Ecology

Populations and Communities

Ecology
 Ecology
– Is the study of the interactions between
organisms and the environment
 These interactions
– Determine both the distribution of
organisms and their abundance

39.1
The environment of any
organism includes
 Abiotic, or nonliving components
– Temperature
– Water
– Sunlight
– Wind
– Rocks and soil
 Biotic, or living components
– All organisms in the environment

39.2
A population
– Is a group of individuals of a single species
living in the same general area
 Density
– Is the number of individuals per unit area or
volume
 Dispersion
– Is the pattern of spacing among individuals
within the boundaries of the population

39.3
 A clumped dispersion
– Is one in which individuals aggregate in
patches
– May be influenced by resource availability
and behavior

(a) Clumped. For many animals, such as these wolves, living

in groups increases the effectiveness of hunting, spreads
the work of protecting and caring for young, and helps
exclude other individuals from their territory.

39.5
 A uniform dispersion
– Is one in which individuals are evenly
distributed
– May be influenced by social interactions
such as territoriality

(b) Uniform. Birds nesting on small islands, such as these

king penguins on South Georgia Island in the South
Atlantic Ocean, often exhibit uniform spacing, maintained
by aggressive interactions between neighbors.

39.5
 A random dispersion
– Is one in which the position of each
individual is independent of other
individuals

(c) Random. Dandelions grow from windblown seeds that

land at random and later germinate.

39.5
Life Tables
A life table
– Is an age-specific summary of the survival
pattern of a population
– Is best constructed by following the fate of
a cohort (group of individuals from a
population)

39.6
 Thelife table of Belding’s ground
squirrels
– Reveals many things about this population

39.6
Life Table for Batteries
Exponential Growth
 The J-shaped curve of exponential growth
– Is characteristic of some populations that are
rebounding
8,000
Elephant population

6,000

4,000

2,000

0
1900 1920 1940 1960 1980
39.7 Year
The Logistic Growth Model
 In the logistic population growth model
– The per capita rate of increase declines
as carrying capacity is reached

39.7
The Logistic Model and Real
Populations
 The growth of 1,000

laboratory 800

Number of Paramecium/ml
populations of 600

paramecia 400

200

– Fits an S-shaped 0
0 5 15
curve
10
Time (days)

(a) A Paramecium population in the lab. The

growth of Paramecium aurelia in small cultures
(black dots) closely approximates logistic
growth (red curve) if the experimenter
39.7 maintains a constant environment.
 Some populations overshoot K
(carrying capacity)
– Before settling down to a relatively stable
density 180

150

Number of Daphnia/50 ml
120

90

60

30

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160

Time (days)

(b) A Daphnia population in the lab. The growth of a population of

Daphnia in a small laboratory culture (black dots) does not
39.8 correspond well to the logistic model (red curve). This population
overshoots the carrying capacity of its artificial environment and
then settles down to an approximately stable population size.
  Some populations
– Fluctuate greatly around K

80

60
Number of females

40

20

0
1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Time (years)

(c) A song sparrow population in its natural habitat.

The population of female song sparrows nesting on
Mandarte Island, British Columbia, is periodically
reduced by severe winter weather, and population
39.8 growth is not well described by the logistic model.
 Population Change and
Population Density
 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

39.9
Competition for Resources
– In crowded populations, increasing population
density intensifies competition for resources

4.0
10,000
Average number of seeds
per reproducing individual

3.8

3.6

Average clutch size

(log scale)

1,000
3.4

3.2

3.0
100
0 2.8
0 10 100 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Seeds planted per m2 Density of females

(a) Plantain. The number of seeds (b) Song sparrow. Clutch size in the song sparrow
produced by plantain (Plantago major) on Mandarte Island, British Columbia, decreases
decreases as density increases. as density increases and food is in short supply.
39.9
Abiotic and Biotic Factors Controlling
Populations
– Many populations
Undergo regular boom-and-bust cycles

Lynx populations are

dependent on the snowshoe

Lynx population size

Hare population size Snowshoe hare
160
hare population in a

(thousands)
(thousands)
120
community Lynx 9
80 6
40 3

39.10 0
1850 1875 1900 1925
0
Year
Abiotic and Biotic Factors Controlling
Populations
 The accumulation of toxic wastes can
contribute to the regulation of
population size
 If snowshoe hares are exposed to toxic
waste that reduces their reproductive
rate, what will happen to the lynx?

39.10
 Human population growth has slowed
after centuries of exponential increase

 No population can grow indefinitely

The Global Human Population
 Thehuman population increased relatively
slowly until about 1650 and then began to
grow exponentially

Human population (billions)

5

2
The Plague
1

0
8000 4000 3000 2000 1000 0 1000 2000
39.11 B.C. B.C. B.C. B.C. B.C. A.D. A.D.
 Though the global population is still
growing
– The rate of growth began to slow
approximately 40 years ago
2.2
2
1.8
1.6

Percent increase
2003
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
39.11 1950 1975 2000 2025 2050
Year
 50

40
Birth or death rate per 1,000 people

30

20

10 Sweden Mexico
Birth rate Birth rate
Death rate Death rate
0
1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000 2050
Year
Age Structure
 Oneimportant demographic factor in
present and future growth trends
– Is a country’s age structure, the relative
number of individuals at each age
  Age structure
– Is commonly represented in pyramids
Rapid growth Slow growth Decrease
Afghanistan United States Italy
Male Female Age Male Female Age Male Female
85+ 85+
80–84 80–84
75–79 75–79
70–74 70–74
65–69 65–69
60–64 60–64
55–59 55–59
50–54 50–54
45–49 45–49
40–44 40–44
35–39 35–39
30–34 30–34
25–29 25–29
20–24 20–24
15–19 15–19
10–14 10–14
5–9 5–9
0–4 0–4
8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8 8 6 4 2 0 2 4 6 8
Percent of population Percent of population Percent of population
Global Carrying Capacity
 Just
how many humans can the
biosphere support?
What Is a Community?
A biological community
– Is an assemblage of populations of
various species living close enough for
potential interaction
A community’s interactions include
competition, predation, herbivory (plant/animal),
symbiosis, and disease
 Populations are linked by interspecific
interactions
– They affect the survival and reproduction of the
species engaged in the interaction

39.12
  Interspecific interactions
– Can have differing effects on the
populations involved

39.12
The Competitive Exclusion
Principle
 The competitive exclusion principle
– States that two species competing for the
same limiting resources cannot coexist in
the same place

39.13
Ecological Niches
 The ecological niche
– Is the total of an organism’s use of the
biotic and abiotic resources in its
environment

39.13
Predation
 Predation refers to an interaction
– Where one species, the predator, kills
and eats the other, the prey
 Feeding adaptations of predators
include
– Claws, teeth, fangs, stingers, and poison
 Animals also display
– A great variety of defensive adaptations

39.14
 Cryptic coloration, or camouflage
– Makes prey difficult to spot

39.14
 Aposematic coloration
– Warns predators to stay away from prey

39.14
 In Batesian mimicry
– A palatable or harmless species mimics
an unpalatable or harmful model

(b) Green parrot snake

39.14 (a) Hawkmoth larva

 In Müllerian mimicry
– Two or more unpalatable species
resemble each other

(a) Cuckoo bee

39.14 (b) Yellow jacket

Parasitism
 The parasite
– Derives its nourishment from another
organism, its host, which is harmed in
the process

39.15
Mutualism
Is an interspecific interaction that
benefits both species

39.15
Commensalism
One species benefits and the other is not
affected

39.15
Trophic Structure
 Trophic structure
– Is the feeding relationships between
organisms in a community
– Is a key factor in community dynamics

39.16
 Quaternary
consumers

 Food chains Carnivore Carnivore

Tertiary
– Link the trophic consumers

levels from Carnivore Carnivore

producers to top Secondary

consumers
carnivores Carnivore Carnivore

Primary
consumers

Herbivore Zooplankton

Primary
producers

39.16 Plant Phytoplankton

A terrestrial food chain A marine food chain
Food Webs Humans

Smaller
Baleen Sperm
A food web whales
toothed
whales
whales

– Is a branching Elephant
Leopard
food chain with Crab-eater
seals seals seals

complex
trophic Birds Fishes Squids

interactions
Carnivorous
plankton

Euphausids Copepods
(krill)

39.16 Phyto-
plankton
Keystone Species
 Keystone species
– Are not necessarily abundant in a
community
– Exert strong control on a community by
their ecological roles, or niches

39.17
 Field studies of sea stars
– Exhibit their role as a keystone species in
intertidal communities

With Pisaster (control)

20

Number of species
15

present
10 Without Pisaster (experimental)

0
1963 ´64 ´65 ´66 ´67 ´68 ´69 ´70 ´71 ´72 ´73

(a) The sea star Pisaster ochraceous feeds (b) When Pisaster was removed from an intertidal zone,
preferentially on mussels but will mussels eventually took over the rock face and eliminated

39.17 consume other invertebrates. most other invertebrates and algae. In a control area from
which Pisaster was not removed, there was little change
in species diversity.
What Is Disturbance?
A disturbance
– Is an event that changes a community
– Removes organisms from a community
– Alters resource availability
 Stability

39.18
 The large-scale fire in Yellowstone
National Park in 1988
– Demonstrated that communities can
often respond very rapidly to a massive
disturbance

(a) Soon after fire. As this photo taken soon after the fire shows, (b) One year after fire. This photo of the same general area taken the
the burn left a patchy landscape. Note the unburned trees in the following year indicates how rapidly the community began to
distance. recover. A variety of herbaceous plants, different from those in the
former forest, cover the ground.

39.18
Ecological Succession
 Ecological succession
– Is the sequence of community and
ecosystem changes after a disturbance
 Primary succession
– Occurs where no soil exists when succession
begins
 Secondary succession
– Begins in an area where soil remains after a
disturbance
39.19
  Retreating glaciers
– Provide a valuable field-research
opportunity on succession
Canada
Grand

Ri

l.
gg

eG
Pacific Gl. Alaska 0 5 10

s
ui

id
Gl
rG

Br
.
1940 1912

Mc
l.
1948 Miles

Pl

.
Gl
at
1899 1941

ea

nt
u

e
em
G
1907 1931 1911

l.
1879 1948

s
Ca
1900
1879 1879 1892 1913
1935 1949

1860
Reid Gl.
1879
Johns Hopkins
Gl. Glacier
Bay

1830
1780

1760
Pleasant Is.

39.19
McBride glacier retreating
  Succession on the moraines in Glacier
Bay, Alaska
– Follows a predictable pattern of change in
vegetation and soil characteristics (a) Pioneer stage, with fireweed dominant

(b) Dryas stage

60

50

40
Soil nitrogen (g/m2)

30

20

10

0
Pioneer Dryas Alder Spruce

39.19 Successional stage

(c) Spruce stage

(d) Nitrogen fixation by Dryas and alder

increases the soil nitrogen content.