Populations, Their changes

and Their measurement

IB syllabus: 2.1.6, 2.3.1, 2.3.2,
2.6.1-2.6.4, 2.7.2
AP syllabus
Ch 9

Syllabus Statements

2.1.6: Define the terms species, population, habitat, niche,

community and ecosystem with reference to local examples
2.3.1: Construct simple keys and use published keys for the
identification of organisms
2.3.2: Describe and evaluate methods for estimating
abundance of organisms
2.6.1: Explain the concepts of limiting factors and carrying
capacity in the context of population growth
2.6.2: Describe and explain s and J population curves
2.6.3: Describe the role of density-dependent and densityindependent factors and internal and external factors, in the
regulation of population
2.6.4: Describe the principles associated with survivorship
curves including K and r-strategists
2.7.2: Describe and evaluate methods for measuring change in
abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem due to a specific
human activity

Vocabulary

Abiotic factor
Biotic factor
Carrying Capacity
Habitat
K-strategist
Population
r-strategist

Population

A group of individuals of the same

species found in the same area
(habitat) at the same time
The gopher tortoises in scrub
habitats in Volusia county
The bottlenose dolphins of the Indian
River Lagoon

Sea Otters: A case study

Sea otters keystone species in Pacific kelp forests

Daily consume 25% body weight in urchins &
molluscs
Population > 1 million before settlers arrived
1700s hunted to near extinction 1000 in the
Aleutians, AK only 20 off California
In 1971 A-bomb test in AK used sea otter population
to assess bombs power 1000s died
1973 Endangered Species Act passes, 1976 Marine
Mammal Conservation Act
1989 1000s died in Exxon Valdez Oil spill
Otters recovering in most places after 1970s
The spring 2008 survey found 2760 sea otters, down
8.8-percent from the record 2007 spring survey.
Why are they declining now?

New Threats?

Pollution Effects
- Shellfish magnify
toxins
- Reduce disease
resistance
- Reduce fertility

Increased Predation
- Killer Whales
- Switch to otters
when other food
is scarce

Population characteristics

Populations are dynamic change in

response to environment

Size (# of individuals)
Density (# of individuals in a certain space)
Dispersion (spatial pattern of individuals)

Random, Uniform, Clumped based on food

Age distribution (proportion of each age)

Changes called Population dynamics

Respond to environmental stress & change

Common Dispersion Patterns

Clumped
(elephants)

Uniform
(creosote bush)

Random
(dandelions)

Clumped is most common because resources have a patchy

distribution.

Limiting Factors & Population

Growth

4 variables govern changes in

population size
Birth, Death, Immigration, emigration

Variables are dependent on resource

availability & environmental
conditions
Population change = (Birth +
Immigration) (Death + Emigration)

POPULATION SIZE

Growth factors
(biotic potential)
Abiotic
Favorable light
Favorable temperature
Favorable chemical environment
(optimal level of critical nutrients)

Biotic

High reproductive rate

Generalized niche
Adequate food supply
Suitable habitat
Ability to compete for resources
Ability to hide from or defend
against predators
Ability to resist diseases and parasites
Ability to migrate and live in other
habitats
Ability to adapt to environmental
change

2004 Brooks/Cole Thomson Learning

Decrease factors
(environmental resistance)
Abiotic
Too much or too little light
Temperature too high or too low
Unfavorable chemical environment
(too much or too little of critical
nutrients)

Biotic

Low reproductive rate

Specialized niche
Inadequate food supply
Unsuitable or destroyed habitat
Too many competitors
Insufficient ability to hide from or defend
against predators
Inability to resist diseases and parasites
Inability to migrate and live in other
habitats
Inability to adapt to environmental
change

Capacity for Growth

Capacity for growth = Biotic potential

Rate at which a population grows with
unlimited resources is intrinsic rate of
increase (r)
High (r) (1)reproduce early in life,
(2)short generation time, (3)multiple
reproductive events, (4)many offspring each
time
BUT no population can grow indefinitely
Always limits on population growth in nature

Carrying Capacity

Environmental resistance = all factors

which limit the growth of populations
Population size depends on
interaction between biotic potential
and environmental resistance
Carrying capacity (K) = # of
individuals of a given population
which can be sustained infinitely in a
given area

Limiting Factors

Carrying capacity established by limited

resources in the environment
Only one resource needs to be limiting
even if there is an over abundance of
everything else
Ex. Space, food, water, soil nutrients,
sunlight, predators, competition, disease
A desert plant is limited by
Birds nesting on an island are limited by

Minimum Values

(r) depends on having a certain minimum

population size MVP minimum viable
pop.
Below MVP
1 some individuals may not find mates
2 genetically related individuals reproduce
producing weak or deformed offspring
3 genetic diversity may drop too low to
enable adaptation to environmental changes
bottleneck effect

Forms of Growth

Exponential growth starts slow and

proceeds with increasing speed
J curve results
Occurs with few or no resource limitations

Logistic growth (1) exponential

growth, (2) slower growth (3) then
plateau at carrying capacity
S curve results
Population will fluctuate around carrying
capacity

Population Growth Curves Ideal

2004 Brooks/Cole Thomson Learning

Population size (N)

Population size (N)

Time (t)
Exponential Growth

Time (t)
Logistic Growth

Carrying capacity alterations

In rapid growth population may

overshoot carrying capacity
Consumes resource base
Reproduction must slow, Death must
increase
Leads to crash or dieback

Carrying capacity is not fixed, affected

by:
Seasonal changes, natural & human
catastrophes, immigration & emigration

Density Effects

Density Independent Factors: effects

regardless of population density
Mostly regulates r-strategists
Floods, fires, weather, habitat destruction,
pollution
Weather is most important factor

Density Effects

Density dependent Factors: effects based on

amount of individuals in an area
Operate as negative feedback mechanisms
leading to stability or regulation of population
External Factors
Competition, predation, parasitism
Disease most epidemics spread in cramped
conditions
Internal Factors
Reproductive effects Density dependent fertility,
Breeding territory size

Natural Cycles: Predation

Over longer time spans populations

cycle
Canadian lynx & Snowshoe hare - 10
year cycles
Once thought that predators controlled
prey #s Top down control
Now see a negative feedback
mechanism in place community
equilibrium

Population size (thousands)

160
140

Hare

120

Lynx

100
80
60
40
20
0
1845

1855

1865

1875

1885

1895

Year

1905

1915

1925

1935

5,000
Moose population
Wolf population

3,000
100
90
80

2,000

70
60

1,000

50
40

500

20

1900 1910

30

1930

1950

Year

1970

1990

2000
1999

10
0

Number of wolves

Number of moose

4,000

Reproduction Strategies effect

Survival

Asexual reproduction
Produce clones of parents
Common in constant environments

Sexual reproduction
Mating has costs time, injury, parental
investment, genetic errors
Improves genetic diversity survive
environmental change
Different male & female roles in parental
care

MacArthur Wilson Models

Two idealized categories for reproductive patterns

but really its a continuum
r-selected & K-selected species depending on
position on sigmoid population curve
r-selected species: (opportunists) reproduce early,
many young few survive
Common after disturbance, but poor competitors
K-selected species: (competitors) reproduce late,
few young most survive
Common in stable areas, strong competitors

Carrying capacity

Number of individuals

K species;
experience
K selection

r species;
experience
r selection

Time

r-Selected Species

cockroach

dandelion

Many small offspring

Little or no parental care and protection of offspring
Early reproductive age
Most offspring die before reaching reproductive age
Small adults
Adapted to unstable climate and environmental
conditions
High population growth rate (r)
Population size fluctuates wildly above and below
carrying capacity (K)
Generalist niche
Low ability to compete
Early successional species

K-Selected Species

elephant

saguaro

Fewer, larger offspring

High parental care and protection of offspring
Later reproductive age
Most offspring survive to reproductive age
Larger adults
Adapted to stable climate and environmental
conditions
Lower population growth rate (r)
Population size fairly stable and usually close
to carrying capacity (K)
Specialist niche
High ability to compete
Late successional species

r versus K

Most organisms somewhere in the

middle
Agriculture crops = r-selected,
livestock = K-selected
Reproductive patterns give
temporary advantage
Resource availability determines
ultimate population size

Survivorship curves

1.

2.

3.

Different life expectancies for different

species
Survivorship curve: shows age structure
of population
Late loss curve: K-selected species with
few young cared for until reproductive
age
Early loss curve: r-selected species
many die early but high survivorship
after certain age
Constant loss curve: intermediate
steady mortality

Percentage surviving (log scale)

100

10

Age

Humans Impact Natural

Populations
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Fragmenting & degrading habitats

Simplifying natural ecosystems
Using or destroying world primary
productivity which supports all consumers
Strengthening pest and disease populations
Eliminating predators
Introducing exotic species
Overharvesting renewable resources
Interfering with natural chemical cycling
and energy flow

Environmental Stress

Organism Level

Population Level

Ecosystem Level

Physiological changes
Psychological changes
Behavior changes
Fewer or no offspring
Genetic defects
Birth defects
Cancers
Death

Change in population size

Change in age structure
(old, young, and weak may die)
Survival of strains genetically
resistant to stress
Loss of genetic diversity
and adaptability
Extinction

Disruption of energy flow through

Disruption
of biogeochemical
food chains
and webs
cycles
Disruption of biogeochemical
Habitat
cyclesloss & degradation
Lower species
species diversity
diversity
Lower
Less
complex
food
webs
Habitat loss or degradation
Lowercomplex
stabilityfood webs
Less
Ecosystem
collapse
Lower
stability
Ecosystem collapse

2004 Brooks/Cole Thomson Learning

Sampling populations

Step 1: Identify the organism

Use dichotomous keys, field guides,

observe a museum collection, or consult
an expert
http://www.earthlife.net/insects/orders-k
ey.html#key
Sample key for insect ID
http://people.virginia.edu/~sos-iwla/Str
eam-Study/Key/Key1.HTML
Macroinvertebrate key

Construct you Own Dichotomous Key

Mark & Recapture Method

Used for fish & wildlife populations

Traps placed within boundaries of study area
Captured animals are marked with tags, collars,
bands or spots of dye & then immediately released
After a few days or weeks, enough time for the
marked animals to mix randomly with the others in
the population, traps are set again
The proportion of marked (recaptured) animals in
the second trapping is assumed equal to the
proportion of marked animals in the whole
population
Repeat the recapture as many times as possible to
ensure accuracy of results
Marking method should not affect the survival or
fitness of the organism

Mark & Recapture Calculation

# of recaptures in second catch
Total # in second catch

# marked in the first catch

Total population (N)

Assuming no births, deaths, immigration, or emigration

population size is estimated as follows (Lincoln Index)
N

(# marked in first catch) (Total # in second catch)

# of Recaptures in second catch

MEMORIZE THIS EQUATION

Example
50 snowshoe hares are captured in box
traps, marked with ear tags and released.
Two weeks later, 100 hares are captured
and checked for ear tags. If 10 hares in
the second catch are already marked
(10%), provide an estimate of N
N = (50 hares x 100 hares) / 10 = 5000 /
10
= 500 hares
**Realize for accuracy that you would
recapture multiple times and take an
average**

Quadrat Method

1.
2.

3.
4.
5.
6.

Used for plants or sessile organisms

Mark out a gridline along two edges of an area
Use a calculator or tables to generate two random
numbers to use as coordinates and place a quadrat
on the ground with its corner at these coordinates
Count how many individuals of your study
population are inside the quadrat
Repeat steps 2 & 3 as many times as possible
Measure the total size of the area occupied by the
population in square meters
Calculate the mean number of plants per quadrat.
Then calculate the population size with the
following equation

Quadrat Method
N = (Mean # per quadrat) (total area)
Area of each quadrat
This estimates the population size in an
area
Ex. If you count an average of 10 live oak trees per
square hectare in a given area, and there are 100
square hectares in your area, then
N = (10 X 100 hectare2) / 1 hectare2 = 1000 trees in the
100 hectare2

In addition to population size we can

measure

Density = # of individuals per unit area

Good measure of overall numbers
Frequency = the proportion of quadrats sampled
that contain your species
Assessment of patchiness of distribution
% Cover = space within the quadrat occupied by
each species
Distinguishes the larger and smaller species

How can changes in these

populations be measured?

Necessary because populations may

change over time through processes
like succession
But also because human activities
may impact a population and we
want to know how
Impacts include toxins from mining,
landfills, eutrophication, effluent, oil
spills, overexploitation

Measuring changes cont.

Can still use CMR or quadrat method

Just do it repeatedly over time
Also could use satellite images taken over
time
1. Do pre and post impact assessments
in one area
2. Measure comparable areas one
impacted, one not at a given time

Overexploitation, Agricultural use, Global Warming have

Caused a decrease in Lake Chads area over last 50 years

Lake
Chad
Satellite
Images

Capture Mark Recapture

Practice Problems

Question 1

In a mark recapture study of lake

trout populations, 40 fish were
captured, marked and released. In a
second capture 45 fish were caught;
9 of these were marked. What is the
estimated number of individuals in
the lake trout population

Question 2

Woodlice are terrestrial crustaceans that

live under logs and stones in damp soils.
To assess the population of woodlice in an
area, students collected as many of the
animals as they could find, and marked
each with a drop of fluorescent paint. A
total of 303 were marked. 24 hours later,
woodlice were collected again in the same
place. This time 297 were found, of which
99 were seen to be already marked from
the first time. What approximately, is the
estimated population of woodlice in this
area?

Review points
1.
2.

3.
4.
5.

Dispersion patterns
Carrying capacity and limiting
factors
r and K selection
Natural population cycles
Human effects

http://www.otterproject.org