CH. 47 OBJECTIVES

1. Define the scope of population ecology.

2. Distinguish between density and dispersion.

3. Explain how ecologists measure density of a species.

4. Describe conditions which may result in clumped dispersion, random dispersion, and uniform dispersion of populations.

5. Explain how age structure, generation time, and sex structure of populations can affect population growth.

6. Describe the characteristics of populations which exhibit Type I, Type II, and Type III survivorship curves.

7. Explain how carrying capacity of the environment affects the intrinsic rate of increase of a population.

8. Explain how density-dependent factors affect population growth.

9. Describe how weather and climate can function as density-independent factors in controlling population growth.

10. Explain how density-dependent and density-independent factors may work together to control a population’s growth.

11. List the three major characteristics of a life history and explain how each affects the: a) number of offspring produced by an individual; and b) population’s growth.

12. Explain how predation can affect life history through natural selection.

13. Distinguish between r-selected populations and K-selected populations.

14. Explain how a “stressful” environment may alter the standard r-selection and K-selection characteristics.