Population Ecology

AECC-I
+3 1st Year
Individuals:
An individual is one organism and is also one type of organism (e.g., human, cat,
moose, palm tree, gray whale, tapeworm, or cow in our example).
Species:
The type of organism is referred to as the species. There are many different definitions of
the word species, but for now we’ll leave it simply that it is a unique type of organism. As a
grammatical aside, note that the word “species” always ends in an “s”. Even if you are
referring to just one type of organism, one species, it is a species; there is no such thing as
a specie. That’s just one of those grammatical facts of life.
Each species that has been studied and described by scientists has been given a
two-part name, their binomial or scientific name, that uniquely identifies it (e.g., humans =
Homo sapiens; domestic cats = Felis catus; moose = Alces alces; coconut palms = Cocos
nucifera; gray whales = Eschrichtius robustus; cow tapeworms = Taenia saginata; and
domestic cows = Bos taurus). The power or value of the scientific name is that it makes
clear what type of organism you are talking about. Since only one type of organism in the
entire world has that unique name, it makes for much clearer communication and
understanding than using common names.
Population:
It’s a group of individuals that all belong to the same species.
Populations are geographically based; they live in a particular area. But
the size or scale of that area can be variable – we can talk about the
human population in a city, a state, a country or a hemisphere. Or we
can talk about the population of palm trees on just one island in the
Indian Ocean, or on all of the islands that make up the Republic of
Seychelles, or all of the islands in the Indian Ocean. The person
studying or writing about the population gets to decide what scale to
use, what is most appropriate for what they want to study or explain.
That’s one of the exciting things about science – there’s a lot of
freedom in defining the scope and scale of your project, but that
means it is also important to explain clearly what scale you are using.
 Species are made up of populations. How many populations? It
all depends. It depends on how widespread the species is and how
small or large the geographic area is. Some species have very limited
ranges or distributions, being restricted, for example, to a single island
or the top of a single mountain in the whole world. The single
population on the island or mountaintop makes up the entire species.
From a conservation perspective, such populations are extremely
vulnerable – if anything happens to that one population, the entire
species will be lost; the species will go extinct. But many species are
more widespread. There are populations of moose, for example, in
Yellowstone National Park, Maine, Minnesota, Alberta, Manitoba and
other U.S. states and Canadian provinces. If you want to know how
many moose there are on Earth, you have to know the sizes of all the
different populations in all the different locations.
Communities:
Communities are made up of all the populations of different species in a
given area. Why the vague term “in a given area?” Because once again the
scale is flexible, determined by the person studying or writing about the
community. We might be talking about the community of all the organisms
living in the very top or canopy of a single rainforest tree or of all the trees in
the forest. What’s most important about the community concept is that it
involves multiple populations of all the different species in the given area
and how these species interact with each other. Each of the populations is
made up of individuals of a particular species, and the individuals interact
with each other – with members of their own species (e.g., fighting,
grooming, mating, pollinating each other) and with individuals of other
species (e.g., hunting them for food, using them as a place to build a nest,
growing on them). Community ecologists study the populations in a given
area and their interactions. There’s another article in this tutorial about
different types of ecological interactions.
Definition of Population:
Population is a set of individuals of a particular species, which are
found in a particular geographical area.
The population that occupies a very small area, is smaller in size, such
a population is called local population. A group of such a closely related local
population is called meta-population.
Population ecology is an important area of ecology because it links
ecology to the population genetics and evolution. Natural selection operates
at a levels of population.
Population Attributes:
A population has certain attributes that an individual organism does not
have.
Some of them are given below:
(i) Population Size or Density:
It is the number of individuals of a species per unit area or volume

(ii) Birth Rate (Natality):

It is the rate of production (birth rate) of new individuals per unit of
population per unit time. For example, if in a pond, there are 20 lotus plants last
year and through reproduction, 8 new plants are added, taking the current
population to 28. Then, birth rate = 8/20 = 0.4 offspring per lotus per year.
(iii) Death Rate (Mortality):
It is the rate of loss of individuals (death rate) per unit time due to death or
due to the different environmental changes, competition, predation, etc. For
example, if individuals in a laboratory population of 40 fruit flies died during a
specified time interval. Then, the death rate = 4/40 = 0.1 individuals per fruit fly per
week.
(iv) Sex Ratio:
An individual is either a male or a female but a population has a
sex ratio like 60% of the population are females and 40% are males.
Age Pyramid:
Population at any given time is composed of individuals of different
ages. When the age distribution (per cent individuals of a given age or
age group) is plotted for the population, this is called age pyramid.
The age pyramids of human population generally shows the age
distribution of males and females in a combined diagram.
The growth status of the population is reflected by the shape of
the pyramids.
That whether it is:
(i) Growing Expanding
(ii) Stable
(iii) Declining.
Population Growth:
The size of a population for any species is not a
static parameter, it keeps changing with time.
It depends on the following factors:
(i) Food availability
(ii) Predation pressure
(iii) Weather
 The density of a population in a given habitat during a given
period, fluctuates due to the four basic processes:
(a) Natality refers to the number of births during a given period in the
population that are added to initial density.
(b) Mortality is the number of deaths in the population during a given
period.
(c) Immigration is the number of individuals of the same species that
have come into the habitat from elsewhere during the time period
under consideration.
(d) Emigration is the number of individuals of population who left the
habitat and moved elsewhere during a given period of time.
 Out of these four, natality and immigration contribute an increase in
population density while mortality and emigration contribute to the decrease in
population density.
So, if N is the population density at time t, then its density at time t +1 is

Where,
N = Population density
t = Time,
B = Birth rate, I = Immigration,
D = Death rate,
E = Emigration
From the above equations, we can see that population density will increase
if, (B + I) is more than (D + E).
Growth Models:
Studying about the behaviour and pattern of different animals can help us to
learn a lesson on how to control the human population growth.
There are following two models of population growth:
Exponential Growth:
Availability of resources (food and space) is essential for the growth of
population. The unlimited availability results in population exponential. The
increase or decrease in population density (N) at a unit time period (t) is
calculated as (dN/dt)
Let dN/dt = (b – d) XN
Let (b-d) = r, then, dN/dt = rN
Where, N is population size, b is birth per capita
d is death per capita, t is time period
and r is intrinsic rate of natural increase.
r, is an important parameter that assess the effects of biotic and abiotic
factors on population growth. It is different for different organisms.
It is 0.015 for Norway rat and 0.12 for flour beetle. The above equation
results in J-shaped curve as shown in graph.
Logistic Growth:
Practically, no population of any species in nature has unlimited
resources at its disposal. This leads to competition among the
individuals and the survival of the fittest. Therefore, a given habitat has
enough resources to support a maximum possible number, beyond
which no further growth is possible.
This is called the carrying capacity (K) for that species in that
habitat. When N is plotted in relation to time t, the logistic growth
show sigmoid curve and is also called Verhulst-Pearl Logistic Growth
and is calculated as
dN/dt = rN (K – N/K)
Where, N is population density at time t K is carrying capacity and r is intrinsic
rate of natural increase.
This model is more realistic in nature because no population growth
can sustain exponential growth indefinitely as there will be completion for the
basic needs.
Human population growth curve will become S-shaped, if efforts are
being made throughout the world to reduce the rate of population growth and
make it stationary.
Life History Variations:
Darwinian fitness (high ‘r’ value) states that the population evolve to
maximise their reproductive fitness in the habitat where they live. Under
particular set of selection pressures, organisms evolve towards the most
efficient reproductive strategy.
The rate of breeding varies from species to species:
a. Some species breed only once in their life time (Pacific salmon fish and
bamboo), while some breed many times in their life time (birds and
mammals).
b. Some produce large number of small sized offsprings (oysters), whereas
other produce small number of large sized offsprings (birds and mammals).
c. Life history traits of organisms have evolved in relation to the constraints
imposed by the biotic and abiotic components of habitats in which they live.
Population Control:
Population control is the methodology or the practice used to control
and maintain the type, location and number of people that inhabit the earth.
Quality and status of life have undergone a drastic change over a
century. We have to thank the improvised and advanced technologies
around the world for this. One of the impacts of advanced technology on the
economy is reduced mortality rate and increased the birth rate. This has led
to one of the most dangerous problems crippling the world today viz.
population explosion.
India has grabbed its position among top powerful countries. Lifestyle,
status, and economy everything has reached a new milestone. Among this
race, the population of India stands first. The population of India is 12 times
the population that prevailed during independence. Do we have to stop this?
If yes, how?
Reproduction is necessary for continuing the existence of a species, but
such an alarming growth will definitely lead to a shortage of many basic
necessities. This thought marked the onset of family planning in India.
In 1952, India became the first country which put population policy;
today known as the First Five Year Plan, with the goal of controlling
population explosion, but it failed.
Later by the 1970s, the government came forward with more
effective methods to control the population explosion. These included
Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act (1971), posters and bills carrying
birth control mottos, minimum age for marriage, contraception etc.
Birth Control Methods or Contraception
Birth control is also known as contraception and fertility control,
which is used to prevent pregnancy and to control the growth of the
population.
Undoubtedly, we can say that it is the high time to show a red signal
to rapid population growth. There are some easily accessible effective birth
control methods which can help to avoid unwanted pregnancy as well as
provide protection from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
Contraception is an artificial methods mainly used to prevent
pregnancy as a consequence of sexual intercourse. Contraception is a
method that prevents birth by:
• Stopping the egg production.
• Keeping the egg distinct from the sperm.
• By stopping the fertilized egg attaching to the lining of the womb.
 There are around fifteen to twenty different types or methods of
contraception. But none of the contraceptive methods is ideal and 100%
safe. Contraception promises a low rate of risk on proper use. Listed below
are the safest methods of contraception.
• IUDs (Intrauterine devices).
• Barriers.
• Implants.
• Injectables.
• Abstinence.
• Surgical methods.
• Oral contraceptives.
• Natural/Traditional method.
Measures to Control Population of India
Population of India is quite large and rapidly increasing. One percent
growth rate means an addition of 1 crore people every year but
actually speaking 2 crore persons are being adding every year.
So effective population control measures is the need of the hour.
We know that birth rate is mainly responsible for rapid population
growth.
Hence measures which can reduce the birth rate should be
adopted. These measures can be classified into 3 heads.
A. Social Measure:
Population explosion is a social problem and it is deeply rooted in the
society. So efforts must be done to remove the social evils in the country.
1. Minimum age of Marriage:
As fertility depends on the age of marriage. So the minimum age of
marriage should be raised. In India minimum age for marriage is 21 years for
men and 18 years for women has be fixed by law. This law should be firmly
implemented and people should also be made aware of this through
publicity.
2. Raising the Status of Women:
There is still discrimination to the women. They are confined to four
walls of house. They are still confined to rearing and bearing of children. So
women should be given opportunities to develop socially and economically.
Free education should be given to them.
3. Spread of Education:
The spread of education changes the outlook of people. The
educated men prefer to delay marriage and adopt small family norms.
Educated women are health conscious and avoid frequent pregnancies
and thus help in lowering birth rate.
4. Adoption:
Some parents do not have any child, despite costly medical
treatment. It is advisable that they should adopt orphan children. It will
be beneficial to orphan children and children couples.
5. Change in Social Outlook:
Social outlook of the people should undergo a change. Marriage
should no longer be considered a social binding. Issueless women
should not be looked down upon.
6. Social Security:
More and more people should be covered under-social security
schemes. So that they do not depend upon others in the event of old
age, sickness, unemployment etc. with these facilities they will have no
desire for more children.
B. Economic Measures:
The following are the economic measures:
1. More employment opportunities:
The first and foremost measure is to raise, the employment
avenues in rural as well as urban areas. Generally in rural areas there is
disguised unemployment. So efforts should be made to migrate
unemployed persons from rural side to urban side. This step can check
the population growth.
2. Development of Agriculture and Industry:
If agriculture and industry are properly developed, large number of
people will get employment. When their income is increased they would
improve their standard of living and adopt small family norms.
3. Standard of Living:
Improved standard of living acts as a deterrent to large family norm.
In order to maintain their higher standard of living people prefer to have a
small family. According to A.K. Das Gupta those who earn less than Rs. 100
per month have on the average a reproduction rate of 3.4 children and those
who earn more than Rs. 300 per month have a reproduction rate of 2.8
children.
4. Urbanisation:
It is on record that people in urban areas have low birth rate than
those living in rural areas. Urbanisation should therefore be encouraged.
C. Other Measures:
The following are the other measures:
1. Late Marriage:
As far as possible, marriage should be solemnized at the age of
30 years. This will reduce the period of reproduction among the
females bringing down the birth rate. The govt. has fixed the minimum
marriage age at 21 yrs. for males and 18 yrs. for females.
2. Self Control:
According to some experts, self control is one of the powerful
methods to control the population. It is an ideal and healthy approach
and people should be provided to follow. It helps in reducing birth rate.
3. Family Planning:
This method implies family by choice and not by chance. By applying
preventive measures, people can regulate birth rate. This method is being
used extensively; success of this method depends on the availability of cheap
contraceptive devices for birth control. According to Chander Shekher,
“Hurry for the first child, Delay the second child and avoid the third.”
4. Recreational Facilities:
Birth rate will likely to fall if there are different recreational facilities
like cinema; theatre, sports and dance etc. are available to the people.
5. Publicity:
The communication media like T.V., radio and newspaper are the good
means to propagate the benefits of the planned family to the uneducated
and illiterate persons especially in the rural and backward areas of country.
6. Incentives:
The govt. can give various types of incentives to the people to
adopt birth control measures. Monetary incentives and other facilities
like leave and promotion can be extended to the working class which
adopts small family norms.
7. Employment to Woman:
Another method to check the population is to provide
employment to women. Women should be given incentive to give
services in different fields. Women are taking active part in competitive
examinations. As a result their number in teaching, medical and
banking etc. is increasing rapidly. In brief by taking, all there measures
we can control the growth of population.
The Population Control Bill, 2019 (or, Population Regulation Bill, 2019) is a
proposed bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha in July 2019 by Rakesh Sinha. The
purpose of the bill is to control the population growth of India. According to the
World Population Prospects 2019 report by the United Nations, the population of
India is set to overtake that of China within a decade. The proposed bill was signed
by 125 Members of Parliament (MP) and is yet to become an act of law.
On 7 February 2020, the Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was
introduced in the Lok Sabha by Anil Desai, a Shiv Sena MP. Desai proposed to
amend the Article 47A of the Constitution of India to state.
The State shall promote small family norms by offering incentives in taxes,
employment, education etc. to its people who keep their family limited to two
children and shall withdraw every concession from and deprive such incentives to
those not adhering to small family norm, to keep the growing population under
control.
The 2020 bill proposes to introduce a two-child policy per couple and aims
to incentivize its adoption through various measures such as educational benefits,
taxation cuts, home loans, free healthcare, and better employment opportunities.
The 2019 bill proposed by Sinha talks about introducing penalties for couples not
adhering to the two-child policy such as debarment from contesting in elections
and ineligibility for government jobs.