All Flashcards
What are the environmental consequences of exceeding carrying capacity?
Resource depletion, increased mortality, and potential population crash.
How do density-dependent factors affect population growth?
As population density increases, competition, disease, and predation can limit growth.
How do density-independent factors affect population growth?
Natural disasters, weather events, and other external factors can drastically reduce population size regardless of density.
What are the stages of the demographic transition?
Pre-industrial, transitional, industrial, post-industrial.
What is the significance of a broad ecological niche?
Allows generalist species to thrive in diverse conditions and adapt to environmental changes.
What is the significance of a narrow ecological niche?
Specialist species are highly efficient in stable environments but vulnerable to habitat loss.
What is the significance of survivorship curves?
Illustrates age-specific mortality rates and life history strategies of different species.
What does exceeding carrying capacity lead to?
Overshoot, followed by population decline due to resource depletion and increased mortality.
What does a wide base in an age structure diagram indicate?
A rapidly growing population with a high proportion of young individuals.
What does a narrow base in an age structure diagram indicate?
A declining population with a smaller proportion of young individuals.
What information do crude birth and death rates provide?
They provide a basic understanding of population growth trends, but do not account for age structure.
What does the rule of 70 estimate?
The approximate doubling time of a population based on its growth rate.
What is the pre-industrial stage of demographic transition characterized by?
High birth and death rates, resulting in slow population growth.
What is the transitional stage of demographic transition characterized by?
High birth rates and declining death rates, leading to rapid population growth.
What is the industrial stage of demographic transition characterized by?
Declining birth rates and low death rates, resulting in slower population growth.
What is the post-industrial stage of demographic transition characterized by?
Low birth and death rates, leading to stable or declining population size.