sir awan

Ecology - Study of interactions among organisms and

their environment

Conservation biology, environmentalism:

preservation of natural world
• Biosphere

• Bioma

• Ecosystemas
ECOSYSTEM LEVEL
Eucalyptus forest
• Community COMMUNITY LEVEL
All organisms in
eucalyptus forest
• Population POPULATION LEVEL
Group of flying foxes
ORGANISM LEVEL
• Individu Flying fox
Brain
Spinal cord
ORGAN SYSTEM LEVEL
• Organ system Nervous system

ORGAN LEVEL
Brain
• Organ Nerve

TISSUE LEVEL
Nervous

• Tissue tissue

CELLULAR LEVEL
Nerve cell
• Cell
MOLECULAR LEVEL
• Molecular Molecule of DNA
 Population:
 All the individuals of a species that live
together in an area

 Demography:
 The statistical study of populations,
allows predictions to be made about
how a population will change
 Three Key Features of Populations
 Size
 Density
 Dispersion
 Three Key Features of
Populations
Size: number of individuals in an area
 Three Key Features of Populations
 Growth Rate:
 Birth Rate (natality) - Death Rate (mortality)
 How many individuals are born vs. how many die
 Birth rate (b) − death rate (d) = rate of natural
increase (r)
 Three Key Features of Populations

Density: measurement of population per unit

area or unit volume

Pop. Density = # of individuals ÷ unit of space

 Immigration: movement of individuals into a
population
 Emigration: movement of individuals out of
a population
 Density -dependent factors: Biotic factors in
the environment that have an increasing
ef fect as population size increases
(disease, competition, parasites)
 Density -independent factors: Abiotic factors
in the environment that af fect populations
regardless of their density (temperature,
weather)
 Factors That Affect Future Population Growth

Immigration

+
+ -
Natality Population Mortality

-
Emigration
Population Dispersion
 Three Key Features of Populations
 Dispersion: describes the spacing of organisms
relative to each other
– Clumped - often correlates with resources
– Uniform: interactions among individuals
– Random: no pattern
 Population density = number of
individuals in a given area or volume
 Count all the individuals in a population
 Estimate by sampling
 Mark-Recapture Method
 Idealized models describe two kinds of
population growth:

1. Exponential Growth has no upper limit and

populations grow very quickly
2. Logistic Growth has a limit and growth approches
this limit in a sigmoidal fashion

Logistic growth is more realistic in real life, but

exponential growth is a better model for bacterial
cultures, etc. that have unlimited resources and
space
 Carr ying Capacity (k):
 The maximum population size that can be
supported by the available resources
 There can only be as many organisms as the
environmental resources can support
• A J-shaped growth curve, described by the
equation G = rN, is typical of exponential
growth
– G = the population growth rate

– r = the intrinsic rate of increase, or growth

rate in an ideal environment (births-deaths)
– N = the population size
Figure 35.3A
– K = carrying capacity

– The term
(K - N)/K
accounts
for the
leveling
off of the
curve
During the initial
stage, during the lag
phase, the rate of
plant growth is slow.
Rate of growth then
increases rapidly
during the
exponential phase.
After some time the
growth rate slowly
decreases due to
limitation of nutrients.
This phase constitutes
the stationary phase.
 Declining birth rate or increasing death rate
are caused by several factors including:
 Limited food supply
 The buildup of toxic wastes
 Increased disease
 Predation
About every 10 years, both
hare and lynx populations
have a rapid increase (a
"boom") followed by a sharp
decline (a "bust")
 r Selection (many
offspring)
 Short life span
 Small body size
 Reproduce quickly
 Have many young
 Little parental care
 Ex: cockroaches,
weeds, bacteria
• K Selection (few
offspring)
 Long life span
 Large body size
 Reproduce slowly
 Have few young
 Provides parental
care
 Ex: humans,
elephants
 Distribution of males and females in each age
group of a population

 Used to predict future population growth

 J curve growth
 Why doesn’t environmental resistance take effect?
 Altering their environment
 Technological advances
 The cultural revolution
 The agricultural revolution
 The industrial-medical revolution
 Doubled three times in the last three
centuries
 About 6,1 billion and may reach 9.3 billion by
the year 2050
 Improved health and technology have lowered
death rates
What next?