Chapter III: Population Ecology

As we have discussed in the previous chapter, organisms interact with

each other through exchange of energy and matter. The population of variety
of species in the environment may be influence by several factors such as
the availability of resources, environmental conditions, ecological
interrelationship, and even anthropogenic effect. Why do population increase
and decrease? How does human population affect the population of other
species and its environment?

Learning Outcomes:
In this chapter, you will be able to:
 Discuss the factors that affects the trends in population;
 Analyze relationships among changes in population size, economic
development, and resource consumption at global and local scale; and
 Show awareness of the community advocate population management
policies in the Philippines.

Current Trends of Population

Based on Worldometer as of July 27, 2020, there are about
7,800,851,000 people in the world. The top five largest populations in the
world include China, India, U.S.A., Indonesia, and Pakistan. Historically, the
world population rapidly increase during the industrial revolution as shown
in Figure 3.1. What factors lead to the rapid increase of population during
industrial revolution?

Figure 3.1 Past, Present, and Future World Population

Source: Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/)

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 It is observed that there is a continuous increase in population
growth. However, a slower growth rate was noted in the 21 st century which
is about 1.05% per year (www.Worldometers.info). Based on the paper of
Jadhav and Ranveer (2016), the world population will reach 10.5 billion by
2050 in relation to the fertility and mortality rates. With the continuous
increase in population, the ecosystem is also rapidly degrading which also
leads to the loss of biodiversity. Population growth accompanied by poverty
and urbanization served one of the key drivers to ecological change and
disruption of ecosystem service. What do you think are the impact of
population explosion in our environment? How does poverty could cause
environmental degradation?

Through 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, there is an

initiative to help empower vulnerable people and countries by developing
sustainable agriculture and fisheries. Also, the support in capacity-building
and transfer of environmental-friendly technology is made to provided goods
and services needed by the people.

Want to learn more about human population explosion and if

this will lead to the end of our civilization? Search the link:
https://youtu.be/QsBT5EQt348

Population Dynamics: Birth and Death Rate

The population is characterized by the interaction of individuals to
their environment. It is characterized by size, density, dispersal,
immigration, emigration, births, deaths, and survivorship.

The population density is measured by the number if individual per

unit area. The population dispersion is the pattern of spacing among
individuals within the geographic boundaries. There are three types of
dispersion: clumped, uniform, and random. The pattern of dispersion among
organisms depends on the distribution of resources in the area and
interaction with each organism. Clumped dispersion is when individuals
are living in groups such as school of fish and herds of elephants. This may
be also attributed to uneven distribution of resources in the environment
which cause social interactions among individuals. Uniform dispersion are
seen when individuals are evenly spaced in the area such as the territorial
penguins. Random dispersal is when individuals do not have any pattern or
arrangement of dispersion in the area such as when wind-dispersed seeds
germinate in favourable environment.

Another factor that describes population dynamics is demography.

Demography is the statistical study of the factors affection population
growth and decline. It includes birth rates, death rates, and life expectancy.

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Life tables give information on the survival pattern of organisms at different
life stages. Survivorship curve is another
tool used to determine the number of
individuals that survive at each age level.
Figure 3.2 is a comparison of survivorship
of humans, birds, and trees based on age.
There are three types if survivorship
curves. Type I shows high percentage of
offspring survival from early to middle
years and death is dominant in elderly
years just like humans. Type II is an
example of intermediate survivorship as
birds die equally at each age interval. Type
III is exhibited by trees and other marine
invertebrates and fishes where few of the Figure 3.2 Survivorship Curve
organisms survive in their younger years Image from OpenStax, Biology
but survivors live for a long period of time. (2019)

Reproductive rates are also used by scientist to study females that give
birth to offspring. Table 3.1 shows the comparison of demographics of
Global Population with the six regions in the world. How will describe the
relationship of population with the fertility rate, life expectancy, and infant
mortality per region? How will you relate the dynamic of population in each
region in terms of the health services, poverty rate, and level of urbanization?

Table 3.1 Comparison of Demographic Globally and by Region as of 2020

Infant
Fertility Life Mortality
Rate (live Expectancy (infant
Location Population
births per of Both deaths per
woman) Sexes 1000 live
births)
Global 7,794,798,739 2.5 73.2 26.1
Asia 4,641,054,775 2.2 74.2 21.8
Africa 1,340,598,147 4.4 64.1 41.6
Europe 747,636,026 1.6 79.1 3.4
Latin America 653,962,331 2.0 76.1 13.7
and Caribbean
North America 368,869,647 1.8 79.5 5.4
Oceania 42,677,813 2.4 79.3 6.1
Source: Worldometer.info (2020). https://www.worldometers.info/
demographics/world-demographics/

The change in the population size is based on the difference of births and
deaths during time interval. The ability of an organism to reproduce
depends on the energy an organism acquire in the environment which is
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also needed for their growth and development. The survival of the offspring
also depends on the provided parental care. Hence, organisms’ ability to
adapt to their environment to get resources for energy is essential for
successful reproduction and growth of population. In ideal conditions,
population can grow rapidly and exponentially if the resources are
unlimited. Just like in Figure 3.1, there is a rapid and exponential growth in
human population as humans are able to maximize the use of
environmental resources. However, an environment has a carrying
capacity, which is the maximum population size that a particular
environment can support. What do you think are the factors that can stop a
population from growing?

Population Dynamics: Immigration and Emigration

The population size is determined by the balance between the births,
immigration, deaths, and emigration. Migration is another factor that can
affect the population size. It refers to the movement of organism from one
region to another. Emigration is when an individual leave the region; and
intend to reside in another region as an immigrant. There are animals that
exhibit migratory behaviour such as birds that move from one place to
another when the season is unfavourable. An individual should be able to
survive and reproduce in the changing environment for complete and
successful migration of animals in a new region. Some individuals do partial
migration during winter as food resources become limited and competition
increased. Hence, there are factors which lead to the movement of animal for
survival.
Density-dependent factors are factors that are influence by the size
of population which includes limiting resources, competition, toxic waste,
diseases, predation, stress, and emigration. If there is a limitation in
resources in a high population density area, then the population growth will
stop by reduction in reproduction or emigration. But there are also factors
that are unrelated to population density which may also could reduction in
population size. Density-independent factors are factors that can result in
population decrease due to environmental hazards such as severe storms,
flooding, earthquake, volcanic eruption, and very cold weather.
As we have mentioned earlier, human population has increased. And
by 2050, the population will reach for about 10.5 billion. Do you think the
Earth can still provide the needs of humans to survive? Ecological footprint
is a measure of how fast individuals consume natural resources and
generate waste in comparison to how fast the environment can absorb waste
and generate new resources. If the total ecological footprint exceeds the
carrying capacity of the environment, then this results to ecological deficit.
Based on Global Footprint Network, the top five countries with the highest
ecological footprint are China, U.S.A., India, Russia, and Brazil. Why do you
think these countries have the highest ecological footprint?

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 Want to learn more about ecological footprint and deficit?
Search the link: https://www.footprintnetwork.org/our-
work/ecological-footprint/

Study of Population Growth in the Philippines

Based on Worldometer (July 27, 2020), Philippines ranked 13th ,
globally, with about 109,581,078 population. As shown in Figure 3.3, there
is a constant increase in Philippine population but a gradual decline in its
growth rate. Why do you think are the factors that lead to the decline in the
growth rate in the Philippines?

Figure 3.3 Philippine Populations (2019 and historical)

Source: Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/world-
population/philippines-population/)

Our population density is 368 perKm2 and 47.5% of our population is in

urban area. The top five cities with the highest population in the Philippines
are Quezon city, Manila, Caloocan City, Budta, and Davao. As we all know,
there are more people opt to live in urban places due to employment and
education opportunities. Hence, the population density is higher in urban
areas such as Metro Manila. Regmi (2017) conducted a study on
urbanization and how it affected the environmental condition in Metro
Manila. Among the environmental issues Metro Manila faced is “flooding,
solid waste problems, proliferation of informal settlers, deterioration of water
quality and air quality, and increase in greenhouse gas emissions”. This

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shows us that increase in population could really affect the ecological
service and environmental quality. Hence, there is a need for the
government to make policies and programs to control and manage
population growth especially in urban areas.
In 1971, the Republic Act no. 6365, also known as Population Act of
the Philippines, to mandate the Commission on Population to be the policy
making body in strengthening population program such as the National,
Family Planning Program. Then, in 2003, under the leadership of President
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Commission on Population was placed under
the Department of Health. The population program in the Philippines was
reiterated and was guided on the four principles: Responsible Parenthood,
Respect for Life, Birth Spacing, and Informed Choice. Furthermore, the
health services in the Local Government units provided reproductive health
to promote responsible parenthood.
Aside from Responsible Parenthood, Adolescent Health and
Development Program is also implemented to prevent early and repeated
pregnancy. This program includes comprehensive sexuality education; set-
up of sustainable teen center in LGU, and development of information and
communication dissemination on reproductive health information and
services.
With the current covid-19 pandemic situation, the Commission on
Population and Development has predicted addition of 214,000 unplanned
births of women between 15 to 49 years old due to impeded family planning
services upon the implementation of community quarantines. Why do you
think that despite of government efforts more women get pregnant? What do
you think should be done in order to prevent unplanned pregnancies
especially to women below 20 years old?

Have you watched Agwat, a short documentary film which

features two faces of youth as they journey adulthood?
Search the link: https://youtu.be/Le1WGKoYIzg

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 Republic of the Philippines
MARIKINA POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE
2 Chanyungco St., Sta. Elena, Marikina City 1800
Tel. Nos. (02) 369-6790, (02) 360-7216

Name: _____________________________________ Score: _______________

Course/Yr. & Sec.: _________________________ Date: ________________
Instructor/Professor: ______________________
Activity No. 3
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT ANALYSIS

In this activity, you will use the data given below to calculate the
ecological deficit or credit on the countries listed and for the world.
Ecological deficit occurs when the ecological footprint exceeds the
biocapacity of the environment used by the population.

Objective: At the end of this activity, you should be able to:

1. Compute the ecological credit or deficit of a country; and
2. Analyze the relationship of population size to consumption of
natural resources.

Procedure:
1. Calculate the Ecological credit or debit by subtracting Biocapacity
with Ecological Footprint
2. Answer the given Guide Questions below.

Ecological
Ecological
Footprint Biocapacity
Population Land Area Credit (+)
Place (Hectares (Hectares
(2020) (Km2) or Debit
Per per Person)
(-)
Person)
World 7,800,851,000 148.9million 2.2 1.8 -0.4
Philippines 109,581,078 298,170 1.3 0.5
United States 331,002,651 9,147,420 8.1 3.6
China 1,439,323,776 9,388,211 3.6 1.0
Canada 37,742,154 9,093,510 7.7 15.1
Brazil 212,559,417 8,358,140 2.8 8.7
Japan 126,476,461 364,555 4.5 0.6
United Kingdom 67,886,011 241,930 4.4 1.1
Singapore 5,850,342 700 5.9 0.1
Australia 25,499,884 7,682,300 6.6 12.3
Source: Data from https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/population-
by-country/ and http://data.footprintnetwork.org/

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Guide Questions:
1. Which of the following countries have the largest ecological deficits?
Why do you think it has such a large deficit?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

2. Which of the following countries have the greatest ecological credit?

Why do you think it has the great credit?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

3. What are the factors that contribute to ecological credit in a country?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

4. What are the factors that contribute to ecological deficit in a country?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

5. What would you do to contribute in decreasing ecological deficit in the

Philippines?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

6. Make a comparison of the ecological footprint by drawing footprints

with different sizes based on its rank in the given table. Then, color it
red to indicate deficit and green to indicate credit.

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 Republic of the Philippines
MARIKINA POLYTECHNIC COLLEGE
2 Chanyungco St., Sta. Elena, Marikina City 1800
Tel. Nos. (02) 369-6790, (02) 360-7216

Name: _____________________________________ Score: _______________

Course/Yr. & Sec.: _________________________ Date: ________________
Instructor/Professor: _______________________

Quiz No. 3
Population Ecology

Test I: Multiple Choice

Directions: Read each statement/question carefully then choose the letter
of the best answer. Write your answers on the space provided
before each number.

____1. Which of the following statements is correct?

a. Population size of predators increases when the prey is scare.
b. Competition for resources is density-independent when food is
plenty.
c. Disease is density-dependent as transmission occurs more easily
in large population.
d. Change in temperature is density-dependent as fewer organisms
can acclimate to variations in temperature.

____2. When a lion look for mates outside their own population, the males
take the females to their group. Which of the following occurs in the
males population?
a. emigration b. immigration c. mortality d. natality

____3. Which of the following is NOT needed in assessing population’s

growth rate?
a. How many individuals are born
b. How many have dies
c. How many move away in a given period of time
d. How many individuals carry communicable diseases

____4. Which event is correlated with the exponential growth in human

population?
a. Start of Industrial Revolution
b. Invention of Agriculture
c. Bubonic plague epidemic
d. End of Second World War

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____5. Which of the following was the most important impact of agriculture
on the human population size?
a. It stabilized and increased available food supplies
b. It made people better able to resist disease
c. It reduce accidental deaths from hunting
d. It decreased the negative impacts of storms.

Test II Essay
Directions: Answer the given items below. Express your answer briefly with
complete thought. Use the space provided for your answer.
Write legibly and neatly. (5 points each)

a. Which of the two rivers can more likely support many species: 1)
spring fed with constant water volume and temperature annually; or
2) drains a desert landscape and floods and dries out at unpredictable
intervals? Explain your answer.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

b. What is the advantage and disadvantage of having high population?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

c. What are the possible impacts of this phenomenon in freshwater

ecosystem? Immediate community?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

d. What research question/s could be ask to investigate this

phenomenon?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

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