Essentials of Ecology 7th Edition Miller

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Chapter 5
Biodiversity, Species Interactions, and Population Control

Chapter Outline
CORE CASE STUDY The Southern Sea Otter: A Species in Recovery
5-1 How Do Species Interact?
SCIENCE FOCUS Threats to Kelp Forests
5-2 How Do Communities and Ecosystems Respond to Changing Environmental Conditions?
5-3 What Limits the Growth of Populations?
SCIENCE FOCUS Why Do California’s Southern Sea Otters Face an Uncertain Future?
CASE STUDY Exploding White-Tailed Deer Populations in the United States
TYING IT ALL TOGETHER Southern Sea Otters and Sustainability

Key Concepts
5-1 Five types of interactions among species—interspecific competition, predation, parasitism,
mutualism, and commensalism—affect the resource use and population sizes of species.
5-2 The structure and species composition of communities and ecosystems change in response to
changing environmental conditions through a process called ecological succession.
5-3 No population can grow indefinitely because of limitations on resources and because of competition
among species for those resources.

Key Questions and Case Studies

CORE CASE STUDY. The Southern Sea Otter: A Species in Recovery
Sea otters are a keystone species found on the west coast of the United States that are endangered. For
many years they have been in recovery. Why should we be concerned about their status? Sea otters are
charismatic, they generate tourist revenue, and they are very valuable in terms of controlling biological
populations.
5-1 How do species interact?
A. Five basic species interactions are competition, predation, parasitism, mutualism, and
commensalism.
B. Competition between species for food, sunlight, water, soil, space, nest sites, etc. is interspecific
competition.
1. With intense competition for limited resources, one species must migrate, shift its feeding
habits/behavior, or face extinction.
2. As humans take more and more space, other species are compromised.

Instructor's Manual: Chapter 5

 C. In competitive situations, some species evolve adaptations that reduce/avoid competition for
resources.
1. Over a long time, species evolve more specialized traits that allow them to use shared
resources at different times, in different ways, or in different places; this is termed resource
partitioning.
2. Predator-prey relationships define one species (the predator) feeding/preying on another.
3. Predators have a variety of ways to capture prey. Herbivores feed on immobile plant species;
carnivores use pursuit of prey or ambush to capture prey. Some predators use camouflage, and
others use chemical warfare (venom) to capture prey or deter predators.
4. Prey species escape predators in a number of different ways such as swift movement,
protective shells, camouflage, or use of chemicals to repel or poison.
SCIENCE FOCUS: Threats to Kelp Forests
Giant kelp forests are very productive and biologically diverse ecosystems. Sea urchins are a major
threat to kelp, but sea otters keep their populations in check. Polluted water and the warming of the
world’s oceans also threaten kelp forests. If kelp forests decline significantly, many other species
could be affected.
5. Coevolution is when predator and prey can exert intense natural selection pressures on one
another.
D. Parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism.
1. Parasites live on or in another species. The host of this arrangement is obviously harmed by it,
but the parasite can contribute to biodiversity by controlling the size of specific species
populations.
2. Mutualism is a relationship that benefits both species; these benefits can be in dispersing
pollen and seeds for reproduction, in receiving food, or in receiving protection.
a. Mutualism is not cooperation; each species exploits the other.
3. Some species interactions help one species but does nothing for the other; this is
commensalism. Examples of this are the bromeliads and orchids (epiphytes).

5-2 How do communities and ecosystems respond to changing environmental conditions?

A. With new environmental conditions, community structures can change; one group of species is
replaced by another.
1. Ecological succession is the gradual change in species composition of a given area.
2. Primary ecological succession is the gradual establishment of biotic communities on lifeless
ground.
3. Secondary ecological succession defines a series of communities with different species
developing in places with soil or bottom sediment.
B. The classic view of ecological succession is that it is an orderly sequence, each stage leading to
the next, more stable stage until a climax community is reached. Such a community would
represent the balance of nature, one dominated by a few long-lived plant species that is in balance
with its environment.
C. Changes in environmental conditions that disrupt a community can set back succession.
D. Living systems are sustained through change.
1. Stability, the capacity of an ecosystem to withstand external stress and disturbance, is
maintained by constant change in response to changing environmental conditions.
a. Inertia, or persistence, is the ability of a system to survive moderate disturbances.
b. Resilience is the ability to be restored through secondary succession.

5-3 What limits the growth of populations?

A. Populations change in size, density, and age distribution; most members of populations live
together in clumps or groups.

Biodiversity, Species Interactions, and Population Control

 1. Three general patterns of population distribution occur in a habitat: clumping, uniform
distribution, and random dispersion. Most species live in clumps or groups.
2. Uniform pattern distribution may occur where a resource such as water is scarce.
B. Four variables influence/govern population size: birth, death, immigration, and emigration.
1. Increase in population occurs by birth and immigration.
2. Decrease in population occurs by death and emigration.
3. Age structure of a population is usually described as a pre-reproductive stage, the reproductive
stage, and the post-reproductive stage. A population with a large reproductive stage is likely to
increase while a population with a large post-reproductive stage is likely to decrease.
4. Each population has a range of tolerance to variations in the environment.
5. The limiting factor principle states that too much or too little of a physical or chemical factor
can limit population growth even if all other factors are optimal.
SCIENCE FOCUS: Why Do California’s Southern Sea Otters Face an Uncertain Future?
Many human activities have had detrimental effects of sea otter populations. Their low reproductive
rate has limited their ability to increase in numbers.
C. Rapidly growing populations typically reproduce early in life, have many offspring, and
reproduce many times with short intervals between reproductive events.
D. There are always limits to population growth in nature.
E. Environmental resistance is all factors that limit the growth of a population, and largely determine
an area’s carrying capacity.
F. Exponential growth starts slow then accelerates, yielding a J-curve.
CASE STUDY. Exploding White-Tailed Deer Populations in the United States
White tailed deer populations were in decline 100 years ago, due to habitat loss and hunting.
Subsequent protection and decline in their natural predators led to a drastic increase in their numbers
to the extent that they have become a nuisance and even a danger on the urban edge. Efforts to
control their populations are very complicated, and in many cases expensive.
G. Exponential growth leads to logistic growth and may lead to the population overshooting the
environment’s carrying capacity.
1. The reproductive time lag can produce a dieback/crash of organisms unless the organisms can
find new resources or move to an area with more resources.
H. Carrying capacities can fluctuate seasonally or from year to year.
I. Species use different reproductive patterns.
1. Some have many offspring and give them little protection.
2. Some have few offspring that are cared for by their parents.
J. Population density is the number of individuals per unit area.
1. Density-independent or density-dependent population controls
K. Four general types of population fluctuations in nature include stable, irruptive, cyclic, and
irregular.
1. Humans are not exempt from population crashes. Examples include the Irish potato famine,
the bubonic plague, and the current AIDS epidemic.

Teaching Tips
Large Lecture Courses:
Compare and contrast r-selected and K-selected species on the board. Take an example of an r-selected
species most of the group will be familiar with. Review some points about its natural history. Next,
engage the class in determining how, if they were the researchers, they might determine the carrying
capacity of that species. How can K be determined in a humane way? How do we know what K is for
humans? What are the inevitable consequences of finding out?

Instructor's Manual: Chapter 5

Smaller Lecture Courses:

Most species compete with one another for certain resources. This is a generalization in the biological
world. Does it apply to humans? If so, in what way? You might work with the group as a whole, or break
them into groups, each focusing on some aspect of human survival, such as agriculture or epidemiology.
Are we really free from competition, or are we constantly competing?

Key Terms
age structure limiting factor principle primary ecological
carrying capacity mutualism succession
coevolution parasitism range of tolerance
commensalism persistence resilience
ecological succession population resource partitioning
environmental resistance population crash secondary ecological
inertia population density succession
interspecific competition predation
limiting factor predator-prey relationship

Term Paper Research Topics

1. Niche: relationships among species in a particular ecosystem, pick-a-predator, resource partitioning
versus direct competition strategies.

2. Unusual niches: write a case study of a particular alien species, indicator species, or keystone species.

3. Competition and predation: important features of natural selection, the competitive exclusion
principle.

4. Making peace in natural ecosystems: resource partitioning, symbiotic relationships.

5. Ecological succession: the role of humans in succession, the role of fires and chaos in determining
succession.

6. Do diversity and stability go together?

7. The theory and application of island biogeography.

8. Field and laboratory methods used in ecological research: measuring net primary productivity and
respiration rates; analyzing for particular chemicals in the air, water, and soil; studying relationships
among species; population studies; computer modeling of ecological interrelationships.

9. Research management strategies for predator control.

10. Research wildlife management strategies that rely on human control of successional stages of
development.

Biodiversity, Species Interactions, and Population Control

11. Field methods of ecological research: relationships among species; computer modeling of ecological
interrelationships.

12. Restoration of degraded ecosystems such as Lake Erie; coastal zone management.

Discussion Topics
1. Do predators fulfill a valuable ecological function or should their numbers be reduced?

2. What lessons for human societies can be drawn from a study of species interactions in ecosystems?

3. How should we manage predator populations?

4. What can be done to decrease the incidence and impacts of invasions of nonnative species?

5. What is the wisest strategy to handle fires in natural ecosystems?

6. What are the most appropriate applications of the theory of island biogeography?

7. To what extent should we disrupt and simplify natural ecosystems for our food, clothing, shelter, and
energy needs and wants?

Activities and Projects

1. Organize a class trip to a natural area such as a forest, grassland, or estuary to observe a variety of
species interactions. Arrange for an ecologist or a naturalist to provide interpretive services.

2. Organize a class trip to an abandoned field, coastal dune, rock outcrop, or other disturbed area and
observe the various aspects of ecological succession. If possible, visit and compare two areas that
have experienced different types of disturbance.

3. Find works of literature, art, and music that depict species interactions in natural ecosystems. Draw as
many parallels between species interaction and your own experiences as you can.

4. Arrange a field trip providing opportunities to compare and contrast ecosystems of several different
types, including some damaged or stressed by human activities. Invite an ecologist or biologist along
to identify and discuss specific examples of species adaptation to environmental conditions. Do the
boundaries between different kinds of ecosystems tend to be sharply delineated? Can you identify
factors that limit the growth of certain species?

5. Organize a class field trip to systematically investigate the ecological niches for plant and animal life
existing in a landscape significantly modified by human activities. If possible, arrange to travel along
a gradient that will take you from farmland to suburbs to city to central business district. (A
simplified version of this exercise could be done by walking around campus.)

Instructor's Manual: Chapter 5

6. Organize a local field trip for the class to examine recently disturbed areas for evidence of resilience.

7. As a class, investigate an invasion of a nonnative species in your community. Research the species
and contribute to a plan to prevent its impact on natural ecosystems.

8. As a class, investigate hunting, trapping, and predator control issues in your community. Evaluate
current regulations and management strategies. Make proposals for change that seem necessary and
appropriate to you.

9. As a class exercise, systematically study a modern freeway or interstate highway and trace its impact
on the surrounding land in terms of succession, diversity, and stability.

Attitudes and Values

1. Has your local ecosystem been invaded by a nonnative species? If so, how did you feel about the
invasion?

2. How do you feel toward indicator species? Keystone species?

3. Do you have any particular feelings toward relationships demonstrated in ecosystems? Competition?
Predation? Commensalism? Parasitism? Mutualism?

4. How do you feel when you observe grass emerging from a sidewalk or paved parking lot?

5. How do you feel when you observe lichens growing on a bare rock?

6. How do you feel toward fire in natural ecosystems?

7. How do you feel toward mature ecosystems? Immature ecosystems?

8. How do you feel toward island ecosystems?

Suggested Answers to End of Chapter Questions

Review Questions

1. Core Case Study. Explain how southern sea otters act as a keystone species in their environment
(Core Case Study). Explain why we should care about protecting this species from premature
extinction that could result primarily from human activities.
• One reason is that people love to look at these charismatic, cute, and cuddly animals as they play
in the water. As a result, they help to generate millions of dollars a year in tourism income in
coastal areas where they are found.
Another reason is ethical: Some people believe it is wrong to cause the premature extinction of
any species.

• A third reason to care about otters—and a key reason in our study of environmental science—is
that biologists classify them as a keystone species. Without southern sea otters, scientists

Biodiversity, Species Interactions, and Population Control

 hypothesize that sea urchins and other kelp-eating species would probably destroy the kelp forests
and much of the rich biodiversity associated with them.
• In giant kelp forest ecosystems, sea urchins prey on kelp, a form of seaweed. However, as
keystone species, southern sea otters prey on the sea urchins and thus keep them from destroying
the kelp.
• Biodiversity is an important part of the earth’s natural capital and is the focus of one of the three
principles of sustainability.

2. Section 5-1. What is the key concept for this section? Define interspecific competition. Define and
give two examples of resource partitioning and explain how it can increase species diversity. Define
predation and distinguish between a predator species and a prey species and give an example of each.
What is a predator-prey relationship?
• Key concept: Five types of interactions among species—interspecific competition, predation,
parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism—affect the resource use and population sizes of
species.
• Interspecific competition occurs when members of two or more species interact to gain access to
the same limited resources such as food, water, light, and space. An example is moss and lichen.
• Resource partitioning occurs when species competing for similar scarce resources evolve
specialized traits that allow them to use shared resources at different times, in different ways, or
in different places. Some insect-eating bird species reduce competition by feeding in different
portions of certain spruce trees and by feeding on different insect species. Resource partitioning
allows species to avoid niche overlap.
• Predation occurs when a member of one species (the predator) feeds directly on all or part of a
member of another species (the prey). An example is lion to deer.
• In predation, a member of one species (the predator) feeds directly on all or part of a living
organism of another plant or animal species (the prey) as part of a food web. Together, the two
different species—such as lions (the predator, or hunter) and zebras (the prey, or hunted)—form a
predator-prey relationship.

3. Explain why we should help to preserve kelp forests. Describe three ways in which predators can
increase their chances of feeding on their prey and three ways in which prey species can avoid their
predators. Define and give an example of coevolution.
• We should conserve kelp forests because biodiversity is an important part of the earth’s natural
capital and is the focus of one of the three principles of sustainability.
• Some ways that predators can increase their chances of feeding on their prey include camouflage,
chemical warfare, ability to fly faster than the prey, and better vision.
• Some ways in which prey species can avoid their predators include camouflage, protective shells,
chemical warfare and a highly developed sense of sight or smell that alerts them to the presence
of predators.
• Coevolution occurs when populations of two different species interact in such a way over a long
period of time; changes in the gene pool of one species can lead to changes in the gene pool of the
other. Such changes can help both sides become more competitive, or avoid or reduce
competition. An example is bees and flowers.

4. Define parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism and give an example of each. Explain how each of
these species interactions, along with predation, can affect the population sizes of species in
ecosystems.
• Parasitism occurs when one organism (the parasite) feeds on another organism (the host), usually
by living on or in the host. An example is tick to human.

Instructor's Manual: Chapter 5

 • Mutualism is an interaction that benefits both species by providing each with food, shelter, or
some other resource. An example is bee to flower.
• Commensalism is an interaction that benefits one species but has little, if any, effect on the other.
An example is epiphyte to tree.
• Predation keeps prey population sizes smaller. Parasitism can negatively affect populations of
hosts. Mutualism will benefit both species and increase populations. Commensalism will increase
the population of the organism that benefits from the interaction.

5. Section 5-2. What is the key concept for this section? What is ecological succession? Distinguish
between primary ecological succession and secondary ecological succession and give an example of
each. List three factors that can affect how ecological succession occurs. Explain why succession
does not follow a predictable path.
• Key concept: The structure and species composition of communities and ecosystems change in
response to changing environmental conditions through a process called ecological succession.
• The gradual change in species composition in a given area is called ecological succession.
• Primary succession involves the gradual establishment of biotic communities in lifeless areas
where there is no soil in a terrestrial ecosystem or no bottom sediment in an aquatic ecosystem.
• Examples include bare rock exposed by a retreating glacier (Figure 5-10), newly cooled lava, an
abandoned highway or parking lot, and a newly created shallow pond or reservoir.
• Secondary succession occurs as a series of communities or ecosystems with different species
develop in places containing soil or bottom sediment. This type of succession begins in an area
where an ecosystem has been disturbed, removed, or destroyed, but some soil or bottom sediment
remains. Candidates for secondary succession include abandoned farmland (Figure 5-11), burned
or cut forests, heavily polluted streams, and land that has been flooded.
• Three factors that affect succession are facilitation, inhibition, and tolerance.
• Succession does not follow a predictable path because there are many unique variables, such as
weather and available nutrients.

6. Explain how living systems achieve some degree of sustainability by undergoing constant change in
response to changing environmental conditions. In terms of stability of ecosystems, distinguish
between inertia (persistence) and resilience and give an example of each.
• Living systems contain complex networks of positive and negative feedback loops that interact to
provide some degree of stability, or sustainability. This stability, or capacity to withstand external
stress and disturbance, is maintained only by constant change in response to changing
environmental conditions.
• There are two aspects of stability in living systems. One is inertia, or persistence: the ability of a
living system, such as a grassland or a forest, to survive moderate disturbances, such as mild
drought. A second factor is resilience: the ability of a living system to be restored through
secondary succession after a moderate disturbance, such as a wildfire.

7. Section 5-3. What is the key concept for this section? Define population. Why do most populations
live in clumps? List four variables that govern changes in population size. Write an equation showing
how they interact. What is a population’s age structure and what are three major age groups called?
Define range of tolerance. Define limiting factor and give an example. State the limiting factor
principle. Define population density and explain how some limiting factors can become more
important as a population’s density increases. Describe two different reproductive strategies that can
enhance the long-term survival of a species.
• Key concept: No population can grow indefinitely because of limitations on resources and
because of competition among species for those resources.
• A population is a group of interbreeding individuals of the same species.

Biodiversity, Species Interactions, and Population Control

 • Most populations live in clumps because they cluster around resources, they have a better chance
of getting resources in a clump, living in groups provides some protection from predators, and
living in packs gives some predators a better chance of catching prey.
• Four variables—births, deaths, immigration, and emigration—govern changes in population size.
A population increases by birth and immigration (arrival of individuals from outside the
population) and decreases by death and emigration (departure of individuals from the population):
Population change = (births + immigration) – (deaths + emigration).
• Age structure refers to the number or percentage of males and females in young, middle, and
older age groups. A diagram of the age structure of the human population might show the
percentages of males and females in the total population in age categories: pre-reproductive (ages
0–14); reproductive (ages 15–44); and post-reproductive (age 45 and older).
• A range of tolerance is the range of variations in physical or chemical environment that a species
can tolerate.
• Limiting factors are more important than others in regulating population growth. The limiting
factor principle is: too much or too little of any physical or chemical factor can limit or prevent
the growth of a population, even if all other factors are at or near the optimal range of tolerance.
• Population density is the number of individuals in a population found within a defined area or
volume. Limiting factors become more important as population density increases because things
like diseases can spread quickly through dense populations.

8. Distinguish between the environmental resistance and the carrying capacity of an environment, and
use these concepts to explain why there are always limits to population growth in nature. Why is the
recovery of southern sea otters a slow one, and what factors are threatening this recovery? Describe
the exploding white-tailed deer population problem in the United States and discuss options for
dealing with it.
• Environmental resistance is the combination of all factors that act to limit the growth of a
population. It largely determines a population’s carrying capacity: the maximum population of a
given species that a particular habitat can sustain indefinitely. The growth rate of a population
decreases as its size nears the carrying capacity of its environment because resources such as
food, water, and space begin to dwindle.
• The southern sea otter cannot rapidly increase its numbers for several reasons. Female southern
sea otters reach sexual maturity between 2 and 5 years of age, can reproduce until age 15, and
typically each produce only one pup a year. The population size of southern sea otters has
fluctuated in response to changes in environmental conditions. One such change has been a rise in
populations of orcas (killer whales), which feed on them. Scientists hypothesize that orcas began
feeding more on southern sea otters when populations of their normal prey, sea lions and seals,
began declining.
• There are 25– 30 million white- tailed deer in the United States. Laws to protect deer have
restricted hunting and natural predators such as wolves and mountain lions have been nearly
eliminated. During the last 50 years, large numbers of Americans have moved into the wooded
habitat of deer and provided them with flowers, garden crops, and other plants they like to eat. In
some forests, they are consuming native ground cover vegetation and allowing nonnative weed
species to take over. Deer also spread Lyme disease to humans. Each year there are 1.5 million
deer– vehicle collisions which injure at least 14,000 people and kill at least 200.
• Options for dealing with the deer overpopulation include the following:

o Changing hunting regulations to allow killing of more female deer. Since it is too dangerous
to allow widespread hunting with guns in populated communities, hire licensed archers who
use bows and arrows to help reduce deer numbers. However, animal activists argue that this
is cruel and inhumane treatment.

Instructor's Manual: Chapter 5

 o Scare off deer by spraying the scent of deer predators or rotting deer meat or using electronic
equipment that emits high-frequency sounds, which humans cannot hear.
o Surround their gardens with high fencing. Such deterrents may protect one area, but cause the
deer to seek food in someone else’s yard or garden.
o Deer can be trapped and moved from one area to another. This is expensive and must be
repeated whenever deer move back into an area.
o Put deer on birth control by shooting females with darts loaded with a contraceptive.

9. Define and give an example of a population crash. Explain why humans are not exempt from nature’s
population controls.
• A population may suffer a dieback, or population crash, if it uses up its resource supplies and
temporarily overshoots, or exceeds, the carrying capacity of the environment. The reindeer
population crashed when they were introduced onto a small island in the Bering Sea.
• Humans are not exempt from population crashes when they have used up their resources, as seen
with the Irish potato famine.

10. What are this chapter’s three big ideas? Explain how changes in the nature and size of populations are
related to the three principles of sustainability.
• The three big ideas are:
o Certain interactions among species affect their use of resources and their population
sizes.
o There are always limits to population growth in nature.
o Changes in environmental conditions cause communities and ecosystems to gradually
alter their species composition and population sizes (ecological succession).
• Population dynamics relate to the three principles of sustainability insofar as populations are a
component of the biodiversity within an ecosystem, their role in an ecosystem involves the use of
energy ultimately derived from the sun, and they are constantly involved in the cycling of
nutrients.

Critical Thinking

The following are examples of the material that should be contained in possible student answers to the
end of chapter Critical Thinking questions. They represent only a summary overview and serve to
highlight the core concepts that are addressed in the text. It should be anticipated that the students will
provide more in-depth and detailed responses to the questions depending on an individual instructor’s
stated expectations.

1. What difference would it make if the southern sea otter (Core Case Study) became extinct primarily
because of human activities? What are three things we could do to help prevent the premature
extinction of this species?

The extinction of the sea otter would cause drastic changes to our ocean ecosystems, as the sea otter
acts as a keystone species, controlling sea urchin populations that would otherwise decimate the
highly productive kelp forests. Activities that might help prevent the demise of this species would be
to join an organization that works on their behalf, as pollution is an issue for organisms in the near-
shore environment. Of course, there should be opposition to any hunting or poaching of the species,
Biodiversity, Species Interactions, and Population Control
 and they could visit the regions where these organisms are found in order to broaden their
appreciation.

2. Use the second law of thermodynamics (see Chapter 2) to explain why predators are generally less
abundant than their prey. In your explanation, make use of the pyramid of energy flow (see Figure 3-
13, p. 61).

Predators are generally found at higher trophic levels than their prey as they eat higher up the food
chain. For example, a lion eats a zebra that feeds on grass. The lion, a carnivore and secondary
consumer, is at the third trophic level; the zebra, an herbivore and primary consumer, is at the second
trophic level; and the grass, a producer, is at the first trophic level. There is less energy and biomass
when going from lower to higher trophic levels. This follows the second law of thermodynamics as
some energy is degraded and lost as heat at each energy conversion from one trophic level to the next.
Generally, there is a 90% loss of usable chemical energy that is transferred as biomass from one
trophic level to another; this is referred to as ecological efficiency. As a result, large numbers of
predators (or large amounts of biomass) cannot occur at the end of a food chain, so the number of
predators will be less than the numbers of their prey.

3. How would you reply to someone who argues that we should not worry about the effects that human
activities have on natural systems because ecological succession will heal the wounds of such
activities and restore the balance of nature?

Succession may be able to restore the balance of nature and heal some of the wounds that humans
have inflicted, however succession takes place over hundreds or thousands of years and will not be
able to take place at a fast enough rate to restore the imbalances that humans are causing in the short
term. We do need to worry about human effects on natural systems.

4. How would you reply to someone who contends that efforts to preserve natural systems are not
worthwhile because nature is largely unpredictable?

Preservation efforts must look beyond the snapshot view of nature and embrace the notion that nature
is in a constant state of flux. These efforts should be directed at allowing natural processes to
continue with little disturbance from humans.

5. Explain why most species with a high capacity for population growth (such as bacteria, flies, and
cockroaches) tend to have small individuals, while those with a low capacity for population growth
(such as humans, elephants, and whales) tend to have large individuals.

Species with a high biotic potential tend to be born small and have minimal time and energy to invest
into growth and development before reproduction begins. Species with fewer offspring tend to give
birth to few large slowly-maturing individuals. These then grow large in order to better compete for
resources.

6. Which reproductive strategy do most species of insect pests and harmful bacteria use? Why does this
make it difficult for us to control their populations?

Instructor's Manual: Chapter 5

 Insects and bacteria tend to reproduce very rapidly, with their populations following the J-curve. It is
difficult to control their populations, because when problems arise, it is generally because we have
provided them with abundant resources. In the case of insect pests, populations rise rapidly to take
advantage of the food source that our crops provide.

7. List three factors that have limited human population growth in the past that we have overcome.
Explain how we overcame each of these factors. List two factors that may limit human population
growth in the future. Do you think that we are close to reaching those limits? Explain.

In the past, human populations have been limited by disease, limitations in food productivity, and
limitations in terms of the landscape they could occupy. Factors that may continue to limit human
populations in the future would be water limitation and diseases.

8. If the human species suffered a population crash, what are three species that might move in to occupy
our part of the niche? Explain why this might happen.

Any number of inventive answers might suffice, depending on how students interpret the role that
humans play in their environment. Humans occupy a very broad niche, and when niches are vacated,
often invasive species tend to take over. Student responses should highlight generalist and invasive
species that may occupy the vacated human niche.

Data Analysis

The graph in the text shows the changes in size of an Emperor Penguin population in terms of breeding
pairs on Terre Adelie in the Antarctic. Use the graph to answer the questions below.

1. Assuming that the penguin population fluctuates around the carrying capacity, what was the
approximate carrying capacity of the penguin population on the island from 1960 to 1975? What was the
approximate carrying capacity of the penguin population on the island from 1980 to 2010?

2. What is the percentage decline in the penguin population from 1975 to 2010?

ANSWERS:
1. The carrying capacity from 1960 to 1975 is approximately 5,500 emperor penguins. The carrying
capacity from 1980 to 2010 is approximately 3,000 emperor penguins.

2. The population of emperor penguins on Terre Adelie has declined by about 45%. 5,500 –3,000 = 2,500
drop in the number of penguins.
2,500/5,500 x 100 = 45%

Biodiversity, Species Interactions, and Population Control