2.  Do you think that a population can just grow forever and forever?

3.  What can cause a population to decline?

4. Characteristics of Dynamics Size Immigration Emigration Births Deaths Survivorship

5.  Anything that restricts the number of individuals in a population.  Includes biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) features of the ecosystem

6. DENSITY-DEPENDENT FACTOR  Disease  Competition  Predators  Parasites  Food  Crowding (space)  The greater the population, the greater effect these factors have.  Most are  Most are BIOTIC factors DENSITY- INDEPENDENT FACTOR Volcanic eruptions Temperature Storms Floods Drought Hurricane Most are ABIOTIC factors

7. What kind of factor do you think influenced the deaths of these cows? Was it density-dependent or Independent? Explain.

8. Carrying capacity ( K ): The number of organisms of one species that an environment can support indefinitely (forever).  Two of the most basic factors that affect the rate of population growth are the birth rate, and the death rate.

9.  This is the maximum population growth under ideal circumstances.  Includes plenty of room for each member, unlimited resources (food, water) and no (predators).

10.  This type of growth happens when resources are limited.  As the population grows, births decline and death rises.  Eventually birth=death  the population stops growing.

11. The Exponential curve (also known as a J-curve) occurs when there is no limit to population size. No (K) The Logistic curve (also known as an S-curve) shows the effect of a limiting factor (in this case the carrying capacity ( K )of the environment).

12.  Which population growth do you think is happening to the human population right now ?  Why?  What do you think will happen to the human population in about 500 years from now?  Why?

13.  Humans have learned to expand the carrying capacity of their environment by increasing food supply, combating pests and curing diseases.  Can Earth support this increase?  Damage to the planet will eventually reduce the carrying capacity for humanity and slow the growth of the human population.