CHAPTER 3: POPULATION ECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Chapter Objectives
After studying this chapter the students should be able to:
1. Define population;
2. Identify the factors that affect population growth; and
3. Internalize the effect of population explosion and its effect on the environment.

Introduction

Humans have always been one of the greatest factors in the degradation of energy
resources. The use of resources in the community is vastly affected by the growth of size of
population of living things. Studying the degree of this growth may serve as a warning of what
would happen in the future if living things especially humans will continue to increase their
population dramatically.

Population Characteristics and Growth

Population is a group of similar species living in a certain place at the same time.
Ecologist has always been fascinated in the study of the whole population not a single
organism. Organism is a single, living individual in a certain community such as plant, animal
and other living thing. However the interaction of single organism causes a population to
change.

LEVELS OF INTERACTION

Ecologists study interactions at several levels namely:

a. Individual Level
Ecologists are interested in how organisms react individually in physiological manner.
They are interested in knowing the question of why some organisms can survive in extreme
conditions such as high temperature or a very low temperature.
b. Population Level
The interaction of organisms of the same species is also of great interest to ecologists
since it will open avenues on deeper analysis on the behavior of every individual member of the
population.

c. Communities
The collection of populations at a given locality will also help ecologists to identify the
different variations present in each and every organism.

d. Ecosystem
The community where a single organism live and their interaction with other- factors in
the environment are also of great interests to ecologists. Ecologists believe that each and every
one in an environment is connected with each other. This connection is the basic manifestation
of the word ecosystem.

Population Distribution, Density and Size

Distribution

Characterized by where organisms are found on earth and is determined by biotic

and/or abiotic factors, it is also about where a particular species of organism does occur. The
spatial relationships of individual organisms to one another may take several different forms
and is called dispersion.

Dispersion is the spatial distribution of individuals of a population and come in three

general kinds of patterns:

1. Clumped (aggregated) dispersion occurs when individuals clumped together.

2. Regular dispersion occurs when individuals are of the same distance from one another.

3. Random dispersion occurs when the habitat of organism is relative uniform so individuals are
neither repelled nor attracted to one another.
Population Density
ls the number of individuals per unit area or unit volume (density is a measure of
population size).

Population Size
Pertains to the number of individuals in a population. Like for example the number of
people in the Philippines, number of dogs, narra tree, red roses and even number of tilapia.
There are four primary factors that determine population size:

1. Natality
This is the addition of organisms to population through reproduction. Many organism
reproduce fast and some may not, this is the reason why some organisms are more than the
others. Natality increases population density.
2. Mortality

Mortality is losing a member of the population due to death. Mortality can decrease
population density.

3. Immigration
Immigration is the addition of organisms because of the movement of an organism
from one place to another; immigration has the same effect as natality.

4. Emigration
Emigration is the loss of individuals that move out of the population and has the same
effect as mortality.

Population Growth
Biotic Potential
The possible growth rate of a population of organisms under ideal conditions which
include an absence of predators and an unlimited availability of nutrients and space for
expansion or the capability of a given population under optimum like in an environment
without limiting factors to such growth. With this ideal conditions, the population in a certain
place can grow indefinitely.

Environmental Resistance
This is the total of all inhibitory factors naturally regulating the growth of population
since the environment puts up its resistance after a level often Iess than biotic potential or even
carrying capacity. These resistances may be in the form of changes in environment, natural
calamities such as droughts, storms, typhoons, floods, fires, and similar scenarios or in other
cases, wars, riots, terrorism and the likes. These resistances make the population to a level
below the carrying capacity. This happens because it is but normal that an environment will cut
its population if it knows that it can no longer be sustained.
Carrying Capacity
Defined as the capacity of environment or an ecosystem to support and sustain a level
of population under an ideal set of conditions. Like tor instance the Earth, its carrying capacity
is calculated to be 8- 15 billion, that when this is surpassed, there will be consequences such as
food shortage, shelter shortage and similar situations To sustain a certain environment,
organisms that it can should only be the one that would live in that particular place.
 Limiting factors
Any population has the tendency to grow, the Philippines itself relative wits its booming
population is one of the best example. However, this growth may be prevented not because of
family planning or any counter measures to prevent it but every environment has limiting
factors to prevent population from growing any large. Like for instance 10 elephants may live
in a habitat that has enough water, shelter and space to support 20 elephants, but if there is
only enough food for ten elephants, the population will not grow any larger, hence, food is the
limiting factor. Another example is that, there may be enough food to support a thousand lions
in a certain area, but only suitable shelter for one hundred, rather there is plenty of food,
water, shelter and space to support a larger population of deer in an area, but predators such
as lions and tigers are present that serve as limiting factor.
Limiting factors are somewhat tied to carrying capacity. For instance, animals can
increase in numbers rapidly, and may temporarily exceed the carrying capacity of their habitat
so as a result, organisms may experience anxiety, hunger, sickness, predation and parasites,
poor reproductive success and damage to the habitat.
Multiplying grasshoppers can very quickly eat all the vegetation in a farm but with the
vegetation gone, food becomes the limiting factor and the grasshoppers may starve or move to
another area, thus the farm has a reduced carrying capacity relative to the grasshopper.