Flashcards on Fundamentals of Population Ecology
Fundamentals of Population Ecology: A Student's Guide
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Population Ecology
18 cards
Card 1
Question: What is population ecology?
Answer: The study of fluctuations in population size and the physical and social factors that regulate those fluctuations.
Card 2
Question: Define natality in population ecology.
Answer: Natality is the birth rate of a population.
Card 3
Question: Define mortality in population ecology.
Answer: Mortality is the death rate of a population.
Card 4
Question: What is immigration in population ecology?
Answer: Immigration is when individuals move into a population and stay.
Card 5
Question: What is emigration in population ecology?
Answer: Emigration is when individuals move out of a population and do not return.
Card 6
Question: What happens to a population that enters an unoccupied area with unlimited resources and no predators or disease?
Answer: The population will increase exponentially.
Card 7
Question: Why is exponential population increase not sustainable?
Answer: Because resources will run out, predators may move in, and disease increases—these are forms of environmental resistance.
Card 8
Question: What is environmental resistance?
Answer: The factors (like resource limits, predators, disease) that slow and eventually stop exponential population growth.
Card 9
Question: What is carrying capacity?
Answer: The population size at which a balance is reached between the population and the environment.
Card 10
Question: Is carrying capacity fixed? Explain.
Answer: No; carrying capacity changes with seasons and climatic events (e.g., drought).