ch08 Sec1 Revised
ch08 Sec1 Revised
ch08 Sec1 Revised
Chapter 8
Understanding Populations
Section1, How Populations Change in Size
DAY ONE
Section 1
Understanding Populations
What Is a Population?
A population is a group of organisms of the
same species that live in a specific
geographical area and interbreed.
A population is a reproductive group
because organisms usually breed with
members of their own population.
The word population refers to the group in
general and also to the size of the
population, or the number of individuals it
contains.
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Understanding Populations
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CFU
What is population
What does the world population refer to and why do you
think this is important?
Understanding Populations
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Properties of Populations
Density is the number of individuals of the same species in
that live in a given unit of area.
Dispersion is the pattern of distribution of organisms in a
population.
A populations dispersion may be even, clumped, or
random.
Size, density, dispersion, and other properties can be used
to describe populations and to predict changes within them.
Population Density and Dispersion via YouTube
Understanding Populations
CFU
What is density
What do you think population density is?
What is dispersion and how does that relate to
population?
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Understanding Populations
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Understanding Populations
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Understanding Populations
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Understanding Populations
CFU
What is change in population mean?
What is growth rate?
How are these two related?
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Understanding Populations
Reproductive Potential
A species biotic potential is the fastest
rate at which its populations can grow.
This rate is limited by reproductive
potential.
Reproductive potential is the
maximum number of offspring that a
given organism can produce.
Some species have much higher
reproductive potentials than others.
Examples: Bacteria
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Understanding Populations
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Reproductive Potential
Reproductive potential increases when individuals
produce more offspring at a time, reproduce more often,
and reproduce earlier in life.
Reproducing earlier in life has the greatest effect on
reproductive potential.
Reproducing early shortens the generation time, or the
average time it takes a member of the population to
reach the age when it reproduces.
Understanding Populations
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Reproductive Potential
Small organisms, such as bacteria and insects, have
short generation times and can reproduce when they are
only a few hours or a few days old.
As a result, their populations can grow quickly.
In contrast, large organisms, such as elephants and
humans, become sexually mature after a number of
years and therefore have a much lower reproductive
potential than insects.
Biotic Potential
Understanding Populations
Exponential Growth
Exponential growth is logarithmic
growth or growth in which numbers
increase by a certain factor in each
successive time period.
Exponential growth occurs in nature
only when populations have plenty of
food and space, and have no
competition or predators.
For example, population explosions
occur when bacteria or molds grow on a
new source of food.
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Understanding Populations
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CFU
What is exponential growth?
Do you think this is a good thing or a bad thing and why?
Understanding Populations
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Understanding Populations
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Understanding Populations
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Carrying Capacity
Carrying capacity is the largest population that an
environment can support at any given time.
A population may increase beyond this number but it
cannot stay at this increased size.
Because ecosystems change, carrying capacity is
difficult to predict or calculate exactly.
However, it may be estimated by looking at average
population sizes or by observing a population crash after
a certain size has been exceeded.
Understanding Populations
Carrying Capacity
Section 1
Understanding Populations
CFU
What is natural selection?
What is carrying capacity?
How are these two related?
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Understanding Populations
Resource Limits
A species reaches its carrying capacity
when it consumes a particular natural
resource at the same rate at which the
ecosystem produces the resource.
That natural resource is then called a
limiting resource.
The supply of the most severely limited
resources determines the carrying
capacity of an environment for a
particular species at a particular time.
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Understanding Populations
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Understanding Populations
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Understanding Populations
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CFU
What are 3 major resources you think we have that are
limited? What do you think we need to do to make sure
we do not use these items up?
What do species compete for? What are things we as
humans compete for? Why do you think we compete for
it?
Understanding Populations
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Understanding Populations
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Population Regulation
When a cause of death in a population is density
dependent, deaths occur more quickly in a crowded
population than in a sparse population.
This type of regulation happens when individuals of a
population are densely packed together.
Limited resources, predation and disease result in
higher rates of death in dense populations than in sparse
populations.
Understanding Populations
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Population Regulation
When a cause of death is density independent, a
certain proportion of a population may die regardless of
the populations density.
This type of regulation affects all populations in a
general or uniform way.
Severe weather and natural disasters are often
density independent causes of death.
Understanding Populations
Section 1
CFU
What are the two types of Population Regulation?
How do they work?
Do you think they are important and why?
Understanding Populations
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