GE 15 Module Week 4-5

GE 15 – Environmental Science
Prepared by: Inst. Chelsy Annica G. Villanueva
TABLE OF CONTENTS
This module is not intended for distribution nor for commercial use.
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College of Arts and Sciences Education
2nd Floor DPT Building
Matina Campus, Davao City
Phone No.: (082)300-5456/305-0647 Local 118
Course Outline: GE 15 – Environmental Science
Course Coordinator: Inst. Chelsy Annica G. Villanueva

Email: villanueva_chelsy@umindanao.edu.ph
Course Facilitator: Charlyn T. Gorgonio
Email: charlyn_gorgonio@umindanao.edu.ph
Student Consultation: By appointment
Mobile: 0917-637-7473/0998-954-2928
Phone: (082) 327-5564/(082) 228-2496
Effectivity Date May 2020
Mode of Delivery: Online Blended Delivery
Time Frame: 54 Hours
Student Workload: Expected Self-Directed Learning
Requisites: None
Credit: 3 units
Attendance Requirements: A minimum of 95% attendance is required
at all scheduled Virtual or Face to Face
Sessions
Course Outline Policies

Areas of Concern Details
Contact and Non-contact Hours This 3-unit course self-instructional manual is
designed for blended learning mode of
instructional delivery with scheduled face to
face or virtual sessions. The expected number
of hours will be 54 including the face to face or
virtual sessions. The face to face sessions shall
include the summative assessment tasks
(exams).
Assessment Task Submission Submission of assessment tasks shall be on
the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th weeks of the term.
The assessment paper shall be attached with a
cover page indicating the title of the
assessment task (if the task is a performance),
the name of the course coordinator, date of
submission, and the name of the student. The
document should be emailed to the course
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coordinator.
Penalties for Late Assignments/ The score for an assessment item submitted
Assessments after the designated time on the due date,
without an approved extension of time, will be
reduced by 5% of the possible maximum score
for that assessment item for each day or part
that the assessment item is late.
However, if the late submission of assessment

paper has a valid reason, a letter of explanation
should be submitted and approved by the
course coordinator. If necessary, you will also
be required to present/attach evidences.
Return of Assessment tasks will be returned to you two
Assignments/Assessments (2) weeks after the submission. This will be
returned by email or via Blackboard portal.
For group assessment tasks, the course

coordinator will require some or few of the
students for online or virtual session to ask
clarificatory questions to validate the originality
of the assessment task submitted and to
ensure that all the group members are
involved.
Assignment Resubmission You should request in writing addressed to the
course coordinator his/her intention to resubmit
an assessment task. The resubmission is
premised on the student’s failure to comply with
the similarity index and other reasonable
grounds such as academic literacy standards
or other reasonable circumstances e.g. illness,
accidents, financial constraints.
Re-marking of Assessment You should request in writing addressed to the
Papers and Appeal program coordinator your intention to appeal or
contest the score given to an assessment task.
The letter should explicitly explain the
reasons/points to contest the grade. The
program coordinator shall communicate with
the students on the approval and disapproval of
the request.
If disapproved by the course coordinator, you

can elevate your case to the program head or
the dean with the original letter of request. The
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final decision will come from the dean of the

college.
Grading System All culled from BlackBoard sessions and
traditional
contact
Course discussions/exercises – 30%

1st formative assessment – 10%
2nd formative assessment – 10%
3rd formative assessment – 10%
All culled from on-campus/onsite sessions

(TBA):
Final exam – 40%
Submission of the final grades shall follow the

usual
University system and procedures.
Preferred Referencing Style Use the 7th Edition of the APA Publication
Manual
Student Communication You are required to create a umindanao email
account which is a requirement to access the
BlackBoard portal. Then, the course
coordinator shall enroll the students to have
access to the materials and resources of the
course. All communication formats: chat,
submission of assessment tasks, requests etc.
shall be through the portal and other university
recognized platforms.
You can also meet the course coordinator in

person through the scheduled face to face
sessions to raise your issues and concerns.
For students who have not created their

student email, please contact the course
coordinator or program head.
Contact Details of the Dean Prof. Khristine Marie D. Concepcion, PhD
Email: artsciences@umindanao.edu.ph
Phone: 082-300-5456/305-0647 local 134
Contact Details of the Program Prof. Jason Ben R. Paragamac, EnP
Head Email:
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jasonben_paragamac@umindanao.edu.ph
Phone: 082-3050647 local 118
Students with Special Needs Students with special needs shall communicate
with the course coordinator about the nature of
his or her special needs. Depending on the
nature of the need, the course coordinator may
provide alternative assessment tasks or
extension of the deadline of submission of
assessment tasks. However, the alternative
assessment tasks should still be in the service
of achieving the desired course learning
outcomes.
Instructional Help Desk Contact Prof. Khristine Marie D. Concepcion, PhD
Details Email: artsciences@umindanao.edu.ph
Phone: 082-300-5456/305-0647 local 134
Rosyl S. Matin-ao, CASE LMS Facilitator
Email: rosyl_matinao@umindanao.edu.ph
Phone: 082-300-5456/305-0647 local 149
Library Contact Details Brigida E. Bacani, LIC Head
Email: brigida_bacani@umindanao.edu.ph
Phone: 082-305-0640; 0951-376-6681
Well-Being Welfare Support Ronodora E. Deala, GSTC Head
Help Desk Contact Details Email: ronodora_deala@umindanao.edu.ph
Phone: 0921-212-2846
Carizza Mari C. Tinanac, CASE GSTC
Facilitator
Email:
carizzamari_tinanac@umindanao.edu.ph
Phone: 0977-805-8911
Course Information – see/download course syllabus in the Black Board LMS
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Big Picture
Week 4-5: Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO): At the end of the unit, you are
expected to:
d. Expound the importance of biodiversity and the role of species in an

ecosystem;
e. Define how communities and ecosystem response to the changes in the
environment; and
f. Justify the factors that influence the size of the human population.
Big Picture in Focus: ULO-d. Expound the importance of biodiversity and

the role of species in an ecosystem
Metalanguage
In this section, the essential terms relevant to the study of environmental

science and to demonstrate ULOd will be operationally defined to establish a
standard frame of reference as to how the text work in your chosen field or career.
You will encounter theses terms as we go through the study of environmental
science. Please refer to these definitions in case you will face difficulty in
understanding educational concepts.
1. Amphibians. Animals that spend part of their life on land and part in the water.
2. Animal. A group of living organisms capable of feeling and voluntary motion

feeding on other organisms or organic matters.
3. Aquatic animal. An animal capable of living entirely in the water.
4. Biodiversity. This refers to the variety and variability among living organisms
and the ecological complexes as they occur.
5. Biotic potential. Represents the maximum sustained rate of natality and a

maximum rate of mortality.
6. Bird. A warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrate with two legs and wings, and their
body is usually covered with feathers.
7. Carrying capacity. The maximum population size that the environment can
support without deterioration.
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8. Charismatic species. Used to raise public awareness about conservation, thus

they serve as effective tools for fund-raising and conservation campaigns.
9. Conservation. The wise use of natural resources.
10. Coral reef. A large complex community of marine organisms that thrive on the
calcium carbonate deposits of the seabed.
11. Density. The number of individuals in a population per unit area.
12. Ecosystem diversity. Refers to the variability of habitat and biotic communities
including the variety of ecological processes within the ecosystems.
13. Ectothermic. An animal that maintains its body temperature by absorbing heat
from its environment.
14. Emigration. Movement of individuals out of the area.
15. Endemic species. A species which is also considered good indicators of the
status of habitats and ecosystems.
16. Endemism. Pertains to the restricted distributions of biota at any taxonomic

level.
17. Endothermic. Having body temperature determined by heat derived from

animal’s oxidative metabolism.
18. Endangered species. A species whose prospect of survival and reproduction

is in immediate jeopardy.
19. Extinction. The natural process by which animals are replaced by better-
adapted species.
20. Fauna. Pertains to all species of animals in a given area or region.
21. Fishes. The backboned animals that are able to live in the water throughout
their lives.
22. Flagship species. Either plants or animals that have captured the support and
sympathy of the general public.
23. Flora. Pertains to all species of plants in a given area or region.
24. Genetic diversity. The variation of all living forms at the genetic level.
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25. Habitat. A place where plants and animals live.
26. Immigration. Movement of individuals into the area.
27. Keystone species. One upon which many other species depend on biological
necessities.
28. Mammals. A class of warm-blooded vertebrate animals that have, in the

female, milk-secreting organs for feeding the young.
29. Migration. A two-way movement within the area usually occupied by a species
population.
30. Natality. The number of new individuals produced per unit of time per breeding
individual in the population.
31. Population. A group of individuals of the same species occupying a common

geographical area.
32. Rare species. Those species, although not threaten with extinction, are small
or few throughout its range, and reproduction is in immediate jeopardy.
33. Reptiles. A large of air-breathing scaly vertebrates, including snakes,

crocodiles, and turtles.
34. Resistant species. A species that are resistant to the kind of hunting to which
they are subjected.
35. Sensitive species. Organisms that respond variably to external disturbances.
36. Tolerant species. A species can be used to assess the extent of pollution of an
ecosystem.
37. Umbrella species. Usually one with large habitat or range and exerts major
ecological influence on the community.
38. Vulnerable species. A species of animals or plants which are likely to become
endangered unless something changes.
39. Wildlife. Any plant or animal living in a natural state, be it beneficial or non-
beneficial.
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Essential Knowledge
To perform the aforesaid big picture (unit learning outcomes) for the first
three (3) weeks of the course, you need to fully understand the following essential
knowledge that will be laid down in the succeeding pages. Please note that you are
not limited to refer to these resources exclusively. Thus, you are expected to utilize
other books, research articles, and other resources that are available in the
university’s library e.g. ebrary, search.proquest.com etc.
1. Biodiversity. It is defined as the variety of life in an area that is determined by

the total number of different species. A lot of different species means a lot of
biodiversity. Biodiversity is good for the environment. An ecosystem with
biodiversity is a healthy one because it means that it is in balance and can
support a lot of different organisms.
1.1. The two areas with the most exceptional biodiversity are the rainforest
and coral reefs.
1.2. Biodiversity is good for humans because we get many different products
from many different organisms.
1.3. Biodiversity is a relatively recent term in science, only coming into
common usage in the 1980s. Since then, it has become one of the most
important concepts in environmental science.
1.4. The total number of species present on Earth has increased steadily
over time, punctuated by five periods of mass extinction, and periodic
minor extinction events. From a single species that came into existence
over 3.6 billion years ago, an estimated 8.7 million species have evolved
to populate the planet today. Of these, only about 2 million (14% of
terrestrial species and 9% of those from marine environments) have
actually been described and classified by scientists. This tremendous
number and variety of species that exist on the planet is referred to as
biological diversity or biodiversity.
1.5. The term biodiversity can apply to diversity at all levels of biological
organization: diversity among individuals within a particular species
(genetic diversity), the diversity of species in an ecosystem, and the
diversity of ecosystems on Earth. It applies to terrestrial, aquatic
(freshwater and marine), and atmospheric environments, including those
arising from extensive human modifications such as agricultural
landscapes and urban areas.
2. The Benefits of Biodiversity. The value of a species is often determined by

the degree to which it benefits humans. These include tangible benefits, like
food, building materials, and medicine and indirect benefits, such as aesthetic,
spiritual, and cultural enrichment. However, valuable too is the role biodiversity
plays in the structure and function of the ecosystems on which all life depends.
It is vital that the fragile interconnections among species of every kind are
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maintained. Biodiversity makes this possible. This is true for even the most
inconspicuous biological processes. While organisms that can be seen with the
naked eye get the most attention, those only visible with a microscope are
extremely important to live on Earth
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GK_vRtHJZu4).
2.1. Photosynthesis by microalgae in the oceans and freshwater systems, for

example, accounts for between 45 – 80% of the oxygen in the
atmosphere. Critical ecosystem processes, such as the nitrogen cycle
and decomposition, would not be possible without microscopic bacteria
and fungi. With the development of new techniques in molecular
genetics, scientists have only recently begun to appreciate the vast
genetic diversity of these groups of microscopic organisms. They are
beginning to discover their importance in securing the proper functioning
of ecosystems.
2.2. All species contribute to ecosystem structure and function in distinct

ways, yet have co-evolved in a relationship of interdependence. Often
the loss of a single species can have a dramatic effect on an entire
ecosystem. These species are referred to as keystone species because
they are critical for maintaining overall ecosystem balance.
2.3. Sea otters are an excellent example of a keystone species. Off the coast
of central California, when sea otter populations are healthy, lush kelp
(macroalgae) forests flourish and support a diverse and complex food
web. However, when sea otters are removed, populations of sea urchins,
their favorite prey, expand to very high densities, consuming the kelp
and creating ‘urchin barrens’. Loss of lush kelp forests causes
populations of species that directly or indirectly rely upon them to enter
an imbalance and ultimately to collapse, reducing ecosystem health and
stability.
2.4. Another way biodiversity helps an ecosystem is through resilience. The

more an ecosystem is organically diverse, the more resilient it is to
disturbances such as drought, flooding, storms, or insect population
explosions. Biodiversity increases an ecosystem’s ability to recover from
a disturbance by increasing the chances that a threat to one species can
be compensated by the endurance of another.
3. Ecosystem Services. Without biodiversity, the properties and processes of

Earth on which human and non-human life depends would not exist. Scientists
identify several fundamental benefits of biodiversity to life on Earth. Since the
2005 Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (MEA), these benefits have
commonly been referred to as “ecosystem services.” In the MEA document
Ecosystems and Human Well-Being: Synthesis, these services are divided into
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four categories: provisioning services, supporting services, cultural services,

and regulating services. Provisioning services supply goods that directly benefit
people, such as food, timber, medicinal plants, and freshwater. Supporting
services are processes of nature essential to the functioning of the ecosystem
as a whole. These include the formation of soils and the cycling of nutrients.
Cultural services are the educational, recreational, aesthetic, and spiritual
contributions that nature makes to the richness of human life. Regulating
services are the range of functions carried out by ecosystems that modulate
climate, decompose waste, filter, and water, and pollinate plants.
Humans are inextricably dependent on nature. Maintaining ecosystem health

is essential for ensuring a continued supply of ecosystem services.
4. How Did Biodiversity Come About?

The rich diversity of life on Earth has arisen from the process of evolution,
defined as the successive change in inherited traits and adaptations of
biological populations of organisms over time. Largely responsible are two
processes, mutation, and natural selection, acting on a template of
environmental change, some of which is caused by the evolving life itself.
4.1. Mutation. Mutations are changes in genes that code for different traits,
sometimes resulting in a different physical variation of that trait.
Mutations are the original source of variation in attributes among
individuals and are the base cause of genetic diversity. Such changes
can be beneficial or harmful, or they can have no influence on
survivability. It depends on the environment. For example, a mutation in
the white-colored peppered moth of England once produced a dark-
colored form that was easily seen by predators on light-colored lichen-
covered bark, but well camouflaged on trees with darker bark. During the
Industrial Revolution, when coal was burned as fuel in London homes
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and industry, the soot in the air killed the lichens on the bark, so the light-
colored peppered moth became vulnerable to predation by birds, while
the dark-colored mutant had a competitive advantage in the new
environment.
4.2. Natural Selection. As a consequence of genetic diversity, members of a

given species differ from one another in their physical traits (phenotype).
It is this variation in phenotype within species that allows for the
occurrence of natural selection, a mechanism of evolution postulated by
Charles Darwin in his book On the Origin of Species: By Means of
Natural Selection (first published in 1859).
Populations are always composed of individuals of one species that

differ slightly in physical attributes. Some traits possessed by specific
individuals will be better suited to a given set of environmental conditions
than others. Individuals with favorable traits, known as adaptations, are
more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass their genes on to their
offspring. Over many generations, the percentage of individuals with
adaptive traits increases, thus adapting the whole population to a given
habitat. Therefore, natural selection operates on the natural genetic
variation within a population, selecting for the traits that are most well
adapted to the environmental pressures of that habitat.
5. Important Evolutionary Events in Planet History. The evolution of life on

Earth has been characterized by ongoing increases in the number of species
punctuated by recurrent and mass extinction events that significantly reduce the
species number. These patterns are influenced by biological changes in the
environment, some of which are caused by activities of life itself. This includes
human activities, the most devastating being the present-time Anthropocene
Mass Extinction. Scientists believe this is the largest extinction event in history
(see below). Over the past 500 years, human activities have destroyed 25% of
all mammal species, with one-third of all remaining vertebrate species now
threatened. Other pre-historic extinctions have been caused by the movement
of landmasses via continental drift and tremendous meteor impacts to the
Earth.
Perhaps the most influential biological innovation to arise since life has
existed was the evolution of photosynthesis about 3.4 billion years ago. By
utilizing the abundant supply of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas in their surrounding
environment, species that could photosynthesize were able to harness the
abundant energy of the sun. They used this energy to build sugar, which stored
the energy in chemical bonds to use later in building structural molecules such
as carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins that contribute to their growth and
reproduction. Interestingly, the process of photosynthesis produces oxygen
(O2) as a waste product.
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Over two billion years, photosynthetic activity by plants and algae allowed
O2 concentrations to increase in the atmosphere and oceans. This led to
significant evolutionary changes.
5.1. First, it allowed the formation of the ozone layer (O3) in the upper
atmosphere, which blocks harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation from
reaching the Earth’s surface. This UV protection allowed photosynthetic
species to live in shallower waters or closer to the ocean surface where
they had better access to light, supplying more food to non-
photosynthetic species.
5.2. Second, it allowed the evolution of the biochemical process of cellular

respiration. Through this process, which requires O2, an anaerobic
organism can extract 18 times more chemical energy from a molecule of
sugar than the earlier, ancestral anaerobic life forms. This increased
energy efficiency and made possible the evolution of more complex
forms of life, which grew from the first single-celled organisms to
complex organisms with cells that differentiated to form tissues of
various functions, such as muscle, bone, nerve, skin, etc.
Changes in the orientation of landmasses by continental drift have strongly

affected patterns of change in biodiversity. For example, the mass extinction at
the end of the Permian Era, 250 million years ago, occurred at a time when
landmasses on Earth were joined into a single ‘supercontinent’ called Pangaea.
During this time, the connected landmasses extended to both the North and
South poles, allowing the formation of ice-caps. At the same time, extensive
volcanic activity in what is now Siberia covered vast areas of the landscape with
lava flows. Evidence also suggests the Earth suffered a massive meteor impact
at this time. This combination of catastrophic events caused the extinction of
over 90% of marine species and an estimated 70% of terrestrial species, the
largest loss of species, on a percentage basis, in the history of life on Earth up
until that point. To grasp more about evolution, watch this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P3GagfbA2vo.
Think about this: all life today has evolved from those species that survived
each mass extinction event. If a different set of species survived any of these
evolutionary events, life on Earth would look much different than it does today.
If any of these events drove the ancestor from which mammals ultimately
descended to extinction, humans would not exist.
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Self-Help: You can also refer to the sources below to help you further
understand the lesson.
*Ayers, John C. 2017. Sustainability: an environmental science perspective. CR

Press: New York
*Enger, Eldon D. 2016. Environmental Science: a study of interrelationships. 14th
Ed. New York: McGraw Hill Education
*Moreto, W. D. (2018). Wildlife crime : From theory to practice. Retrieved from
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
*Zachos, F., & Asher, R. (Eds.). (2018). Mammalian evolution, diversity and
systematics. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
*Gro, V. S. A., Devine, J., Glenner, H., Hestetun, J. T., Jensen, K. H., & Sjøtun, K.
(Eds.). (2018). Marine ecological field methods : A guide for marine
biologists and fisheries scientists. Retrieved from
*Lindenmayer, D., Michael, D., Crane, M., Okada, S., Barton, P., Ikin, K., &
Florance, D. (2017). Wildlife conservation in farm landscapes. Retrieved
from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
*Parris, K. M. (2016). Ecology of urban environments. Retrieved from
*Moore, P. D., Cox, C. B., & Ladle, R. J. (2016). Biogeography : An ecological and
evolutionary approach. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
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ULO-d Let’s Check
Activity 1. Now that you know the essential terms in biodiversity and evolution let
us try to check your understanding of these terms. In the space provided, write the
definition of the following terms:
1. Biodiversity
2. Emigration
3. Immigration
4. Endemism
5. Fauna
6. Migration
7. Keystone Species
8. Vulnerable Species
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9. Wildlife
10. Extinction
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ULO-d Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Getting acquainted with the essential terms in the study of biodiversity
and evolution is not enough; what also matters is you should also be able to
explain its interrelationships. Now, I will require you to explain your answers
thoroughly.
1. How might we and other species be affected if most or all amphibians were to
go extinct?
2. Is the human species a keystone species? Explain. If humans were to become

extinct, what are three species that might also become extinct, and what are
three species whose populations would probably grow?
3. List three aspects of your lifestyle that could be contributing to some of the
losses of the earth’s biodiversity. For each of these, what are some ways to
avoid making this contribution?
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4. What role does each of the following processes play in helping to implement
the three scientific principles of sustainability: (a) natural selection, (b)
speciation, and (c) extinction?
5. How would you respond to someone who says that because extinction is a
natural process, we should not worry about the loss of biodiversity when
species become extinct largely as a result of our activities?
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In a Nutshell
Activity 1. Study an ecosystem of your choices, such as a patch of a forest, a

meadow, a garden, or an area of wetland. If you cannot do this physically, do so
virtually by reading about an ecosystem online or in a library.
a) Determine and list five major plant species and five major animal species in
your ecosystem.
b) Write hypotheses about
 Which of these species, if any are indicator species, and
 Which of them, if any, are keystone species.
c) Explain how you arrived at your hypotheses. The design an experiment to
test each of your hypotheses, assuming you would have unlimited means to
carry them out.
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Big Picture in Focus: ULO-e. Define how communities and ecosystem

response to the changes in the environment
Metalanguage
In this section, the essential terms relevant to the study of species

interactions, ecological succession, and population control and to demonstrate
ULOe will be operationally defined to establish a standard frame of reference as to
how the text work in your chosen field or career. You will encounter theses terms
as we go through the study of environmental science. Please refer to these
definitions in case you will face difficulty in understanding educational concepts.
1. Interspecific Competition. A form of competition between different species

inhabiting the same ecological area.
2. Predation. A form of a symbiotic relationship between two organisms of unlike

species in which one of them acts as a predator that captures and feeds on the
other organism that serves as the prey.
3. Parasitism. A form of symbiosis in which one organism called parasite benefits

at the expense of another organism, usually of different species called the host.
The association may lead to the injury of the host.
4. Mutualism. A form of symbiosis that is characterized by both species benefiting

from the association.
5. Commensalism. A form of symbiosis between two organisms of different

species in which one of the benefits from the association, whereas the other, is
mainly unaffected or not significantly harmed or benefiting from the relationship.
6. Symbiosis. A close, long-term association between organisms of different

species.
7. Niche. The role or function of an organism or species in an ecosystem.
8. Prey. The animal being hunted.
9. Predator. An organism that preys upon other organisms.
10. Predator-Prey Relationship. An interaction between two organisms of unlike

species in which one of them acts as a predator that captures and feeds on the
other organism that serves as the prey.
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11. Coevolution. Two or more species having a close ecological relationship

evolve together such that one species adapt to the changes of the other,
thereby affecting each other’s evolution.
12. Ecological Succession. The progressive succession of a community or group

of species in an ecosystem over time.
13. Primary Succession. An ecological succession where a newly formed area is

colonized for the first time by a group of species or a community.
14. Secondary Succession. The ecological succession that occurs on a

preexisting soil after the primary succession has been disrupted or destroyed
due to a disturbance that reduced the population of the initial inhabitants.
15. Population. A group of organisms of one species that interbreed and live in the
same place at the same time.
16. Population Density. The number of individuals in a population relative to

space.
17. Carrying Capacity. The maximum load of an environment.
Essential Knowledge
1. How Do Species Interact?

There are five types of interactions among species – interspecific competition,
predation, parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism – affect the resource use
and population sizes of species.
1.1. Competition. Competition is most typically considered the interaction of

individuals that vie for a common resource that is in limited supply but
more generally can be defined as the direct or indirect interaction of
organisms that leads to a change in fitness when the organisms share
the same resource. The outcome usually has adverse effects on the
weaker competitors. Competition within a species is called intraspecific
competition, but interspecific competition, or competition among
different species, plays a larger role in most ecosystems. Most
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interspecific competition involves one species becoming more different

than others in obtaining the resources it needs.
a. Interspecific Competition. Interspecific competition may take place by

interference or exploitation. Interference is more direct; the two
species actively fight or interfere with each other. Black walnut trees,
for example, secrete compounds that inhibit the growth of other
plants. Exploitation, by contrast, is a more-indirect form where
different species compete not by directly attacking or interfering with
each other, but by exploiting the resource and thus leaving less
available for their competitors.
b. Intraspecific Competition. Like the interspecific competition,
intraspecific competition is highly density-dependent, meaning that
the more densely populated the ecosystem, the more competition will
occur. The intraspecific competition also features interference, where
organisms directly fight for the resource, and exploitative competition,
where they compete indirectly. Among sexually reproducing species,
competition for mates is often an especially dramatic form of
intraspecific competition. Male peacocks and elk both exhibit striking
features, which they evolved as a result of sexual selection.
When two species compete with one another for the same resources,
their niches overlap. The greater this overlap, the more they compete for
key resources. If one species can take over the largest share of one or
more key resources, each of the competing species must move to
another area (if possible), adapt by shifting its feeding habits or behavior
through natural selection to reduce or alter its niche, suffer a sharp
population decline, or become extinct in that area.
Competition happens when not enough of a given resource is

available to go around. That resource could be one of many things.
Trees in a forest, for example, need access to light; by growing tall, they
ensure their own access but deny it to others. Bacteria in a petri dish all
need sugars and nutrients to grow, but both are present in limited
amounts. Cheetahs compete for prey with other predators in some parts
of their range. Whether it be space, food, or nutrients, a resource in short
supply engenders competition.
Humans compete with many other species for space, food, and other
resources. As our ecological footprints grow and spread, we are taking
over or degrading the habitats of many other species and depriving them
of the resources they need in order to survive.
Over a time scale long enough for natural selection to occur,

populations of some species develop adaptations that allow them to
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reduce or avoid competition with other species for resources. One way
this happens is through resource partitioning, which occurs when
species competing for similar scarce resources evolve specialized traits
that allow them to share resources using parts of them, using them at
different times, or using them in different ways
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7EAKwrRXco).
1.2. Predation. In predation, one organism kills and consumes another.

Predation provides energy to prolong life and promote the reproduction
of the organism that does the killing, the predator, to the detriment of the
organism being consumed, the prey. Predation influences organisms at
two ecological levels. At the level of the individual, the prey organism has
an abrupt decline in fitness, as measured by its lifetime reproductive
success, because it will never reproduce again. At the level of the
community, predation reduces the number of individuals in the prey
population.
The best-known examples of predation involve carnivorous

interactions, in which one animal consumes another. Think of wolves
hunting moose, owls hunting mice, or shrews hunting worms and
insects. Less obvious carnivorous interactions involve many small
individuals consuming a larger one. Such group predation is common
among social carnivores such as lions, hyenas, and wolves. Group
predation also occurs with ants and social spiders. This is, however, only
part of the picture. Seed consumption can sometimes constitute
predation. Seeds are considered organisms. Under ideal circumstances,
seeds grow to become plants. However, consumption of a seed kills the
plant before it can grow, making seed consumption an example of
predation.
Not all predators are animals. Carnivorous plants, such as the Venus
flytrap and the pitcher plant, consume insects. Pitcher plants catch their
prey in a pool of water containing digestive enzymes. In contrast, the
Venus flytrap captures an insect between the two lobes of a leaf. It seals
the insect inside with digestive enzymes. These plants absorb nutrients
from the insects as they become available during digestion. On a
microscopic scale, protozoa and bacteria also consume prey organisms.
They play an essential role in maintaining population sizes in microbial
communities, which promotes the diversity of microorganisms and
contributes to a stable community structure.
In predation, a member of one species feeds directly on all or part of

a living organism as part of a food web. Together, the two different
species –such as a lion, the predator, and a zebra, its prey – are
engaged in a predator-prey relationship. This species interaction has a
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strong effect on population sizes and other factors in many ecosystems.

Other predators use camouflage to hide in plain sight and ambush their
prey.
Prey species have evolved many ways to avoid predators, including

abilities to run, swim, or fly fast, and some have highly developed senses
of sight, sound, or smell that alert them to the presence of predators.
Other adaptations include protective shells, thick bark, spines, and
thorns. Other prey species use the camouflage of certain shapes or
colors. Some insect species have shapes that look like twigs, or birds
dropping on leaves.
Many bad-tasting, bad-smelling, toxic, or stinging prey species have

evolved warning coloration, brightly colored advertising that helps
experienced predators to recognize and avoid them.
Some butterfly species gain protection by looking and acting like other
other, more dangerous species, a protective device known as mimicry
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyzsbSJyRKs). Other prey species use
behavioral strategies to avoid predation.
Chemical Welfare is another common strategy for prey species.

Some discourage predators by containing or emitting chemicals that are
poisonous, irritating, smelling, or bad-tasting.
Interactions between predator and prey species can drive each

other’s evolution. At the individual level, members of the predator
species benefit from their predation, and members of the prey species
are harmed. At the population level, predation plays a role in natural
selection.
When populations of two different species interact in such a way over

a long period, changes in the gene pool of populations, one species can
lead to changes in the gene pool of the other. Such changes can help
both competing species to become more competitive or to avoid or
reduce competition. Biologists call this natural selection process
coevolution (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDVbt2qQRqs).
1.3. Parasitism. It occurs when one species feeds on another organism,

usually by living on or inside the host. In this relationship, the parasite
benefits, and the host is often harmed.
A parasite usually is much smaller than ts host and rarely kills it.
However, most parasites remain closely associated with their hosts,
draw nourishment from them, and may gradually weaken them.
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Some parasites such as tapeworms live inside their hosts. Others,

such as mistletoe plants and blood-sucking sea lampreys attach
themselves to the outsides of their hosts. Some parasites, including fleas
and ticks, move from one host to another while others, including
tapeworms, spend their adult lives within a single host. Parasites harm
their hosts but help to keep the populations of their hosts in check.
1.4. Mutualism. Two species behave in ways that benefit both providing
each with food, shelter, or some other resource. One example is the
pollination of flowering plants by species such as honeybees,
hummingbirds, and butterflies that feed on the nectar of flowers.
A mutualistic relationship is when two organisms of different species

"work together," each benefiting from the relationship. One example of a
mutualistic relationship is that of the oxpecker (a kind of bird) and the
rhinoceros or zebra. Oxpeckers land on rhinos or zebras and eat ticks
and other parasites that live on their skin. The oxpeckers get food, and
the beasts get pest control. Also, when there is danger, the oxpeckers fly
upward and scream a warning, which helps the symbiont (a name for the
other partner in a relationship).
Organisms in a mutualistic relationship evolved together. Each was

part of the other's environment, so as they adapted to their environment,
they "made use of" each other in a way that benefited both.
Here are three other examples of mutualistic relationships:
1. The bee and the flower. Bees fly from flower to flower gathering
nectar, which they make into food, benefiting the bees. When they land
in flower, the bees get some pollen on their hairy bodies, and when they
land in the next flower, some of the pollen from the first one rubs off,
pollinating the plant. This benefits the plants. In this mutualistic
relationship, the bees get to eat, and the flowering plants get to
reproduce.
2. The spider crab and the algae. Spider crabs live in shallow areas of
the ocean floor, and greenish-brown algae live on the crabs' backs,
making the crabs blend in with their environment, and unnoticeable to
predators. The algae get a good place to live, and the crab gets
camouflage.
3. The bacteria and human. A certain kind of bacteria lives in the

intestines of humans and many other animals. The human cannot digest
all of the food that it eats. The bacteria eat the food that the human
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cannot digest and partially digest it, allowing the human to finish the job.
The bacteria benefit by getting food, and the human benefits by being
able to digest the food it eats.
Here is an example of mutualism in the environment:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjXKnVjs5R4.
1.5. Commensalism. It is an interaction that benefits one species but has

little if any, beneficial or harmful effect on the other. One example
involves plants called epiphytes, which attach themselves to the trunks
or branches of trees in tropical and subtropical forests. Epiphytes benefit
by having a solid base on which to grow in an elevated location that
gives them better access to sunlight, water from the humid air and rain,
and nutrients falling from the tree’s upper leaves and limbs. Their
presence apparently does not harm the tree. Similarly, birds benefit by
nesting in trees, generally without harming them
(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnbiLvzc13g).
2. Limits The Growth of Populations. No population can grow indefinitely

because of limitations on resources and because of competition among species
for those resources. Populations grow at geometric or exponential rates in the
presence of unlimited resources. Geometric populations grow through pulsed
reproduction (e.g., the annual reproduction of deer, which has a constrained
mating and reproduction season). Exponential populations grow continuously,
with reproduction occurring at any time, such as among humans. All
populations begin exponential growth in favorable environments and at low
population densities. Because of this, exponential growth may apply to
populations establishing new environments, during transient, favorable
conditions, and by populations with low initial population density.
However, geometrical or exponential growth cannot continue indefinitely. In

nature, population growth must eventually slow, and population size ceases to
increase. As resources are depleted, population growth rate slows and
eventually stops: This is known as logistic growth. The population size at which
growth stops is generally called the carrying capacity (K), which is the number
of individuals of a particular population that the environment can support. At
carrying capacity, because population size is approximately constant, birthrates
must equal death rates, and population growth is zero.
2.1. Populations can grow, shrink, or remain stable. A population is a

group of interbreeding individuals of the same species. Most populations
live together in clumps such as packs of wolves, schools of fish, and
flocks of birds. This allows them to cluster where resources are
available. Living in groups can also provide some protection from
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predators, and living in packs gives some predator species a better

chance of getting a meal.
Four variables – births, deaths, immigration, and emigration – govern

changes in population size. A population increases through birth and
immigration and decreases through death and emigration.
Population Change = (Births + Immigration) – (Deaths + Emigration)
A population’s age structure – its distribution of individuals among

various age groups – can have a strong effect on how rapidly it grows or
declines. Age groups are usually described in terms of organisms not
mature enough to reproduce (the pre-reproductive stage), those capable
of reproduction (the reproductive stage), and those too old to reproduce
(the postreproductive stage).
The size of a population will likely increase if its made up mostly of

individuals in their reproductive stage, or soon to enter this stage. In
contrast, the size of a population dominated by individuals in their
postreproductive stage will tend to decrease over time.
2.2. Factors That Can Limit Population Size. Each population in an

ecosystem has a range of tolerance – a range of variations in its physical
and chemical environment under which it can survive. The population
can increase without limit. Instead, populations in natural ecosystems
increase or decrease in response to the changes in the factors that
restrict growth. Many factors influence population densities and growth,
and these factors may lead to oscillations in population size over time. It
is also often difficult to determine the exact factor limiting growth. Many
different factors may combine to produce unexpected results.
One organism that experiences rapid oscillations in population density

in response to growth limiting factors is the lemming. Lemmings are
small rodents that live in the high-Arctic tundra of Greenland and other
arctic environments across the world. One species, the collared lemming
(Dycrostonyx groenlandicus), is a chubby-looking rodent living in the
arctic of North America and Greenland. It is food for several vertebrate
predators, including the stoat (a short-tailed weasel), the arctic fox, the
snowy owl, and the long-tailed skua (a seabird). Because of the
simplicity of this system, lemming population dynamics make an
excellent case study for examining the factors regulating population
growth. Gilg et al. (2003) studied this system in the Karup Valley of
northeast Greenland. The lemming population increased and decreased
in a regular four-year cycle during the study period, 1988–2002 (Figure
1). The number of lemmings increased to as many as ten per hectare.
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Gilg et al. (2003) found that the single most important factor limiting the
lemming population size was the predation pressure affecting those
populations. The owl, fox, and skua switched to lemming predation as
the lemming numbers increased, preventing rapid population growth. As
the lemmings provided the stoat with additional food, their reproductive
success increased, allowing an increased stoat population. Stoat
population expansion eventually overran lemming population growth,
and the lemming population collapsed, soon followed by a collapse in the
stoat population, and the cycle repeated itself.
A limiting factor is anything that constrains a population's size and

slows or stops it from growing. Some examples of limiting factors are
biotic, like food, mates, and competition with other organisms for
resources. Others are abiotic, like space, temperature, altitude, and
amount of sunlight available in an environment. Limiting factors are
usually expressed as a lack of a particular resource. For example, if
there are not enough prey animals in a forest to feed a large population
of predators, then food becomes a limiting factor. Likewise, if there is not
enough space in a pond for a large number of fish, then space becomes
a limiting factor. There can be many different limiting factors at work in a
single habitat, and the same limiting factors can affect the populations of
both plant and animal species. Ultimately, limiting factors determine a
habitat's carrying capacity, which is the maximum size of the population
it can support.
a. Density Dependent Limitation. Limitations to population growth are

either density-dependant or density-independent. Density-dependent
factors include disease, competition, and predation. Density-
dependant factors can have either a positive or a negative correlation
to population size. With a positive relationship, these limiting factors
increase with the size of the population and limit growth as population
size increases. With a negative relationship, population growth is
limited at low densities and becomes less limited as it grows.
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Density-dependent factors may influence the size of the population

by changes in reproduction or survival. Wauters & Lens (1995)
studied how food availability and density combine to limit red squirrel
reproduction rates. The red squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris) is a small
rodent inhabiting forests in Europe and Asia. They studied squirrels in
both coniferous and deciduous woodlands and investigated how
limitations in food resulted in limitations in reproduction as population
densities increased. They found that when squirrel densities were
high, territoriality relegated some females to a poor quality territory,
which in turn reduced their reproductive success. When squirrel
densities were low, no females occupied the low-quality territory.
Thus, it was not all individuals suffering from reduced ability to
reproduce (e.g., fecundity) due to the density increase. Instead, a
higher proportion of the population was living in poor-quality habitat.
In contrast, those still living in suitable habitat continued to have
success. This, in turn, led to a decrease in per capita birth rate, a
limitation in population growth as a function of population density.
Density dependant factors may also affect population mortality

and migration. Clutton-Brock et al. (2002) found these density-
dependent controls in a population of red deer (Cervus elaphus) in
the Scottish Highlands. Both juvenile and adult mortality was
significantly affected by population density, with juvenile mortality
more strongly influenced than adult mortality. Furthermore, they
found that these differences were greater among males than females,
so that increasing population density caused a shift in the sex ratio of
females to males. This effect was enhanced by decreased male
immigration and increased male emigration. Thus, density-dependent
controls on population growth not only increased with increasing
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density but also differentially affected males and females within the
population.
b. Density Independent Limitation. Factors that decrease population

growth can be defined as environmental stress, including limitations
in food, predation, and other density-dependent factors (Sibley &
Hone 2002). However, many sources of environmental stress affect
population growth, irrespective of the density of the population.
Density-independent factors, such as environmental stressors and
catastrophe, are not influenced by population density change. While
the previously mentioned density-dependent factors are often biotic,
density-independent factors are often abiotic. These density-
independent factors include food or nutrient limitation, pollutants in
the environment, and climate extremes, including seasonal cycles
such as monsoons. In addition, catastrophic factors can also impact
population growth, such as fires and hurricanes.
The quality of nutrients (e.g., food quality, amount of particular

plant nutrients) in an environment affects the ability of an organism to
survive, grow, and reproduce. The lower the quality of the nutrients,
the higher the environmental stress. In the freshwater Laurentian
Great Lakes, particularly in Lake Erie, the factor limiting algal growth
was found to be phosphorus. David Schindler and his colleagues at
the Experimental Lakes Area (Ontario, Canada) demonstrated that
phosphorus was the growth-limiting factor in temperate North
American lakes using whole-lake treatment and controls (Schindler
1974). This work encouraged the passage of the Great Lakes Water
Quality Agreement of 1972 (GLWQA 1972) — a reduction in
phosphorus load from municipal sources was predicted to lead to a
corresponding reduction in the total algal biomass and harmful
cyanobacterial (blue-green algae) blooms (McGuken 2000). As
annual phosphorus loads decreased in the mid 1980s (Dolan 1993),
there was some indication that Lake Erie was improving in terms of
decreased total phytoplankton (photosynthetic algae and
cyanobacteria) biomass (Makarewicz 1993). Further improvement
continued until the mid 1990s, until an introduced species, the zebra
mussel, began altering the internal phosphorus dynamics of the lake
by mineralization (excretion) of digested algae (Conroy et al. 2005).
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Pollutants also contribute to environmental stress, limiting the

growth rates of populations. Although each species has specific
tolerances for environmental toxins, amphibians, in general, are
particularly susceptible to pollutants in the environment. For example,
pesticides and other endocrine-disrupting toxins can actively control
the growth of amphibians (Blaustein et al. 2003). These chemicals
are used to control agricultural pests but also run into freshwater
streams and ponds where amphibians live and breed. They affect the
amphibians both with direct increases in mortality and indirect
limitation in growth, development, and reduction in fecundity. Rohr et
al. (2003) found, among many other examples, that these
compounds affect salamander embryo survival in affected ponds,
increased deformities, and delayed development and growth,
lengthening their vulnerability to predators by remaining small-sized
for longer periods. These effects limit population growth irrespective
of the size of the amphibian population. They are not limited to
pesticides but also include pH and thermal pollution, herbicides,
fungicides, heavy metal contaminations, etc.
Environmental catastrophes such as fires, earthquakes,

volcanoes, and floods can strongly affect population growth rates via
direct mortality and habitat destruction. A large-scale natural
catastrophe occurred in 2005 when hurricane Katrina impacted the
coastal regions of the Gulf of Mexico in the southern United States.
Katrina altered habitat for coastal vegetation by depositing more than
5 cm of sediment over the entire coastal wetland zone. In these
areas, substantial improvement in the quality of wetlands for plant
growth occurred after many years of wetland loss due to control of
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the Mississippi River flow (Turner et al. 2006). At the same time,
however, almost 100 km2 of wetland was destroyed and converted to
open sea, eliminating wetland vegetation (Day et al. 2007). More
recently, the Gulf oil spill in 2010 has again impacted the coastal
wetland vegetation. Though human-derived, this large-scale
environmental disaster will have long-term impacts on the population
growth of not only vegetation but all organisms in the wetlands and
nearshore regions of the Gulf of Mexico.
2.3. No Population Can Grow Indefinitely. Some species have an

incredible ability to increase their numbers and grow exponentially.
Plotting these numbers against time yields a J-shaped curve of
exponential growth. Members of such populations typically reproduce at
an early age, have many offspring each time they reproduce, and
reproduce many times, with short intervals between successive
generations.
However, there are always limits to population growth in nature.

Research reveals that a rapidly growing population of any species
eventually reaches some size limit imposed by limiting factors such as
sunlight, water, temperature, space, or nutrients, or by exposure to
predators or infectious diseases. The sum of all such factors in any
habitat is called environmental resistance. These limiting factors
largely determine an area’s carrying capacity: the maximum population
of a given species that a particular habitat can sustain indefinitely. As the
population approaches the carrying capacity of its habitat, the J-shaped
curve of its exponential growth is converted to an S-shaped curve of
logistic growth or growth that fluctuates around a certain level.
Some populations do not make a smooth transition from exponential

growth to logistic growth. Instead, they use up their resource supplies
and temporarily overshoot, or exceed, the carrying capacity of their
environment. In such cases, the population suffers a sharp decline,
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called dieback, or population crash, unless part of the population can

switch to new resources or move to an area that has more resources.
2.4. Different Species Have Different Reproductive Patterns. Species

vary in their reproductive patterns. Those that have a capacity for a high
rate of population increase are called r-selected species. They tend to
have a short life span and to have many, usually small, offspring to give
them little or no parental care or protection. They overcome typically
massive losses of offspring by producing so many offspring that a few
will likely survive to reproduce many more offspring to keep this
reproductive pattern going. Examples include algae, bacteria, and most
insects.
Such species tend to be opportunists. They reproduce and disperse

rapidly when conditions are favorable or when a disturbance such as fire
or clear-cutting opens up a new habitat or niche for invasion. However,
once established, their populations may crash because of unfavorable
changes in environmental conditions or invasion by more competitive
species. This helps explain why most opportunist species go through
irregular and unstable boom-and-bust cycles in their population sizes.
At the other extreme are K-selected species. They tend to reproduce

later in life and have a small number of offspring with fairly long life
spans. Typically, the offspring of K-selected mammal species develop
inside their mothers and are born fairly large. After birth, they mature
slowly and are cared for and protected by one or both parents, and in
some cases, by living in herds or groups until they reach reproductive
age and begin the cycle again. Most organisms have reproductive
patterns between the extremes of r-selected and K-selected species.
Such species are called K-selected species because they tend to do

well in competitive conditions when their population size is near the
carrying capacity (K) of their environment. Most large mammals (such as
elephants, whales, and humans), birds of prey, and large and long-lived
plants (such as the saguaro cactus, and most tropical rain forest trees)
are K-selected species. Many of these species – especially those with
low reproductive rates, such as elephants, sharks, giant redwood trees,
and California’s southern sea otters – are vulnerable to extinction.
2.5. Species vary in their typical life spans. Individuals of species with
different reproductive strategies tend to have different life expectancies
or expected lengths of life. This can be illustrated by a survivorship
curve, which shows the percentages of the members of a population
surviving at different ages. There are three generalized types of
survivorship curves: late loss, early loss, and constant loss.
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a. A late loss population (such as elephants and rhinoceroses) typically

has high survivorship to a certain age, then high mortality.
b. A constant loss population (such as many songbirds) shows a fairly
constant death rate at all ages.
c. For an early loss population (such as annual plants and many bony
fishes), survivorship is low early in life. These generalized
survivorship curves only approximate the realities of nature.
3. Humans Are Not Exempt From Nature’s Population Controls

Humans are not exempt from population crashes. In 1845, Ireland
experienced such a crash after a fungus destroyed its potato crop. About 1
million people died from hunger or disease related to malnutrition, and millions
more emigrated to other countries, sharply reducing the Irish population.
During the 14th century, the plague spread through densely populated
European cities. It killed at least 25 million people, amounting to one-third of the
European population. The bacterium causing this disease usually lives in
rodents. It was transferred to humans by fleas that fed on infected rodents and
then bit humans. The disease spread like wildfire through crowded cities, where
sanitary conditions were poor, and rats were abundant. Today, several
antibiotics can be used to treat bubonic plague.
So far, technological, social, and other cultural changes have expanded the
earth’s carrying capacity for the human species. We have used large amounts
of energy and matter resources to occupy formerly uninhabitable areas, to
expand agriculture, and to control the populations of other species that compete
with us for resources. Some say we can keep expanding our ecological
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footprint in this way indefinitely, mostly because of our technological ingenuity.

Others say that sooner or later, we will reach the limits that exceed or degrades
its resource base.
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Press: New York
*Moore, P. D., Cox, C. B., & Ladle, R. J. (2016). Biogeography : An ecological and
evolutionary approach. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
* Eichhorn, M. (2016). Natural systems : The organisation of life. Retrieved from
*Isaev, A. S., Tarasova, O. V., Palnikova, E. N., Kovalev, A. V., & Soukhovolsky,
V. G. (2017). Forest insect population dynamics, outbreaks, and global
warming effects. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
*Liang, J. (2018). The demographics of innovation : Why demographics is a key to
the innovation race. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
*Panik, M. J. (2017). Stochastic differential equations : An introduction with
applications in population dynamics modeling. Retrieved from
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ULO-e Let’s Check
Activity 1. Now that you know the essential terms in species interactions and
population control let us try to check your understanding of these terms. In the
space provided, write the definition of the following terms:
1. Age Structure
2. Limiting Factor
3. Population Crash
4. Commensalism
5. Resilience
6. Mutualism
7. Parasitism
8. Commensalism
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9. Coevolution
10. Mimicry
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ULO-e Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Getting acquainted with the essential terms in the study of species
interactions and population control is not enough; what also matters is you should
also be able to explain its interrelationships. Now, I will require you to explain your
answers thoroughly.
1. If the human species were to suffer a population crash, what are three species
that might move in to occupy part of our ecological niche?
2. List two factors that may limit human population growth in the future. Do you
think that we are close to reaching those limits? Explains.
3. Which reproductive strategy do most species of insect pests and harmful

bacteria use? Why does this make it difficult for us to control their populations?
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4. Explain why most species with a high capacity for population growth (such as
bacteria, flies, and cockroaches) tend to have small individuals, while those
with a low capacity for population growth (such as humans, elephants, and
whales) tend to have large individuals.
5. How would you reply to someone who argues that we should not worry about
the effects that human activities have on natural systems because ecological
succession will repair whatever damage we do?
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In a Nutshell
Activity 1. Search for kelp forests (also sometimes called kelp beds), and use the
results to find sources of information about how a warmer ocean, as a result of
climate change, might affect California’s coastal kelp forests on which the southern
sea otters depend.
a) Write a report on what you found.

b) Try to include information on the current effects of warmer water on the kelp
beds as well as projections about future effects.
c) Also, summarize any information you might find on possible ways to pretend
harm to these kelp forests.
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Big Picture in Focus: ULO-f. Justify the factors that influence the size of
the human population
Metalanguage
In this section, the essential terms relevant to the study of species

interactions, ecological succession, and population control and to demonstrate
ULOf will be operationally defined to establish a standard frame of reference as to
how the text work in your chosen field or career. You will encounter theses terms
as we go through the study of environmental science. Please refer to these
definitions in case you will face difficulty in understanding educational concepts.
1. Demographers. A person who studies changes in numbers of births,

marriages, deaths, etc. in an area over a period of time.
2. Population Change. It is simply the change in the number of people in a

specified area during a specific time period.
3. Total Fertility Rate. The average number of children a woman would have
assuming that current age-specific birth rates remain constant throughout her
childbearing years.
4. Life Expectancy. The statistical age that a person is expected to live until,
based on actuarial data.
5. Infant Mortality Rate. The measure of human infant deaths in a group younger
than one year of age. It is an important indicator of the overall physical health of
a community.
6. Migration. The seasonal movement of animals from one region to another.
7. Age Structure. The distribution of people of various ages. It is a useful tool for
social scientists, public health and health care experts, policy analysts, and
policy-makers because it illustrates population trends like rates of births and
deaths.
8. Family Planning. It is having the desired number of children and when you
want to have them by using safe and effective modern methods. Proper birth
spacing is having children 3 to 5 years apart, which is best for the health of the
mother, her child, and the family.
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9. Urban Sprawl. The rapid expansion of the geographic extent of cities and
towns, often characterized by low-density residential housing, single-use
zoning, and increased reliance on the private automobile for transportation.
10. Noise Pollution. Unwanted or excessive sound can have deleterious effects on
human health and environmental quality.
11. Smart Growth. An approach to development that encourages a mix of building

types and uses, diverse housing and transportation options, development within
existing neighborhoods, and community engagement.
Essential Knowledge
1. How Many People Can The Earth Support?

The continuing rapid growth of the human population and its impact on
natural capital raises questions about how long the human population can keep
growing.
We recently hit a population milestone of 7 billion humans on Earth’s

surface. It took approximately 12 years to grow from 6 billion to 7 billion people
(United Nations Population Fund 2011). In short, the planet is filling up. It is
estimated we will go from 7 billion to 8 billion by 2025. How will that population
be distributed? Where is the population the highest? Where is it slowing down?
Where will people live? To explore these questions, we turn to demography or
the study of populations. Three of the most critical components affecting the
issues above are fertility, mortality, and migration.
The fertility rate of a society is a measure noting the number of children

born. The fertility number is generally lower than the fecundity number, which
measures the potential number of children that could be born to women of
childbearing age. Sociologists measure fertility using the crude birthrate (the
number of live births per 1,000 people per year). Just as fertility measures
childbearing, the mortality rate is a measure of the number of people who die.
The crude death rate is a number derived from the number of deaths per 1,000
people per year. When analyzed together, fertility and mortality rates help
researchers understand the overall growth occurring in a population.
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Another critical element in studying populations is the movement of people

into and out of an area. This movement is called migration. Migration may take
the form of immigration, which describes movement into an area to take up
permanent residence, or emigration, which refers to movement out of an area
to another place of permanent residence. Migration might be voluntary (as
when university students study abroad), involuntary (as when Somalians left the
drought and famine-stricken portion of their nation to stay in refugee camps), or
forced (as when many First Nations were removed from the lands they had
lived in for generations).
2. Demographic Theories. Sociologists have long looked at population issues as

central to understanding human interactions. Below we will look at four theories
about population that inform sociological thought: Malthusian, zero population
growth, cornucopian, and demographic transition theories.
2.1. Malthusian Theory. Thomas Malthus (1766–1834) was an English

clergyman who made dire predictions about Earth’s ability to sustain its
growing population. According to Malthusian theory, three factors would
control human population that exceeded the earth’s carrying capacity, or
how many people can live in a given area considering the number of
available resources. He identified these factors as war, famine, and
disease (Malthus 1798). He termed these “positive checks” because they
increased mortality rates, thus keeping the population in check. These
are countered by “preventive checks,” which also seek to control the
population. However, by reducing fertility rates, preventive checks
include birth control and celibacy. Thinking practically, Malthus saw that
people could only produce so much food in a given year, yet the
population was increasing at an exponential rate. Eventually, he thought
people would run out of food and begin to starve. They would go to war
over the increasingly scarce resources, reduce the population to a
manageable level, and the cycle would begin anew.
Of course, this has not exactly happened. The human population has
continued to grow long past Malthus’s predictions. So what happened?
Why did we not die off? There are three reasons that sociologists
suggest we continue to expand the population of our planet. First,
technological increases in food production have increased both the
amount and quality of calories we can produce per person. Second,
human ingenuity has developed new medicine to curtail death through
disease. Finally, the development and widespread use of contraception
and other forms of family planning have decreased the speed at which
our population increases. But what about the future? Some still believe
that Malthus was correct and that ample resources to support the Earth’s
population will soon run out.
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2.2. Zero Population Growth. A neo-Malthusian researcher named Paul

Ehrlich brought Malthus’s predictions into the 20th century. However,
according to Ehrlich, it is the environment, not specifically the food
supply, that will play a crucial role in the continued health of the planet’s
population (Ehrlich 1968). His ideas suggest that the human population
is moving rapidly toward complete environmental collapse, as privileged
people use up or pollute several environmental resources, such as water
and air. He advocated for a goal of zero population growth (ZPG), in
which the number of people entering a population through birth or
immigration is equal to the number of people leaving it via death or
emigration. While support for this concept is mixed, it is still considered a
possible solution to global overpopulation.
2.3. Cornucopian Theory. Cornucopian theory scoffs at the idea of humans

wiping themselves out; it asserts that human ingenuity can resolve any
environmental or social issues that develop. As an example, it points to
the issue of the food supply. If we need more food, the theory contends,
agricultural scientists will figure out how to grow it, as they have already
been doing for centuries. After all, in this perspective, human ingenuity
has been up to the task for thousands of years, and there is no reason
for that pattern not to continue (Simon 1981).
2.4. Demographic Transition Theory. Whether you believe that we are

headed for environmental disaster and the end of human existence as
we know it, or you think people will always adapt to changing
circumstances, some sociologists argue there are clear patterns that can
be seen in population growth. Modernization theorists argue that
societies develop along a predictable continuum as they evolve from
unindustrialized to postindustrial. Following this model, demographic
transition theory (Caldwell and Caldwell 2006) suggests that future
population growth will develop along with a predictable four-stage model.
In Stage 1, birth, death, and infant mortality rates are all high, while
life expectancy is short. An example of this stage is 19th century North
America. As countries begin to industrialize, they enter Stage 2, where
birth rates are higher while infant mortality and the death rates drop. Life
expectancy also increases. Afghanistan is currently in this stage. Stage 3
occurs once a society is thoroughly industrialized; birth rates decline,
while life expectancy continues to increase. Death rates continue to
decrease. Mexico’s population is at this stage. In the final phase, Stage
4, we see the postindustrial era of society. Birth and death rates are low,
people are healthier and live longer, and society enters a phase of
population stability. The overall population may even decline. Sweden
and Canada are considered Stage 4.
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3. Population Trends. The United Nations Population Fund (2008) categorizes

nations as high fertility, intermediate fertility, or low fertility. It anticipates the
population growth to triple between 2011 and 2100 in high-fertility countries,
which are currently concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa. For countries with
average fertility rates (the United States, India, and Mexico all fall into this
category), growth is expected to be about 26 percent. Moreover, low-fertility
countries like China, Australia, and most of those in Europe will see population
declines of approximately 20 percent. Three major factors account for this rapid
rise of the human population:
a. Early and modern agriculture allowed us to feed more people;

b. Technologies helped us expand into almost all of the planet’s climate zones
and habitats; and
c. Death rates dropped sharply because of antibiotics and vaccines to help
control infectious diseases.
3.1. Demographers, or population experts, recognize three important trends

related to the current size and impact of the human population.
a. The rate of population growth has slowed since 1960, but the world’s
population is still growing at a rate of about ½%. This may not seem
like much but in 2013, this growth added about 85 million people to
the population – an average of about 162 people every minute.
b. Human population growth is unevenly distributed. About 96% of the
85 million new arrivals on the planet in 2013 were added to the
world’s less-developed countries, where the population is growing 14
times faster than the population of the more-developed countries. At
least 95% of the 2.6 billion people projected to be added to the
world’s population between 2013 and 2050 will live in less-developed
countries, most of which are not equipped to deal with the pressures
of such rapid growth.
c. People have moved in large numbers from rural areas to urban areas.
About 52% of the world’s people now live in urban areas, and this
trend is increasing.
4. Factors That Influence The Size of Human Population

4.1. Population size increases through births and immigration and decreases
through deaths and emigration.
4.2. The key factor that determines the size of a human population is the
average number of children born to the women in that population (total
fertility rate).
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5. The Human Population Can Grow, Decline, or Remain Fairly Stable

The basics of global population change are quite simple. If there are more
births than deaths during a given period of time, the human population
increases, and when the opposite is true, it decreases.
Human populations grow or decline in particular countries, cities, or other

areas through the interplay of three factors: birth, deaths, and migration. We
can calculate the population change of an area by subtracting the number of
people leaving a population from the number entering it during a specified eriod
of time (usually 1 year).
Population change = (births + immigration) – (deaths + emigration)
When births plus immigration exceed deaths plus emigration, a population

grows; when the reverse is true, a population declines.
6. Women Are Having Fewer Babies But The World’s Population Is Still
Growing
A key factor affecting human population growth and size is the total fertility
rate (FTR): the average number of children born to the women in a population
during their reproductive years.
Between 1955 and 2013, the global TFR dropped from 5 to 2.5. Those who
support slowing the world’s population growth view this as good news.
However, to eventually halt population growth, the global TFR would have to
drop to 2.1 – the rate necessary for replacing both parents after taking infant
mortality into account.
7. Several Factors Affect Birth and Fertility Rates

a. Importance of children as a part of the labor force
b. Cost of raising and educating children
c. Availability of, or lack of, private and public pension systems
d. Average age at marriage
e. Availability of legal abortions
f. Availability of reliable birth control methods
g. Religious beliefs, traditions, and cultural norms
h. Urbanization
i. Educational and employment opportunities available for women
8. Several Factors Affect Death Rates

a. Life expectancy
b. Infant mortality rate
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9. Migration Affects an Area’s Population Size

9.1. Migration is the movement of people into (immigration) and out of
(emigration) specific geographic areas.
9.2. Most people migrate to another area within their country or to another
country to seek jobs and economic improvement.
9.3. There are also environmental refugees – people who have to leave
their homes and sometimes their countries because of water or food
shortages, soil erosion, or some other form of environmental degradation
or depletion.
10. A Population’s Age Structure Helps Us To Make Projections

An important factor determining whether the population of a country
increases or decreases is its age structure: the numbers or percentages of
males and females in young, middle, and older age groups in that population.
Population experts construct a population age-structure diagram by

plotting the percentages or numbers of males and females in the total
population in each three age categories: pre-reproductive (ages 0-14),
consisting of individuals normally too young to have children; reproductive (15-
44), consisting of those normally able to have children; and postreproductive
(ages 45 and older), with individuals normally too old to have children.
11. Family Planning. Family planning involves the provision of education and
clinical services that can help couples to choose how many children to have
and when to have them. Such programs vary from culture to culture, but most
of them provide information on birth spacing, birth control, and health care for
pregnant women and infants.
Family planning enables women to limit the size of their families if they wish
to do so and to plan their pregnancies. According to the studies by the UN
Population Division and other population agencies, family planning has been a
significant factor in reducing the number of unintended pregnancies and births,
the number of safe and unsafe abortions, the number of mother and fetuses
dying during pregnancy, rates of infant mortality, rates of HIV/AIDS infection,
and population growth rates. It also has financial benefits. Studies have shown
that each dollar spent on family planning in countries such as Thailand, Egypt,
and Bangladesh saves $10-$16 in health, education, and social service costs
by preventing unwanted births.
12. Urbanization. Urbanization is the study of the social, political, and economic
relationships in cities, and someone specializing in urban sociology would study
those relationships. In some ways, cities can be microcosms of universal
human behavior, while in others, they provide a unique environment that yields
their brand of human behavior. There is no strict dividing line between rural and
urban; instead, there is a continuum where one bleeds into the other. However,
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once a geographically concentrated population has reached approximately

100,000 people, it typically behaves like a city regardless of what its
designation might be.
12.1. The Growth of Cities. According to sociologist Gideon Sjoberg (1965),

there are three prerequisites for the development of a city. First, a good
environment with fresh water and a favorable climate; second, advanced
technology, which will produce a food surplus to support non-farmers;
and third, a strong social organization to ensure social stability and a
stable economy. Most scholars agree that the first cities were developed
somewhere in ancient Mesopotamia, though there are disagreements
about exactly where. Most early cities were small by today’s standards,
and the largest city around 100 CE was most likely Rome, with about
650,000 inhabitants (Chandler and Fox 1974). The factors limiting the
size of ancient cities included lack of adequate sewage control, limited
food supply, and immigration restrictions. For example, serfs were tied to
the land, and transportation was limited and inefficient. Today, the
primary influence on cities’ growth is economic forces.
12.2. Urbanization in Canada. Urbanization in Canada proceeded rapidly

during the Industrial Era of 1870 to 1920. The percentage of Canadians
living in cities went from 19 percent in 1871 to 49 percent in 1920
(Statistics Canada 2011). As more and more opportunities for work
appeared in factories, workers left farms (and the rural communities that
housed them) to move to the cities. Urban development in Canada in this
period focused on Montreal and Toronto, which were the two major hubs
of transportation, commerce, and industrial production in the country.
These cities began to take on a modern industrial urban form with tall
office towers downtown and a vast spatial expansion of suburbs
surrounding them.
Following the Industrial Era, urbanization in Canada from the 1940s

onward took the form of the corporate city. Stelter (1986) describes the
corporate city as being more focused economically on corporate
management and financial (and other related professional) services than
industrial production. Five features define the form of corporate cities:
dispersal of population in suburbs, high-rise apartment buildings, isolated
industrial parks, downtown cores of office towers, and suburban
shopping malls. This development was made possible by the
reorientation of the city to automobile and truck use, deindustrialization
and the rise of the service and knowledge economy, and a spatial
decentralization of the population.
Finally we might note the transformation of the corporate city into a

postmodern city form. Postmodern cities are defined by their orientation
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to circuits of global consumption, the fragmentation of previously

homogeneous urban cultures, and the emergence of multiple centers or
cores. John Hannigan (1998) describes three related developments that
characterize the postmodern city: the edge city, dual city, and fantasy
city formations. Edge cities are urban areas in suburbs or residential
areas that have no central core or clear boundaries but form around
clusters of shopping malls, entertainment complexes, and office towers
at major transportation intersections. Dual cities are cities that are
divided into wealthy, high-tech, information-based zones of urban
development and poorer, run-down, marginalized zones of urban
underdevelopment and informal economic activity. Mike Davis (1990)
used the term “fortress city” to describe the way that cities abandon the
commitment to creating viable public spaces and universal access to
urban resources in favor of the privatization of public spaces, a
“militarization” of private and public security services, and the creation of
exclusive gated communities for the wealthy and middle classes.
Fantasy cities are cities that choose to transform themselves into
Disneyland-like “theme parks” or sites of mega-events (like the Olympics
or FIFA World Cup competitions) to draw international tourists. Victoria,
B.C., for example, has branded itself as a safe, historical—“more English
than the English”—heritage destination for cruise ship and other types of
tourism.
12.3. Suburbs and Exurbs. As cities grew more crowded, and often more
impoverished and costly, more and more people began to migrate back
out of them. But instead of returning to rural small towns (like they had
resided in before moving to the city), these people needed close access
to the cities for their jobs. In the 1850s, as the urban population greatly
expanded and transportation options improved, suburbs developed.
Suburbs are the communities surrounding cities, typically close enough
for a daily commute in, but far enough away to allow for more space than
city living affords. The bucolic suburban landscape of the early 20th
century has mostly disappeared due to sprawl. Suburban sprawl
contributes to traffic congestion, which in turn contributes to commuting
time. Commuting times and distances have continued to increase as
new suburbs developed farther and farther from city centers.
Simultaneously, this dynamic contributed to an exponential increase in
natural resource use, like petroleum, which sequentially increased
pollution in the form of carbon emissions.
As the suburbs became more crowded and lost their charm, those
who could afford it turned to the exurbs, communities that exist outside
the ring of suburbs and are typically populated by even wealthier families
who want more space and have the resources to lengthen their
commute. It is interesting to note that unlike U.S. cities, Canadian cities
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have always retained a fairly large elite residential presence in enclaves

around the city centres, a pattern that has been augmented in recent
decades by patterns of inner-city resettlement by elites (Caulfield 1994;
Keil and Kipfer 2003). As cities evolve from industrial to postindustrial,
this practice of gentrification becomes more common. Gentrification
refers to members of the middle and upper classes entering city areas
that have been historically less affluent and renovating properties while
the poor urban underclass is forced by resulting price pressures to leave
those neighborhoods. This practice is widespread, and the lower class is
pushed into increasingly decaying portions of the city.
Together, the city centers, suburbs, exurbs, and metropolitan areas

all combine to form a metropolis. New York was the first North American
megalopolis, a huge urban corridor encompassing multiple cities and
their surrounding suburbs. The Toronto-Hamilton-Oshawa, Vancouver-
Abbotsford-Chilliwack, and Calgary-Edmonton corridors are similar
megalopolis formations. These metropolises use vast quantities of
natural resources and are a growing part of the North American
landscape.
13. The Major Urban Resource and Environmental Problems

Most cities are unsustainable because of high levels of resource use, waste,
pollution, and poverty.
Three major trends in urban population dynamics are important for

understanding the problems and challenges of urban growth:
1. The percentage of the global population that lives in urban areas has grown
sharply, and this trend is projected to continue.
2. The number and sizes of urban areas are mushrooming.
3. Poverty is becoming increasingly urbanized, mostly in less-developed
countries.
14. People Versus Earth

The increasing population is eating away the earth itself. Already its impact
has been sufficient to make permanent changes in the environment like soil and
water resources degradation, massive deforestation, and build-up of
greenhouse gases.
In the Philippines, the deteriorating quality of the environment is manifested

in urban slums. In 2001, the Philippines’ poverty rate was estimated to be 40%
of the 77 million Filipinos.
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15. Factors Contributing to Environmental Impact

1. Overpopulation
2. Population density and distribution
3. Pollution
4. War
5. Technology
6. Politics
7. Natural Calamities
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Press: New York
*Tham, S. Y., & Das, S. B. (2018). Logistics development in asean : Complex
challenges ahead. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
*Henneberry, J. (Ed.). (2017). Transience and permanence in urban development.
Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com
*Russ, A., & Krasny, M. E. (Eds.). (2017). Urban environmental education review.
Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com*Liang, J. (2018).
*Panik, M. J. (2017). Stochastic differential equations : An introduction with
applications in population dynamics modeling. Retrieved from
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ULO-f Let’s Check
Activity 1. Now that you know the essential terms in the human population and
urbanization let us try to check your understanding of these terms. In the space
provided, write the definition of the following terms:
1. Family Planning
2. Total Fertility Rate
3. Migration
4. Life Expectancy
5. Infant Mortality Rate
6. Urban Sprawl
7. Noise Pollution
8. Age Structure
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9. Smart Growth
10. Demographic Transition
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ULO- f Let’s Analyze
Activity 1. Getting acquainted with the essential terms in the study of the human
population and urbanization is not enough; what also matters is you should also be
able to explain its interrelationships. Now, I will require you to explain your
answers thoroughly.
1. Identify a major local, national, and global environmental problem, and describe
the role that population growth plays in this problem.
2. Explain the different factors that contribute to environmental impact affecting

human activities.
3. Make a list of things that you can do to help control the population explosion.
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4. Discuss the factor that may affect population growth.
5. Do you think the global population of 7.1 billion is too large? Explain. If your
answer was yes, what do you think should be done to slow human population
growth? If your answer was no, do you believe that there is a population size
that would be too big? Explain. Do you think that the population of the country
where you live is too large? Explain.
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In a Nutshell
Activity 1. Find three different projections for the size of the global population in
2050. Explain how the projections were made. To do this, try to find out the
following:
a) The assumptions behind each of the projections with regard to total fertility
rates, crude death rates, infant mortality rates, life expectancies, and other
factors.
b) Based on your reading, choose the projection that you believe to be the
closest to reality, and explain why you chose this projection.
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GE 15 – Environmental Science

Prepared by: Inst. Chelsy Annica G. Villanueva

Course Outline: GE 15 – Environmental Science

Course Coordinator: Inst. Chelsy Annica G. Villanueva

Course Outline Policies

However, if the late submission of assessment

For group assessment tasks, the course

If disapproved by the course coordinator, you

final decision will come from the dean of the

Course discussions/exercises – 30%

All culled from on-campus/onsite sessions

Final exam – 40%

Submission of the final grades shall follow the

You can also meet the course coordinator in

For students who have not created their

Course Information – see/download course syllabus in the Black Board LMS

d. Expound the importance of biodiversity and the role of species in an

Big Picture in Focus: ULO-d. Expound the importance of biodiversity and

In this section, the essential terms relevant to the study of environmental

2. Animal. A group of living organisms capable of feeling and voluntary motion

3. Aquatic animal. An animal capable of living entirely in the water.

5. Biotic potential. Represents the maximum sustained rate of natality and a

8. Charismatic species. Used to raise public awareness about conservation, thus

9. Conservation. The wise use of natural resources.

11. Density. The number of individuals in a population per unit area.

14. Emigration. Movement of individuals out of the area.

16. Endemism. Pertains to the restricted distributions of biota at any taxonomic

17. Endothermic. Having body temperature determined by heat derived from

18. Endangered species. A species whose prospect of survival and reproduction

20. Fauna. Pertains to all species of animals in a given area or region.

23. Flora. Pertains to all species of plants in a given area or region.

25. Habitat. A place where plants and animals live.

26. Immigration. Movement of individuals into the area.

28. Mammals. A class of warm-blooded vertebrate animals that have, in the

31. Population. A group of individuals of the same species occupying a common

33. Reptiles. A large of air-breathing scaly vertebrates, including snakes,

35. Sensitive species. Organisms that respond variably to external disturbances.

1. Biodiversity. It is defined as the variety of life in an area that is determined by

2. The Benefits of Biodiversity. The value of a species is often determined by

2.1. Photosynthesis by microalgae in the oceans and freshwater systems, for

2.2. All species contribute to ecosystem structure and function in distinct

2.4. Another way biodiversity helps an ecosystem is through resilience. The

3. Ecosystem Services. Without biodiversity, the properties and processes of

four categories: provisioning services, supporting services, cultural services,

Humans are inextricably dependent on nature. Maintaining ecosystem health

4. How Did Biodiversity Come About?

4.2. Natural Selection. As a consequence of genetic diversity, members of a

Populations are always composed of individuals of one species that

5. Important Evolutionary Events in Planet History. The evolution of life on

5.2. Second, it allowed the evolution of the biochemical process of cellular

Changes in the orientation of landmasses by continental drift have strongly

*Ayers, John C. 2017. Sustainability: an environmental science perspective. CR

ULO-d Let’s Check

ULO-d Let’s Analyze

2. Is the human species a keystone species? Explain. If humans were to become

Activity 1. Study an ecosystem of your choices, such as a patch of a forest, a

Big Picture in Focus: ULO-e. Define how communities and ecosystem

In this section, the essential terms relevant to the study of species

1. Interspecific Competition. A form of competition between different species

2. Predation. A form of a symbiotic relationship between two organisms of unlike

3. Parasitism. A form of symbiosis in which one organism called parasite benefits

4. Mutualism. A form of symbiosis that is characterized by both species benefiting

5. Commensalism. A form of symbiosis between two organisms of different

6. Symbiosis. A close, long-term association between organisms of different