Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Chapter 5
Preconditions
Populations change over time Populations cannot grow indefinitely Logistic curve Logistic equation represents equilibrium view of population regulation (if perturbed, population returns to equilibrium value, K) Other views see population fluctuations as random over time, without returning to equilibrium (due to disturbance)
Background
Population regulation: fluctuations in abundance with feedback mechanisms to increase or decrease density toward K Population control: ecological mechanisms which control upper limit of density Density is a result of combination of factors In general: N = (b + i) (d + e), where N is population size, b is births, d is deaths, i is immigrants, e is emigrants
Cycles
Regular interval changes in population density
Irruptions
Occasional, unpredictable population explosions
Equilibrium Theories
Central difference among theories lies in the relative importance of density-dependent factors and density-independent factors. Density-dependent factors have an increasing effect with increasing density Density-independent factors have an effect that does not vary with density
Food supply
Evidence shows that food-supply is a strong determinant of density. Birds frequently die of starvation. Areas with high food supplies tend to have high bird densities. (correlation Vs. causation) Artificially supplemented food studies Naturally supplemented food studies
Predation
Difficult to establish (need to know density differences of predators with varying prey densities) Studies indicate that predator species depress prey populations Removal experiments yield ambiguous results Top-down or bottom-up controversy
Stress, Territoriality
Stress may regulate density by causing physiological reactions to high densities Territoriality may regulate density by excluding some individuals from reproducing
Metapopulations
Population consisting of several patches of populations linked by dispersal. Patches vary, may go extinct; not in equilibrium, but overall population survives due to dispersal among patches Metapopulations are particularly important in fragmented habitats
Chaos Theory
Unpredictable patterns of population growth Particularly interesting with r values above 2.69 Pattern depends on initial conditions Not stochastic Property of the growth itself (growth equation)
Invasions
Four stages: Transport, Introduction, Establishment, Spread Invasions follow the logistic curve, usually with longer lag phase, followed by exponential growth Invasions reach high densities (e.g. zebra mussels, Opuntia cactus and cactoblastis moth) Escape from density-dependent factors? Probably not. Other possibilities.
Anywhere, everywhere!
Demographic accidents
Habitat loss creates population decrease With smaller populations, risk of extinction increases, due to demographic accidents Chance events have a greater impact on small populations Severe winter, epidemic, predators, etc
Habitat fragmentation
Habitat loss frequently leads to habitat fragmentation This leads to a metapopulation structure Single patches may not be large enough to support a breeding population Dispersal may not be possible to support supplying of extinct patches Patches may go extinct simultaneously
Genetic risks
Smaller populations have increased inbreeding and genetic drift Both lead to increased homozygosity (bottlenecking effect leads to loss of alleles) Increased homozygosity decreases fitness, and thus places population at risk
The end.