associations
&
& social
social interactions
interactions of
of
individuals
individuals in
in population
population

clumped Why clump?

random
Why random?

Why uniform?

AP Biology
uniform
 Population Size
 Changes to
population size
can occur by:

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 Population Growth Rates
 Factors affecting population growth rate
 sex ratio
 how many females vs. males?
 generation time
 at what age do females reproduce?
 age structure
 #females at reproductive age in cohort?

AP Biology
 Why do teenage boys pay high car insurance rates?
Demography
 Study of a populations vital statistics and
how they change over time
 Life tables, Age Structure Diagrams and Survivorship
Life table
table Graphs
Life

females males

What adaptations have

led to this difference
in male vs. female
AP Biology mortality?
 Age structure
 Relative number of individuals of each age
What do these data imply about population growth
in these countries?

AP Biology
 Survivorship curves
 Graphic representation of life table
The
The relatively
relatively straight
straight lines
lines of
of the
the plots
plots indicate
indicate relatively
relatively constant
constant
rates
rates of
of death;
death; however,
however, males
males have
have aa lower
lower survival
survival rate
rate overall
overall
than
than females.
females.

Belding ground squirrel

AP Biology
 Survivorship curves What do these graphs
tell about survival &
 Generalized strategies strategy of a species?
species?
1000 Human
(type I)
I. High death rate in
in
post-reproductive
Hydra years
Survival per thousand

(type II)
100
II. Constant mortality
rate throughout life
life
Oyster
(type III) span
10

III.
III. Very high early
mortality but the
1
0 25 50 75 100
few survivors then
live long (stay
Percent of maximum life span
AP Biology reproductive)
 Trade-offs: survival vs. reproduction
 The cost of reproduction
 To increase reproduction may decrease
survival: (think about…)
 age at first reproduction
 investment per offspring
 number of reproductive cycles per lifetime
 parents not equally invested
Natural selection
 offspring mutations favors a life history
 Life History determined by costs that maximizes
and benefits of all adaptations. lifetime
reproductive
AP Biology success
 Reproductive strategies
 K-selected
 late reproduction
 few offspring
 invest a lot in raising offspring
 primates
 coconut
 r-selected
K-selected
 early reproduction
 many offspring
 little parental care
 insects
 many plants
AP Biology r-selected
 Trade offs
Number & size of offspring
vs.
Survival of offspring or parent
r-selected

K-selected
“Of course, long before you mature,
most of you will be eaten.”
AP Biology
 Survivorship Curves with Reproductive Strategy

1000 K-selection Human

(type I)

Hydra
(type II)
Survival per thousand

100

Oyster
(type III)
10

r-selection
1
0 25 50 75 100

Percent of maximum life span

AP Biology
 Population Growth Rate Models
 Exponential growth
 Rapid growth
 No constraints

 Logistic growth
 Environmental constraints
 Limited growth

AP Biology
 Population Growth Math
 Change in population = Births – Deaths
 Per capita birth rate = b
 Per capita death rate = d
 # of individuals = N
 Rate of population growth (r) = b – d
 Survivorship = % surviving
Ex: If there are 50 deer in a population, 13 die and 27 are born the next
month. What is the population size the following month?
 (Answer: 27-13 = 14, so new population is 64)
Ex: What is the birth rate for the deer? #Births/N = b
 Answer: 27/50 = .54
 Death rate (d) = 13/50 = .26
Ex: What is the rate of growth for the deer? r = .54 -.26 = .28
AP Biology
 Exponential Growth (ideal conditions)
 No environmental barriers
 Growth is at maximum rate

dN/dt = rmaxN

N = # individuals
Rmax = growth rate

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 Exponential Growth
 Characteristic of populations without
limiting factors
 introduced to a new environment or rebounding
from a catastrophe
Whooping crane African elephant
coming back from near extinction protected from hunting

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 Logistic rate of growth
 Can populations continue to grow
exponentially? Of course not!
no
no natural
natural controls
controls
K=
carrying
capacity

effect
effect of
of
What happens as natural
natural controls
controls
N approaches K?

AP Biology
 Logistic Growth Equation
dN/dt = rmaxN(K-N)/K

K = carrying capacity of population

Ex: If a population has a carrying capacity of 900 and the rmax is
1, what is the population growth when the population is 435?
1 x 435 (900-435)/900 = 224

What if the population is at 850?

What if it is at 1010?
Explain the results of each problem.

AP Biology
 Carrying capacity

Number of breeding male

fur seals (thousands)
10
 Maximum 8

population size 6

that environment 4

can support with 2

0
no degradation 1915 1925 1935
Time (years)
1945

of habitat 500

Number of cladocerans
 varies with 400
changes in (per 200 ml) 300
resources
200

What’s going 100

on with the
plankton? 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
AP Biology Time (days)
 Changes in Carrying Capacity
 Population cycles
 predator – prey
interactions

K
K
K
K

AP Biology
 Regulation of population size
marking territory
 Limiting factors = competition
 density dependent
 competition: food, mates,
nesting sites
 predators, parasites,
pathogens
 density independent
 abiotic factors
 sunlight (energy)
 temperature
 rainfall

APcompetition
Biology swarming locusts
for nesting sites
 Introduced species
 Non-native species (INVASIVE)
 transplanted populations grow
exponentially in new area
 out-compete native species
 reduce diversity
 examples
 African honeybee
 gypsy moth

gypsy moth

AP Biology kudzu
 Zebra musselssel

~2 months


 reduces
reduces diversity
diversity
 loss

loss of
of food
food && nesting
nesting sites
sites
for
for animals
animals
 economic

economic damage
damage
AP Biology ecological & economic damage
 Purple loosestrife

1968 1978


 reduces
reduces diversity
diversity
 loss

loss of
of food
food && nesting
nesting sites
sites
AP Biology for
for animals
animals
 Any
Questions?

AP Biology 2007-2008