1. Population Dynamics

2. Any ecosystem can only sustain a certain number of organisms for a given population
The number of individuals that are living in a defined area is known as the population density

3. Clumped
dispersion
Uniform
Random
Geographic dispersion of a population shows how individuals in a population are spaced.

4. Geographic Dispersion
There are 3 types of geographic Dispersion
1) Clumped
2) Uniform
3) Random

5. In any given ecosystem, there are only enough resources for a certain number of organisms to survive.
The carrying capacity is maximum stable population size that an environment can support
The change in the
population size is
known as the
growth rate
Can be positive,
negative, or zero

6. If a population is provided with ideal conditions (no restrictions), healthy organisms will reproduce at a rate greater than their death rate.
As long as the conditions are maintained, the rate of growth will increase as the population grows larger.
This is called exponential growth
Produces a J
shaped curve

7. However, as a population’s size increases, resources become limited, and the growth of the population slows and begins to stabilize.
This is called
logistic growth
Produces a
S shaped curve

8. Carrying Capacity Graph

9. Once a population has reached its carrying capacity, two types of limiting factors help to stabilize the size
Density-Dependent Limiting Factors
Competition, Predation, Parasitism, Crowding/Stress
Density-Independent Limiting Factors
Weather, Fires, Droughts/Floods, Human Activities

11. Two of the most basic factors that affect the rate of population growth rate are:
Birth rate
Death rate