Ecology Chat 2: Population Ecology

Teacher Answer Key

Station: Dispersion Patterns

1. What is a population?

A population is a group of organisms that belong to the same species and live in a particular place at
the same time.

2. One property used to describe a particular population is dispersion. Define dispersion.

Dispersion is the spatial distribution of individuals within the population.

3. List the three types of dispersion patterns:

The three type of dispersion are: Clumped, Uniform, and Random.

4. Name of dispersion pattern: Clumped

Describe this pattern: Individuals are clustered together.

Why might organisms arrange themselves in this pattern? Clumped

distributions often occur when resources such as food, water, or living spaces
are clumped together. Clumped distributions are also seen in species that have
a certain social behavior. Organisms may cluster as a means of protection
from a predator.

Example of this pattern in nature:

• A population of seals might cluster together on a shoreline since the food is
in the water and the mating spaces are on shore.
• Schools of fish.
• Herds of animals, such as a bison herd.
• A flock of birds.
• A hive of bees.

5. Name of dispersion pattern: Uniform or Even

Describe this pattern: Organisms are arranged so that they are an equal
distance from one another.

Why might organisms arrange themselves in this pattern? Even distributions

are usually the result of social interactions that result in the individuals trying
to get as far away from one another as possible.

Example of this pattern in nature:

• A bird may locate its nest to maximize the distance from the nests of other birds.
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6. Name of dispersion pattern: Random

Describe this pattern: The location of one individual is independent of the

location of other individuals.

Why might organisms arrange themselves in this pattern? Random patterns

are not very common in nature, and most organisms would not “choose” this
pattern. Random dispersal may result when seeds are dispersed by the wind
or animals.

Example of this pattern in nature: In a field of wildflowers, the plants may be

randomly dispersed due to seeds being blown around the field.

7. What type of dispersion pattern is seen in human populations? Explain your answer.

Clumped Dispersion: Humans tend to clump together in areas where abundant resources are
available. A measure of safety is also obtained by living in villages, towns, and cities.

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 Station: Exponential Growth

1. Calculate the number of bacterial cells at the end of each hour for a 12-hour period of time. Record
your data in the data table below.

Time Number of Cells Time Number of Cells

Hour 1 4 Hour 7 16, 384
Hour 2 16 Hour 8 65,536
Hour 3 64 Hour 9 262,144
Hour 4 256 Hour 10 1,048,576
Hour 5 1,024 Hour 11 4,194,304
Hour 6 4,096 Hour 12 16,777,216

2. Plot your growth data on the graph below.

3. Describe the type of growth that is occurring in this example.

The growth doesn’t seem too impressive at first. In fact, the population seems to be growing very
slowly for most of the 12-hour period. However, the power of exponential growth can produce a
population of extremely large size, as evidenced in the last two hours of the time period.

4. What name is given to this type of growth?

Exponential growth.

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5. Under what conditions does this type of growth occur?
• Unlimited resources are available. There is no shortage of food and water.
• There is plenty of space for growth to occur.
• There are no predators or diseases.

6. What will eventually happen to any population experiencing this type of growth?

Populations cannot continue to grow exponentially for very long. Resources will become scarce, and
there will be an accumulation of wastes that will limit growth. In addition, competition for the
limited resources will intensify as the population grows. Many organisms will be out-competed for
these resources and will perish.

7. You have been given the opportunity to take a job for a one-month (31-day) period of time.
Would you rather get paid:
(a) One million dollars for the 31 days of work, or
(b) One cent on the first day with your pay doubling each day for the 31-day period?

Explain your answer.

Students should choose “b” as their answer. If you start with one cent and double it for 31 days, you
will eventually have 1,073,741,824 cents which is equal to $10,737,418.24.

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 Station: Logistic Growth
1. Plot the growth data on the graph below.

90
85
80
75
Number of Birds
70
65
60
55
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

Generation

2. Describe the type of growth that is occurring in this example.

At first the population appears to be experiencing exponential growth, but at generation 10, the
growth appears to stabilize and level off.

3. What name is given to this type of growth?

Logistic growth.

4. What is meant by the term “carrying capacity”?

The carrying capacity is the number of individuals the environment can support over a long period of
time.

5. What is your estimate of the carrying capacity for this bird population?

The carrying capacity for this bird population is approximately 80 individuals.

6. List 5 factors that might determine the carrying capacity for a population.
• The amount of available food.
• The amount of available water.
• The presence/absence of diseases.
• The presence/absence of natural predators.
• The amount of space available.
• The degree of competition among the individuals in the population.

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7. Is the carrying capacity for a population always constant? Explain.

No, the carrying capacity is not always constant. The carrying capacity changes with the conditions
that are present in the environment. For example: The weather conditions one year may produce an
abundance of food for a given population.

8. What factors might cause the carrying capacity to change?

• A natural disaster such as a forest fire.
• Weather conditions such as a flood or hurricane.
• Deforestation
• The climate changes.

9. What is the relationship between birth rate and death rate prior to a population reaching its carrying
capacity?

The birth rate is higher than the death rate.

10. What is the relationship between birth rate and death rate after a population reaches its carrying
capacity?

The birth rate and death rate are fairly equal.

11. What is the difference in appearance between an exponential growth curve and a logistic growth
curve?

An exponential growth curve is also known as a J-curve due to its shape on a graph.
A logistic growth curve is also known as a S-curve, and looks like a stretched out “S” on a graph.

© Amy Brown Science

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