Ecology

I: Population Ecology
Campbell Chapter 53
What is Ecology?
Ecology is the scientific
study of the interactions
between organisms and
the environment
These interactions
determine the distribution
of organisms and their
abundance
Modern ecology includes
observation and
experimentation
The Scope of Ecological Research
 Ecology encompass multiple sca
of organization
The Scope of Ecological Research of o
multiple scales
The Scope of Ecological Research
Ecologists work at levels ranging from individual organisms to the planet
Global ecology examines influence of energy and materials on organisms across the biosphere
A landscape or seascape is mosaic of connected ecosystems. Landscape ecology focuses on
exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms across multiple ecosystems.
Ecosystem is community of organisms in area and physical factors with which they interact.
Ecosystem ecology emphasizes energy flow and chemical cycling among the various biotic and
abiotic components.
A community is a group of populations of different species in an area. Community ecology deals
with whole array of interacting species in community.
A population is a group of individuals of the same species living in an area. Population ecology
focuses on factors affecting population size over time.
Organismal ecology studies how organisms structure, physiology, and (for animals) behaviour
meet environmental challenges. Includes physiological, evolutionary, and behavioural ecology
Why Population Ecology matters?

Nearly 25% of the world fisheries

collapsed in the last 50 years
Population Ecology
Population ecology is the study of populations in relation to their
environment
Includes environmental influences on density and distribution, age
structure, and population size
Density and dispersion are important measures in population ecology
Density- number of individuals per unit area or volume
Dispersion- pattern of spacing among individuals within boundaries of
population
Population size estimated by either
extrapolation from small samples, an index of population size (e.g., number of
nests)
mark-recapture method
Mark recapture techniques are used to
estimate population parameters
Density
Density result of interplay
between processes that
add individuals to
population (birth and
immigration)
those that remove
individuals (death and
emigration)
Patterns of Dispersion
Patterns of Dispersion
Within population, local densities may differ substantially
Creates patterns of dispersion
Environmental and social factors influence spacing of individuals in
population
In clumped dispersion, individuals aggregate in patches. Clumped
dispersion may be influenced by resource availability and behaviour
Uniform dispersion individuals evenly distributed. Influenced by social
interactions such as territoriality, defense of bounded space against other
individuals
In random dispersion, position of each individual independent of other
individuals. It occurs in absence of strong attractions or repulsions
Demography: Life Tables
Demography: Survivorship Curves
Demography
Demography- study of vital statistics of a population and how they
change over time
Death rates and birth rates of particular interest to demographers
A life table is an age-specific summary of the survival pattern of a
population. It is best made by following the fate of a cohort, a group of
individuals of the same age. It provides data on the proportions of males
and females alive at each age
Survivorship curves are graphics representing life table data
Survivorship curves classified into three general types
Type I: low death rates during early and middle life and increase in death
rates among older age groups
Type II: a constant death rate over organisms life span
Type III: high death rates for young and lower death rate for survivors
Reproductive Rate
For species with sexual
reproduction, demographers
often concentrate on females
in population
Reproductive table, or fertility
schedule, age-specific
summary of reproductive rates
in population
Describes reproductive
patterns of a population
Modelling population growth
The exponential model describes population growth in an idealized,
unlimited environment
The per capita rate of increase = r = b m
where b is the annual per capita birth rate and m (for mortality) is
the per capita death rate
Zero population growth ( r = 0) occurs when b = m
Change in population size over time is N = rN
t
Modelling population growth
Exponential population
growth population increase
under idealized conditions
Modelling population growth
J-shaped curve of
exponential growth
characterizes some
rebounding populations
Sea otters
reintroduced to
Vancouver Island in
1970s
Modelling population growth
Modelling population growth
Exponential growth cannot be sustained for long in any population
A more realistic population model limits growth by incorporating carrying
capacity
Carrying capacity (K) maximum population size environment can support
K varies with abundance of limiting resources
In the logistic population growth model, per capita rate of increase declines as
carrying capacity reached
Logistic model starts with exponential model and adds expression that reduces
per capita rate of increase as N approaches K

dN (K N)
= rmax N
dt K
The Logistic Model and Real Populations
The Logistic Model and Real Populations
Growth of laboratory populations of paramecia fits an S-shaped
curve
They grown in constant environment lacking predators and
competitors
Some populations overshoot K before settling down to relatively
stable density
Some populations fluctuate greatly and make it difficult to define K
Some populations show an Allee effect: Individuals have more
difficult time surviving or reproducing if population size too small
Population Regulation
Many biotic and abiotic
factors affect population
growth and size:
In density-independent
populations, birth rate and
death rate do not change
with population density
In density-dependent
populations, birth rates
fall and death rates rise
with population density
Mechanisms of Density-Dependent
Population Regulation
Density-dependent birth and
death rates are affected by many
factors including
competition for resources
territoriality
disease
predation
toxic wastes
intrinsic factors
Mechanisms of Density-Dependent
Population Regulation
Mechanisms of Density-Dependent
Population Regulation
In crowded populations, increasing population density intensifies
competition for resources and results in a lower birth rate
Accumulation of toxic wastes can contribute to density-dependent
regulation of population size
As a prey population builds up, predators may feed preferentially on
that species
In many vertebrates and some invertebrates, competition for territory
may limit density
Population density can influence the health and survival of organisms:
In dense populations, pathogens can spread more rapidly
 Case study in Population Ecology:
The Collapse of the Peruvian Anchovy.
Many variables must be taken into account
when applying population models

Climate,predation, competition,
food supplies, diseases, etc.
births and
immigration

Population
Population Population
growth
at time t at time t+1
rate

Harvest
deaths and
emigration
Climate,predation, competition,
food supplies, diseases, etc.
 Normal non-el nino

8C warmer
0.5 m higher Trade winds

8C Cooler
0.5 m lower

Upwellings
Source: NASA: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/BlueMarble/BlueMarble_monthlies.php
 el nino phase

Cool down
Trade winds

Warm up

Upwellings
Source: NASA: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/BlueMarble/BlueMarble_monthlies.php
 la nina phase

Warm up Trade winds

Cool down

Upwellings
Source: NASA: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/BlueMarble/BlueMarble_monthlies.php
The anchovy population crashed after the
1972 El Nino and took many years to recover
 The anchovy population crashed after the
1972 El Nino and took many years to recover
Fishery harvested as much
anchovies as the population could
replace i.e. kept N close to N = K/2
1972 El Nino decreased the
population to a size at which
growth rate was slow.
Small populations grow slowly so
it took 20 years for the population
to recover from the 1972
mortality