Chapter 4: Population ecology Flashcards
What can determining the carrying capacity of a species be valuable to ecosystems?
Ensuring a habitat can sustain the species to ensure the ecosystem and species and all species stay in good health.
What are the limiting factors of carrying capacity?
Biotic and abiotic factors
What are the biotic factors?
the abundance of food, number of predators, number of mates and number and variety of disease-causing organisms
What are the abiotic factors?
Nutrients, shelter, refuge from predators, light, water and nesting sites.
How will change if population effect carrying capacity?
If a population increases too much and a decrease in abiotic and biotic factors occur, the ecosystem and species could collapse. Populations must not exceed to ecosystems carrying capacity.
How can you estimate populations?
Direct observation and Lincoln Index
What is direct observation?
Recording sighting at particular times
What is Lincoln Index?
Capture - mark - reacpture
What is exponential growth J-curve?
When environments are destroyed, some species are in an ideal, unlimited environment and their population dramatically increases
What is Logistic growth s curve?
A population levels off when it reaches carrying capacity
Which curve is dangerous?
J-curve
