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How do age distribution categories help in predicting future population changes?
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Age distribution categories (pre-reproductive, reproductive, post-reproductive) help predict future population dynamics by showing the potential for population growth or decline.
What is the primary focus of demography in ecology?
Demography focuses on statistical study of populations, including population density, distribution, and growth rates, influenced by birth and death rates.
Distinguish between density independent and density dependent factors in population growth.
Density independent factors, such as natural disasters, impact populations regardless of their size, whereas density dependent factors, like competition and predation, intensify as population density increases.
What is the biosphere in the context of ecology?
The biosphere encompasses all communities on Earth and includes terrestrial, aquatic, and atmospheric environments.
How do environmental resistance factors affect population growth?
Environmental resistance factors, like limited resources and predation, slow population growth, preventing populations from exceeding the environment's carrying capacity.
Define biotic potential and what factors influence it.
Biotic potential is the maximum rate of natural increase for a species if resources are unlimited, influenced by offspring number, survival rate, reproductive frequency, and age at reproduction.
What strategies are suggested for less developed countries to manage rapid population growth?
Suggested strategies include implementing family planning programs to reduce growth rates and improve standards of living.
Explain the concept of carrying capacity in an ecological context.
Carrying capacity is the maximum number of individuals that an environment can sustain indefinitely without being degraded.
In what ways do more developed countries contribute to environmental impact?
More developed countries contribute to greater environmental impact through higher resource consumption and waste production despite having controlled population growth.
Define ecosystem and provide an example.
An ecosystem is a community of living organisms interacting with their environment, such as a forest ecosystem with trees, animals, soil, and climate.
What ecological level includes both a community and abiotic factors?
An ecosystem includes both a community of species and abiotic factors such as water, light, and soil.
Discuss the implications of human population growth doubling every 52 years.
This rapid growth could lead to resource depletion, increased pollution, and significant ecological impacts, requiring sustainable strategies to mitigate the consequences.
Explain logistic growth and how it differs from exponential growth.
Logistic growth occurs when population growth is curtailed by environmental resistances, leveling off at the carrying capacity, unlike exponential growth which increases continuously without constraints.
What are the main differences between R-strategists and K-strategists?
R-strategists have high fecundity, early maturity, and little parental care, while K-strategists have low fecundity, late maturity, and extensive parental care.
Describe the three types of survivorship curves and give an example for each.
Type I curves show low mortality in young (e.g., humans), Type II curves depict constant mortality (e.g., birds), and Type III curves represent high juvenile mortality (e.g., insects).
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