Population biology

Presented by Sanjay Mitra

Department of Biology and EVS
Rice Education
 Population
 Term Population is derived from the Latin word “Populus” meaning, “people”.
 Defined as a group of individuals (Living organisms) of a species living within
a specific habitat and functioning as a unit of biotic community.
 Eg- tigers of same species living in a forest represent a population.
 Group of bacteria present in a pond
 There is a different population of humans living in every city.
 One species can have many different population throughout the world.
 So a population consists of members of 1 species but it doesnot have to
consist of ALL the members of that species
 In natural condition, populations of different plants, animals and microbes
live together within the same environment forming a Biotic Community.
Population size and density
 Population size is the total
number of individuals in a
population.
 The size of the population is
represented by Density
 Density means the number of
individuals present per unit area
or volume of the habitat
 The density of population of
certain species may vary from
time to time .(seasonally) or from
place to place
Population density

 Size of a population can be expressed in various ways-

1) Population density- number of individuals per unit area or volume
eg.-number of pine trees per square km in a forest.
2) Crude density- total number of a particular species occurring in a larger
area. Eg. Suppose in Sunderban area, there are 400 tigers, so the crude
density of tigers is 400
3) Specific density/ Ecological density- number(or biomass) per unit habitat
space.
• Habitat space is the area or volume that actually can be colonised by a
population
• Biomass is the total living weight per unit area
Population characteristics
 A population has a number of characteristics which are properties of the
whole group and not of the individuals. They are
▪ Density
▪ Natality (birth rate)
▪ Mortality (death rate
▪ Age distribution(ratio of different age groups)
▪ Biotic potential(maximum possible rate of reproduction of a species)
▪ Dispersal(migration of individuals)
▪ Growth form (pattern of change of population size with time)
 Birth rate/ natality- refers to the rate at which new individuals are added to
a population by reproduction. Ie. Number of individuals born per unit time.
Higher the birth rate, greater is the size of population.
 Death rate/mortality- rate at which individuals are lost by death from a
population. Ie. Number of individuals dying per unit time. Higher the death
rate, smaller is the size of population
 Dispersion/ migration- refers to the movement od individuals from one
place(habitat) to another. New individual may move into a population
(immigration) to increase the size, or may move out of a population
(emigration) to decrease its size. Population growth is determined by net
immigration.(ie. Immigration- emigration)
 Age composition- proportion of individuals of different age groups in a
population. Population with more younger members grow rapidly whereas
declining population has a large proportion of older members.
 Biotic potential- the inherent maximum capacity of a species to reproduce
and increase in number under optimal conditions is termed as biotic
potential. It can be expressed only when the environmental conditions are
non-limiting so that the individuals are allowed to grow freely.
 Environmental resistance- tendency of the environment to restrict the
population size or its biotic potential is called environmental resistance. It is
due to various factors like shortage of food, water, oxygen, presence of
predators, adverse climatic conditions etc.
 Maximum carrying capacity(K)- defined as the maximum number of
individuals of a species that can be supported by a given environment.
Less the environmental resistance, more is the carrying capacity and
greater is the possibility of population growth.
 Vital index- Vital index is defined as the ratio of births to deaths within a
population during a given time
(Natality/ mortality)*100
Population growth forms
 The nature or characteristic pattern of population growth in relation to time
is called Population growth Form , which is represented graphically by
plotting population size at time interval. Graphs are called population
growth curve.
 Two types of population growth patterns may occur depending on specific
environmental conditions:
 An exponential growth pattern (J curve) occurs in an ideal, unlimited
environment.
 A logistic growth pattern (S curve) occurs when environmental pressures
slow the rate of growth.
 J-shaped growth curve is
a curve on a graph that records
the situation in which, in a new
environment,
the population density of an
organism increases rapidly in an
exponential or logarithmic form,
but then stops abruptly as
environmental resistance (e.g.
seasonality) or some other factor
(e.g. the end of the breeding
phase) suddenly becomes
effective.
 This is density independent
growth, as it is not affected by
density until the final crash.
 Observed in insect population
during particular season.
 dN/dT=rN
 S-shaped growth curve (sigmoid growth curve) A pattern
of growth in which, in a new environment, the population density of an
organism increases slowly initially (lag phase), in a positive acceleration
phase; then increases rapidly, approaching an exponential growth rate
as in the J-shaped curve; but then declines in a negative acceleration
phase until at zero growth rate (stationary phase) the population
stabilizes.
 This decline reflects increasing environmental resistance (unavailability
of food etc).
 This type of population growth is termed density-dependent, since
growth rate depends on the numbers present in the population.
 The point of stabilization, or zero growth rate, is termed the saturation
value (symbolized by K) or carrying capacity of the environment for
that organism.
 Most organisms including microbes, plants animals show this curve.
 Rate of change of
population size at time T=
Intrinsic rate of increase *
Population Size* Density
 dN/dT= rN(1-N/K)
Survivorship curve
 Survivorship curves show how mortality varies with age of the individuals of
the cohort.
 Age specific mortality and age-specific fecundity is due to changing
susceptibilities and capabilities of the individual and the variation in its
environmental exposure.
 Depending on the age at which most of the mortalities take place,
organisms can have different survivorship curve.
 Deevey (1947) described 3 types of curves.
 Type 1-
▪ Occurs when survival of young is high, and mortality increases drastically
towards the end of the lifespan, most of the survivors die in older age group.
▪ Shown by Humans, elephants etc
 Type 2-
▪ Mortality rate is constant with age as in a decay process.
▪ Shown by birds, Lizards, rodants
 Type 3-
▪ Most individuals die when they are young, while older individuals are good
survivors.
▪ Species produce very large number of off springs, but provide little care for
them
▪ Seen in invertebrates, fish, oyster, produce millions of eggs but die as larva due
to predation
R and K selection strategies
 The two evolutionary "strategies" are termed r-selection, and K-selection for
 r-selection- Organisms which follow Type III curve are called r-strategists as
their evolutionary success is through rapid reproduction. for those species
that produce many "cheap" offspring and live in unstable environments
 K-selection- species that follow type I curve are called k-strategists. those
species that produce few "expensive" offspring and live in stable
environments, with a lot of diversity and competition among themselves.
Comparison of R and K strategists
 Patterns of population distribution
 Dispersion or distribution patterns show the spatial relationship
between members of a population within a habitat.
 Individuals of a population can be distributed in one of three
basic patterns: uniform(regular), random, or clumped.
1) Regular distribution- rare in nature, but found in managed cropland
system
2) Random distribution- position of individual unrelated to position of
neighbours. This is also rare in nature
3) Clumped distribution- most population exhibit this in nature, with
individual aggregated into patches. Aggregation may result from
social aggregation as in family or may rise from environmental
situations, suitable for the population concerned.
 Malthusian theory-
▪ Malthusianism is the idea that population growth is potentially exponential
(geometric progression) while the growth of the food supply or other
resources is linear.
▪ It derives from the political and economic thought of the Reverend Thomas
Robert Malthus, as laid out in his 1798 writings, An Essay on the Principle of
Population.
▪ Human population may outrun food supply according to Malthusian
theory.