Population

There are many levels of organization un the world of living things, and each level has
features not displayed by any other. The important levels of organization are population,
community, ecosystem, biosphere, and biome.
Demography
“Demos” = population “graphy” = describe
- size, composition and (age) structure, as well a s the geographic distribution of
population.
Aspects of demographic analyses: births, deaths and migration are the core.
Important Factors that Determine these Demographic Aspects
a. Age- age of death; age of mother at 1st birth
b. Gender distribution among newborns
Theory of “Demographic Transition”
It describes how birth and mortality rates have changed during transition situations, and
builds upon the experiences of western Europe in the last two hundred years
“Demographic Transition” Stages
1st stage, the birth and mortality rates are very high.
2nd stage, the mortality rate begins to decrease.
3rd stage, after some time, the birth rate begins to decline.
4th stage, both the mortality and the birth rates are low
5th stage, the birth rate begins to slowly grow a
Population
• Subset of individuals of one species that occupies a particular geographic area
usually defined time and in sexually reproducing species, interbreeds.
Population density
• Average number of individuals per unit of area or volume
• Ex. Population of 100 insects that live in an area of 100 square meters has a
density of 1 insect per square meter
Populations of living things
• Interact with other populations of their own kind
• With populations of other species and
• With physical aspects of their environment.
Sexually reproducing species
• Each local population contains a distinct combination of genes.
Species
• Collection of populations that differ genetically from one another to a greater or
lesser degree.
• Genetic differences manifest
o In morphology
o Physiology
o Behavior and
o Life histories
Species Diversity
• Number and relative abundance of different species occupying a specific area.
Major components
• Species richness
o The number of different species that live in an area
• Species evenness
o The representation of each species relative to the total number of
individuals in an area
Reproduction
• Sexual
• Asexual
Species distribution
• Uniform
• Random
• Clumped