1. Population Ecology

2. TERMS Biotic: all living organisms.
Ex. Trees, flowers, moss, birds, monkeys, people, mold, fish, plankton, pumpkins, grass, giant squid
Abiotic: all non-living factors
Ex. Wind, temperature, rocks, water, altitude, sunlight

3. TERMS Habitat: home or environment of a living organism
Ex. The habitat of the chimpanzee is the rainforest
The habitat of the saguaro cactus is?

4. TERMS Niche: the role and position a species has in its environment
how it meets its needs for food and shelter
A species' niche includes all of its interactions with the biotic and abiotic factors of its environment

5. Red Squirrel’s Niche
The red squirrel lives in coniferous forests. It makes its nests in a variety of places including hollows in the ground, in tree hollows, logs or crotches in trees. The red squirrel is very vocal and chatters, growls and screeches. It eats insects, seeds, bark, nuts, fruits, mushrooms and pine seeds or cones. It also stores nuts and seeds in piles under logs, at the base of trees and underground. It doesn't always find or eat all of the seeds and nuts it has stored. Because of this, the red squirrel fills an important niche in spreading seeds in the forest. Its predators are hawks, owls, and foxes.

6. Population Dynamics Population:
All the individuals of a species that live together in an area
Community:
All the populations of different species that live together in an area
Although several species may share a habitat they each have their own niche. A niche is a very narrow range where a species fits within a habitat.

7. Population Dynamics Ecosystem:
The community plus all the abiotic factors in an area
Biosphere:
The entire planet, with all biotic and abiotic factors involved

8. What is this picture? Population
Although several species may share a habitat they each have their own niche. A niche is a very narrow range where a species fits within a habitat.

9. What is this picture?
Biosphere

10. What is this picture?
Community

11. What is this picture?
Ecosystem

12. What is this picture?
Population

13. What is this picture?
Community

14. Key Features of Populations
Density: measurement of population per unit area or unit volume
Pop. Density = # of individuals ÷ unit of space
Although several species may share a habitat they each have their own niche. A niche is a very narrow range where a species fits within a habitat.

15. How Do You Affect Density?
Immigration: movement of individuals into a population
Emigration: movement of individuals out of a population
Density-dependent factors: Biotic factors in the environment that have an increasing effect as population size increases (disease, competition, parasites)
Density-independent factors: Abiotic factors in the environment that affect populations regardless of their density (temperature, weather)

16. Factors That Affect Future Population Growth
Immigration + + -
Population
Mortality
Natality -
Emigration

17. How Are Populations Measured?
Population density = number of individuals in a given area or volume
Count all the individuals in a population

18. Carrying Capacity Carrying Capacity:
The maximum population size that can be supported by the available resources
There can only be as many organisms as the environmental resources can support
Although several species may share a habitat they each have their own niche. A niche is a very narrow range where a species fits within a habitat.

19. Graphing Carrying Capacity

20. Factors Limiting Growth Rate
Declining birth rate or increasing death rate are caused by several factors including:
Limited food supply
The buildup of toxic wastes
Increased disease
Predation

21. “Booms” and “Busts”

22. Reproductive Strategies
R Strategists
Short life span
Small body size
Reproduce quickly
Have many young
Little parental care
Ex: cockroaches, weeds, bacteria

23. Reproductive Strategies
K Strategists
Long life span
Large body size
Reproduce slowly
Have few young
Provides parental care
Ex: humans, elephants