Biology, Eighth Edition (Raven)

Chapter 55: Population Ecology

Learning Outcomes

Chapter 55
  • Know the four key elements of the physical environment and understand their importance to individuals and populations.
  • Describe and give examples of individual responses to environmental changes.
  • Identify examples of evolutionary responses to environmental variations.
  • Understand what constitutes a population and distinguish the changes that can occur in its characteristic features, e.g., range expansion and contraction.
  • Differentiate among random, uniform, and clumped spacings of populations.
  • Describe several methods used by terrestrial plants to disperse their seeds.
  • Understand what a metapopulation is and how it is associated with source and sink populations.
  • Define demography and describe factors that can affect population growth rates.
  • Recognize the value of life tables and be able to use the information provided by one.
  • Draw the three types of survivorship curves, explain, and give examples of each.
  • Understand why and how reproductive success is maximized by organisms using different reproductive strategies.
  • Distinguish between of the exponential and logistic growth models and explain the significance to a population’s growth when it experiences either one.
  • Define carrying capacity and understand how it can affect population size.
  • Compare density-dependent and density independent growth regulating effects and give examples of each.
  • Understand the reasons for predator-prey cycles and give examples.
  • Differentiate between r-selected and K-selected life history adaptations.
  • Be able to interpret information provided by a population pyramid.
  • Comprehend the concept of ecological footprints and what they mean to the future of the Earth.
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