Population Ecology

▪ Principles of Population Ecology

▪ Reproductive Strategies
▪ The Human Population
▪ Demographics of a Country
 Principles of Population Ecology
▪ Population Ecology
– Study of populations and why their numbers change
over time
– Important for
▪ Endangered species
▪ Invasive species
▪ Population
– Group of individuals of same species living in the
same geographic area at the same time
 Population Dynamics:
▪ Several factors are included:
▪ Population density
▪ Birth rate
▪ Death rate
▪ Growth rate
▪ Age structure
 How a Population Responds to the
Environment Depends Upon Several
Interactions:

• How individuals compete for food

• How disease, predation, and other environmental
pressures affect population
• Reproductive success (or failure)
• Management of populations for ecosystem health
and/or human needs
• forestry management – tree populations,
• agronomy – pest and crop populations
• wildlife management – animal and fish populations
 Population Density
▪ the number of individuals of a species per unit
of area or volume at a given time
▪ Population density can change dramatically in
different habitats, or in the same habitat over a
short distance
▪ Population density can indicate a potential
pollution source in a river or stream
 Birth Rate
▪ the rate at which individuals produce offspring
▪ Birth rate in humans: (b) = the number of
births per 1000 people per year (human terms)
 Death Rate

◼ = the rate at which organisms die

Death rate in humans: (d) = the number
of deaths per 1,000 people per year
 Growth Rate
▪ the rate of change (increase or decrease) in a
population;

▪ Formula: Growth rate (r) = b-d

Growth rate in humans is also called the
“natural increase” in the population
 Example Growth Rate Problem:

▪ Population of 40,000 people; 800 births per

year; 400 deaths per year
– b = 800/40,000 = 0.02
– d = 400/40,000 = 0.01
– r = 0.02 – 0.01 = 0.01 or 1.0% per year population
growth rate

▪ r is positive if people are born faster than they

die; r is negative is people die faster than they
are born
 Dispersal
▪ the movement of individuals from one location
to another, which affects the population at
either location
▪ Immigration (i) – individuals entering a
population
▪ Emigration (e) – individuals leaving a
population
 Example Growth Rate Problem :
▪ Population of 250,000; 1400 births per year;
900 deaths per year; 100 immigrants and 200
emigrants yearly
▪ b = 1,400/250,000 = 0.0056
▪ d = 900/250,000 = 0.0036
▪ i = 100/250,000 = 0.0004
▪ e = 200/250,000 = 0.0008
▪ r = b – d + i –e = 0.0056 – 0.0036 + 0.0004 –
0.0008 = 0.0016
▪ **Note: This is equivalent to 0.16% growth
 Birth Rate & Death Rate
Calculations…Points to Consider
▪ NOTE: Sometimes birth and death rates are
simply given as percentages, which indicates
how many people were born (or died) out of
100. Either way of reporting (rate or number
per 1,000 living) is acceptable.
▪ Example: Birth rate of 1.1% means 1.1 people
were born for every 100 people living in area
under consideration.
▪ Typically reported as 11 births per 1,000
people living.
 Biotic Potential:
▪ the maximum rate at which a population can
increase
▪ Life History Characteristics that Influence
biotic potential:
– Age at which reproduction begins
– Amount of life that reproduction is possible
– Number of reproductive periods per lifetime
– Number of offspring per reproductive event
▪ Larger organisms generally have smallest
biotic potential, while microorganisms have the
highest
Life history traits – characteristics of an individual
that influence survival and reproduction

Age at maturity

House Mouse African elephant Atlantic Salmon

2 months 11 - 20 years 3-6 years

 Life history traits – characteristics of an individual
that influence survival and reproduction

Number of offspring produced

House Mouse African elephant Atlantic Salmon

5-8 young every 1 calf every 1,500 to 8,000

month 3-8 years eggs once
Life history traits – characteristics of an individual
that influence survival and reproduction

Number of reproductive events

House Mouse African elephant Atlantic Salmon

~6-12 ~3 - 10 1
Life history traits – characteristics of an individual
that influence survival and reproduction

Lifespan
House Mouse African elephant Atlantic Salmon

~2 years 60 - 70 years 3-6 years

Exponential Population Growth:

◼ Populations with a constant reproductive

rate will have an accelerating population
growth under optimal conditions
◼ doubling of population occurs in
successively shorter intervals
 Environmental Resistance:
▪ limits to exponential population growth occur
when population reaches a size that allows
environmental limits to take effect
▪ Environmental limits include:
– Space
– Food
– Exposure to toxins, etc.
– Increase in population of predators
 Carrying Capacity:
▪ Carrying Capacity (K) = the largest population
that can be maintained for an indefinite period
of time in a particular environment
▪ Carrying capacity changes with changes in the
environment, either natural or artificial
– Droughts, pollution, excess rainfall, etc.
 Reproductive Strategies:
▪ Nature forces organisms to make tradeoffs in
the expenditure of energy
▪ Only some energy can be used for
reproduction, since each organism must
uptake nutrients to grow, hunt for food, etc.
▪ “r-selected” and “k-selected” species have
developed over time in response to energy
requirements
 r – Selected Species:
▪ Those species that have traits that favor
growth rate strategies (“r-strategists)
▪ Typical r-selected strategies:
– Small body size
– Early maturity
– Short life span
– Large broods
– Minimal required parental care
– Live in unpredictable or temporary environments
– Opportunists (like mosquitos, insects, weeds, etc.)
 K-Selected Species
• Called “K-strategists”
• Species that try to maximize the chances
of survival, especially in environments
where the number of individuals (N) is
near the carrying capacity (K) of the
environment
 Factors That Affect Population
Size
⚫ Density-Dependent Factors:
⚫ A change in population density initiates
some factor, which subsequently has a
counter-effect on the population
⚫ Examples of D-D Factors:
⚫ Disease, predation, competition for resources
⚫ Predator-prey relationships involve
dynamics of density-dependent factors.
 Human Population

▪ Right now at over 117,337,368 people and

counting…
▪ Scientific advances have enabled us to
improve the productivity of the land…so
food production has kept pace…not a
limiting factor for much of the world
▪ However, have we reduced the ability of
the land to sustainably feed future
generations?
 Role of the U.N. (United Nations)
UN periodically provides estimates of
population growth rates in each country,
including factors influencing births and
deaths.
UN estimates that human population will
most likely be 9.1 billion by 2050. (range
between 7.7 and 10.6 billion)
Earth’s “carrying capacity” unknown…but
studies by Van Den Bergh and Rietveld
(Netherlands) suggest 7.7 billion is our upper
limit!
Will humans slow down pop. growth, or will
there be widespread human suffering and
death as Earth becomes uninhabitable????
 Demographics
Branch of sociology that deals with
population statistics
Separates countries into categories
based on stage of development, which
relates to population growth potential
Highly Developed, Developing, Less-
Developed nations
 Demographics…
Highly Developed Countries include:
– U.S., Germany, Canada, France, Sweden,
Australia, Japan, U.K., etc.
– Highly industrialized
– Low birth rates
– Very low infant mortality rates
– Longer life expectancies
 Demographics…
Developing Countries – includes moderately
developed and less-developed
Moderately developed countries include:
– Thailand, Mexico, Turkey, Peru, Brazil, Chile,
etc
– Moderate birth rates
– Moderate infant mortality rates
– Moderate level of industrialization
 PHILIPPINES-
CONSIDERED AS NEWLY
INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRY
 Fertility:
▪ Replacement-Level Fertility = the number of
children a couple must produce in order to
“replace” themselves (usually considered 2.1, since
some infants & children die before reaching maturity)
▪ Total Fertility Rate is currently 2.8 worldwide
 Demographic Stages:
◼ Four stages are observed
1. Pre-industrial stage
2. Transitional stage
3. Industrial stage
4. Postindustrial stage
 Pre-industrial stage

◼ High birth and death rates

◼ Modest population growth
◼ High infant mortality rate
◼ Famines, plagues, wars common
 Transitional Stage
◼ Lowered death rate due to advances
in health care, better food supply,
water sanitation measures
◼ Birth rate still high
◼ Population grows rapidly
 Industrial Stage
◼ Decline in birth rates, still relatively
low death rate
◼ Population growth rate slows a bit
◼ Increase in wealth usually
accompanies a decrease in birth
rates
 Postindustrial Stage
◼ Low birth and death rates
◼ Better educated and more affluent
population…tend to desire smaller
families
◼ Examples: U.S.A., Canada, Australia,
Japan, Europe
 Age Structure

◼ Age structure = the number and proportion

of people at each age in a population
◼ Age structure helps in determining future
growth rates
◼ Age structure diagrams provide a quick way
to look at figures, and determine what is
happening to a population