All Flashcards
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.
What are the stages of the demographic transition?
Pre-industrial, transitional, industrial, post-industrial.
Define generalist species.
Species with a broad ecological niche, able to survive in diverse conditions.
Define specialist species.
Species with a narrow ecological niche, requiring specific, stable environmental conditions.
Define K-selected species.
Species with low reproductive rate and high investment in offspring.
Define r-selected species.
Species with high reproductive rate and low investment in offspring.
Define carrying capacity.
Maximum population size an environment can support, determined by resource availability.
Define exponential growth.
Population growth at a constant rate, resulting in a J-shaped curve.
Define logistic growth.
Population growth that slows as it approaches carrying capacity, resulting in an S-shaped curve.
Define age structure diagram.
Graphical representation of the distribution of different age groups in a population.
Define total fertility rate.
The average number of children a woman is expected to have in her lifetime.
Define replacement level fertility.
The fertility rate required for a population to replace itself (approximately 2.1 children per woman).
Define population density.
Number of individuals per unit area or volume.
Define density-dependent factors.
Factors that affect population growth based on population density (e.g., disease, competition).
Define density-independent factors.
Factors that affect population growth regardless of population density (e.g., natural disasters).