POPULATION GROWTH

• In nature, populations of living organisms grow exponentially until they meet with environmental
resistance. Then each population stabilizes at a certain size which can be supported by its habitat.
The human population is the exception to this usual situation.
• Population growth is the change in the number of individuals of that species over time.
Population Growth in an Environment
Any population growing exponentially starts off slowly, goes through a rapid growth phase, and then
levels off once the carrying capacity of the area is reached. Plotting a graph of such a population yields a
s-shape curve. This curve is known as the sigmoid curve, and is divided into three phases:
• Lag phase (wherever the growth rate is negligible),
• Log/exponential phase (where in the growth rate is high) and
• Stationary phase (where in the growth rate is 0).

FIG 1: Sigmoid Curve

Human Population Growth

Human beings can control environmental factors that check their population growth to a certain extent.
For example, they have:

 Increase their average life span and lowered mortality through better hygiene and sanitation, and
modern medical treatment;
  Increased resources such as food which would normally have checked their growth, through
intensive agriculture.
As a result the human population is still growing rapidly. It is the data collected from population census
that is used to calculate the birth rate (natality) and the death rate (mortality).
Population studies
Population is defined as the total number of organisms of the same species living together in a given area
at a particular time. In an ecosystem, the community is made up of many populations of different species.
In population studies of a habitat, the following are usually studied:
• Types of organisms
• Dominance
• Population characteristics
i. Population size
ii. Population density
iii. Population frequency
iv. Percentage cover
v. Population growth rate

Population Density
This is defined as the number of individual organisms per unit area or volume of the habitat.

Mathematically, population density = total population or population size

area of habitat
Population density can be used to estimate the total number of individuals of a population or population
size.
Mathematically, population size= population density x area of habitat
Population Studies by Sampling Methods
Population studies by sampling methods include;
i. Estimation of population by use of quadrat- this can be achieved on a terrestrial habitat by
making use of the quadrat. A quadrat is an instrument made of a square or rectangular wire,
plastic, wooden or metal frame with predetermined area. For example, the area of a quadrat may
be 1.5m2.
ii. Estimation of population using the transect method- a tape is used in this method to estimate the
number and types of plant in a habitat chosen. The tape is usually marked at intervals. This
procedure is repeated a number of times until accurate estimates are obtained.
iii. Estimation of population by tagging method- it is also known as capture-recapture method. In
this method, a small number of individuals of one type of population in a particular area are
caught, counted and marked with indelible ink and then released back into the population. Later,
another portion is captured and the number of marked individuals within the sample is counted.
The proportion of the marked members in the second sample can give an estimate to the
population size. To work out an estimate for the total population we use the formula;
M R MT
=¿ N=
N T R
 where;
M = Total marked on the first capture
N = Total population
R = Number of marked recaptured (second capture)
T = Total recaptured on second visit

Sample questions

• If 90 ants are found in a field with a total area of 100m 2 , what is the population density of the
ants? Ans- 0.90
• A farmer wants to calculate the number of mice in barn. One day he places a trap for mice to
enter. 12 mice are counted, marked and released. Five days later, he placed the same trap down
for mice to enter. This time he counts 14 mice, 7 of which have been marked from the previous
capture, the mice were then released. Estimate the total population size of the mouse population.
Ans- 24
AQUATIC HABITAT
Habitat is a place where a species or population naturally lives. There are two main types of habitats.
Aquatic habitat and terrestrial habitat.

An aquatic habitat is a body of water in which certain organisms live naturally. Aquatic habitat may be
marine, estuarine and freshwater habitat.

Marine Habitat
Marine habitats refer to aquatic habitats which contain salt water. E.g are the oceans, shores and the open
seas.

Characteristics of marine habitat

1. Salinity: It has a high salinity and its average salinity is put at 35 parts per 1000 or 3.5%.
2. Size: Marine habitats represent the largest of all the habitats. The ocean occupies over 70% of the
earth’s total area.
3. Oxygen concentration: The oxygen concentration is highest at the surface while the very deep
part of the oceans has no oxygen.
4. Light penetration: Light penetrates the ocean water only to a maximum depth of 200 meters.
Penetration depends on the turbidity.

Major zones of the marine habitat

The major ecological zones of the marine habitat include;
1. The littoral zones- This is the region that extends over the continental shelf to a depth of about
200 meters. The water on the continental shelf is known as neritic, and that beyond the shelf is
known as oceanic. Light only penetrates the oceanic waters to a depth of 200 meters.
2. The benthic zone- This zone is unfavorable for life. The water is dark, cold and contains very
little oxygen. The pressure is high and no producers are found here, but a number of animals live
here. They are well adapted to live under these conditions. Their main source of food is the dead
remains of the organisms from the surface waters above

Fig 1: Zones of a Marine Habitat.

Adaptive features found in organisms in marine habitat

Plants found in marine habitats and their adaptive features
 1. Sea weeds: They possess hold-fasts for attachments. They also possess mucilaginous cover to
prevent dissociation. They have divided leaves, floating devices or air bladder for buoyancy.
2. Algae: An example is Sargassum. Algae possess chlorophyll for photosynthetic activities, small
size or large surface area for drifting or floating.
3. Phytoplanktons: An example is diatoms. They possess air spaces in their tissues, rhizoids (fake
feet) for attachment to rocks and air bladder for buoyancy.

Animals found in marine habitats and their adaptive features

1. Cartilaginous fishes like shark and dogfish have the ability to retain urea in their body to cope
with high salinity.
2. Bony fish: Fish like Tilapia and herring drink salt water to cope with high salt content of the
ocean. They also possess salt secreting glands in their gills or eyes to enable them maintain
osmoregulation or salt balance.
3. Crabs: They are capable of burrowing fast into the mud to protect them against predators, strong
waves or tides.

Food chain in marine habitat;

A typical food chain in marine habitat be up to three or four trophic levels. Some examples include;
Diatoms  Zooplanktons  Mackerel  Shark
Diatoms  Crabs  Dogfish

Estuarine Habitat
The estuarine habitat is a region from where rivers empty their water into ocean, it is formed at the coastal
line. The mixing of the ocean with fresh water as a result of the action of the tides leads to formation of
brackish water. The brackish water is called estuary(estuarine).

Characteristics of marine habitat

1. Varying salinity: The salinity of estuaries fluctuates. It increases when the tide rises and sea
water flows into the fresh water and decreases when the tide becomes low and water flows out
from the estuary to the sea.
2. Shallowness: In estuaries, water is shallow as compare to the sea.
3. Population of species: The estuarine habitat has low number of species compared to the marine
habitat.
4. Low oxygen concentration: Oxygen content in estuarine habitat is generally very low and as a
result much of microbiological activities are anaerobic.

Types of estuarine
Delta: Delta is where a river divides into many channels before entry into the ocean or sea. Estuary(delta)
is formed at the mouth of a river as it enters the sea.
Lagoon: A lagoon is a shallow body of ocean that enters into the land in the form of canal and mixes with
the fresh water of rivers and streams.
Bay: Bay is a small but similar form of lagoon in which ocean water enters into the land and mixes with
fresh water from the rivers and streams.
It should be noted that a lagoon is bigger than a bay and it may be long enough to join the sea at another
end while a bay is very small and not long enough to rejoin the sea in another end.

Adaptive features found in organisms in estuarine habitat

Plants found in estuarine habitats and their adaptive features
1. White mangrove: Due to the low oxygen content they develop breathing roots called
pnematophores, from the water-logged soil. These root project upwards for absorbing the
atmospheric oxygen.
 2. Paspalum: The leaves of this plant have thick layer of cuticle to check the rate of respiration.
3. Red and white mangroves: They develops stilt roots. The rootlets of such root help in
absorbing the nutrients from the mud.

Animals found in estuarine habitats and their adaptive features

1. Animals like Mudskippers, Crab, and Arenicola have special type of cells that can tolerate
fluctuating salinity.
2. Animals like Barnacle have shells into which they withdraw during low tide.
3. Some animals such as estuarine snails are adapted to burrow in the mud during high tide.

Food chain in estuarine habitat;

A typical food chain in estuarine habitat be up to three or four trophic levels. Some examples include;
Diatoms  Mud shrimps  Common redshank  Peregrine falcon
Detritus  Mud snail  Common shelduck

Freshwater Habitat
Fresh water habitat is a body of water formed mainly from inland waters and contains very low level of
salinity. Examples are rivers, ponds, streams, springs and lakes.
Fresh water is classified on the basis of their mobility. Based on these two types are identified. These are:
1. Lotic fresh water: these include all running waters which can flow continuously in a specific
direction.
2. Lentic fresh water: these include standing or stagnant waters. These waters do nor move or
flow.

Characteristics of fresh water habitats

1. Low salinity: It has a very low salinity. It has about 0.5% of salt compared to about 3.5% for sea
water.
2. Small in size: Fresh water is usually very small compared to the ocean water.
3. Variation in temperature: The temperature of freshwater habitat usually varies with season and
depth.
4. High concentration of oxygen.
5. Shallowness of water.
6. Seasonal variation: Fresh water habitats like streams and rivers dry up during the dry season
while others reduce in volume. Speed of flow is usually high during the rainy season than in dry
season.

Zones of freshwater habitat

Lentic fresh water habitat- there are two zones in a lentic fresh water habitat. These are littoral and
benthic zones.
1. Littoral zone: It is shallow and contains several plants and animals. It has the highest level of
primary production because sunlight can easily penetrate the zone. Plants associated with this
zone include Spirogyra, Chlamydomonas, water lettuce, duck weed, e.t.c. animals associated with
this zone include water snails, flatworms, tadpoles, crocodiles and Hippopotamus.
2. Benthic zone: it is the deepest zone and does not have rooted vegetation. Plants associated with
this zone include water lily, fern and grasses. These have well developed root system in the mud.
Animal found here include protozoa, Tilapia fish, mud fish, catfish, water scorpion, crayfish,
e.t.c.
Lotic fresh water habitat- there are two zones in a lotic fresh water habitat. These are pool zone and rapid
zone.
1. Pool zone: in this zone, water is relatively slow and calm.
 2. Rapid zone: in this zone, water is fast. The lotic fresh water habitat is not as stratified as the
lentic fresh water habitat.

Adaptive features found in organisms in freshwater habitat

Plants found in freshwater habitats and their adaptive features
1. Water lily: The plant has air bladder, expanded shape and light weight which keeps it afloat. It
has long petioles attached at the center of leaf blade which prevent them from being drawn under
water by the current.
2. Spirogyra: The plant has mucilaginous cover which protects them in water.
3. Hornwort: The plants have submerged or thin dissected leaves which increases their surface area
to sunlight and gaseous exchange.

Animals found in freshwater habitats and their adaptive features

1. Protozoa: These animals possess contractile vacuoles which enable them to carry out
osmoregulation in water.
2. Tilapia fish: They have swim bladders which enable them to float in water. They have gills for
respiration.
3. Duck: It has a webbed digit on its feet for easy locomotion and serrated beak for sieving food
into its mouth.
4. Lungfish: The animals obtain oxygen through the gills but when the water dries out during the
dry season, they dig into the mud and breathe with lungs until the rains come again.
5. Water boatman: The animal can carry bubbles of air with it as it goes below the water surface to
the bottom and uses these as their air supply under water.

Food chain in freshwater habitat;

A typical food chain in freshwater habitat be up to three or four trophic levels. Some examples include;
Spirogyra  Tadpoles  Crabs  Kingfisher
Diatoms  Fish fry  Tilapia  Human
ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION
Ecological succession is a long term, gradual or progressive series of changes occurring in
the structure, composition, variety or diversity and number of species in an area.
New habitats are constantly being formed by weathering of rocks, or by the filling up of lakes
and ponds, and rivers build deltas at their mouths. A habitat constantly undergoes changes over a
period of time when the new ecological factors are introduced or changed. For example, the
introduction of a new plant or animal species or a change in climatic conditions. The first set of
organisms to colonize an environment is the pioneers (mostly producers).
As a habit or environment changes, there is a resultant change in its occupants leading to
development of new organisms. With time, bigger or stronger species of organisms continue to
appear in the habitat, it comes to a time when it remains the same in composition and size over a
long period of time. This is known as a climax community.
What is a Climax community?
A climax community is in equilibrium with the environment, this means that the same species of
plants and animals reoccur from year to year.
General characteristics of succession
1. Succession occurs in newly formed habitat e.g., abandoned farmland
2. There is a progressive increase in the number of organisms until a climax is attained
3. Succession is orderly and progressive
4. There is a competition among organisms for available resources
5. Plants form the pioneer organisms (autotrophs)
6. There is a diversity of organisms and change in species composition (fittest survive and
adapt)
7. There is a constant change in the habitat
8. Climax community form the final stage

Types of Ecological Succession

• Primary Succession
• Secondary Succession

 Primary succession
This occurs in an area where no community has existed before, and includes the formation
of new soil. It may begin from a bare dry environment or an aquatic environment. It usually
starts with lower organisms and takes a longer time to reach a climax community. Examples of
primary succession are found in ponds or lakes, vegetation or rock, mangrove forest, river
mouths or banks, i.e.
1. When a large rocky slope changes eventually into a forest
2. When shallow lakes fill up with vegetation to become marshes and eventually forests

Example 1: Succession in pond

The first colonizers of a newly formed pond are planktons. Higher plants like pond weeds grow
in the shallow water of the pond. Water becomes shallower as plants remain and soil washed by
rain from the surrounding land accumulates in the pond. As the pond margin becomes filled,
reeds, sedges and other marsh plants replace the pond weeds, which now colonize areas near the
center of the pond. Eventually, the whole pond becomes a dry terrestrial habitat, surrounding
suitable climax community.
Factors which can give rise to a bare (primary) surface include;
1. Erosion
2. Deposit of sand dunes
3. Volcanic ash
4. Land slides
5. Earthquakes
6. Hurricanes and tornadoes
7. Mining or construction activities

 Secondary succession
This starts on an already previously colonized surface. It occurs when an existing
community is disturbed. Some organisms may probably still be present in the disturbed habitat.
Fire, droughts and floods cause secondary succession to occur. It may start with fairly complex
organisms and it takes a shorter time or duration to reach a climax community. Examples are
found in an abandoned farmland, overgrazed grasslands, and in a forest, area cleared for timber.

Example 2: Succession in an abandoned farmland

Here the series of succession is rapid and climaxes to a stable community faster. Being once a
farmland, nutrients remain from the destruction of the old farm. The initial pioneers or
colonizers are insects, larvae, worms, seeds of plants, underground stem, etc.
The second stage will involve the germination and growth of more grasses, the hatching of eggs
of insects and other species. The vegetation can now support animals like rats, snakes, other
rodents and reptiles.
The third stage will result in the displacement of the herbs by shrubs and increase in the
diversity of species. More trees grow and species diversity includes birds, reptiles, monkey, etc.
which lives in different strata of the habitat will emerge.
The population and activities of ground dwellers and feeders now increase and climax vegetation
is reached. The animal community will now include herbivores, carnivores and dendrites
(organic debris and decay).
At this stage a climax community has been reached.
OVERCROWDING
Overcrowding is defined as the condition where more organisms are located within a given area
than considered tolerable for healthy growth in terms of food and space. In other words,
overcrowding is an undesirable condition where the number of existing populations exceeds the
capacity of the habitat.
Factors Causing Overcrowding
The following factors may result in overcrowding;
1. Increased birth rate(natality)
2. Decreased death rate(mortality)
3. Immigration
4. Increased food supply
5. Absence of predators
6. Lack of seed dispersal
Measures Adopted to Avoid Overcrowding
Overcrowding in plants and animals can be avoided by the following measures;
1. Dispersal
2. Emigration
3. Territorial behaviour
4. Swarming
Relationship between availability of food and human population
 When sufficient food is available, a population is healthy and active. Such people can
work hard, use their intelligence well and improve the economy of their country. They
will enjoy a high standard of living.
 In developing countries, sufficient food is not available to most of the people.
Consequently, many people are malnourished or starving. Famine is prevalent. People
who do not get sufficient food are weak and unhealthy and succumb readily to infectious
disease. Such people cannot work productively.
ECOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT
Association, Tolerance, Adaptation

Ecological Relationships (Association)

Ecological relationships describe the interactions between and among organisms within their
environment. These interactions may have positive, negative or neutral effects on either species' ability
to survive and reproduce, or "fitness." By classifying these effects, ecologists have derived several types
of species interactions: predation, competition, mutualism, commensalism and amensalism.
Predation: One Wins, One Loses
Predation includes any interaction between two species in which one species benefits by obtaining
resources from and to the detriment of the other. The species that capture and feed on the other is
called predator and the one that is caught and fed upon is called prey. The predator cannot survive
without the prey.
Example of predator animal include all carnivorous animals and scavengers such as Paramecium, Obelia,
Praying mantis, Snake, Owl, Tiger and Lion.
Mutualism: Everyone Wins
Mutualism describes an interaction that benefits both species. A well-known example exists in the
mutualistic relationship between alga and fungus that form lichens. The photosynthesizing alga supplies
the fungus with nutrients, and gains protection in return. The relationship also allows lichen to colonize
habitats inhospitable to either organism alone. Other examples include, Sea anemone and hermit crab,
flowers and insects, Rhizobium and leguminous plants, Ruminant and bacteria.
Commensalism: A Positive/Zero Interaction
An interaction where one species benefits and the other remains unaffected is known as
commensalism. As an example, cattle egrets and brown-headed cowbirds forage in close association with
cattle and horses, feeding on insects flushed by the movement of the livestock. The birds benefit from this
relationship, but the livestock generally do not. Often, it's difficult to tease apart commensalism and
mutualism. For example, if the egret or cowbird feeds on ticks or other pests off of the animal's back, the
relationship is more aptly described as mutualistic.
Amensalism: A Negative/Zero Interaction
Amensalism describes an interaction in which the presence of one species has a negative effect on
another, but the first species is unaffected. For example, a herd of elephants walking across a landscape
may crush fragile plants. Amensalistic interactions commonly result when one species produces a
chemical compound that is harmful to another species. The chemical juglone produced in the roots of
black walnut inhibit the growth of other trees and shrubs, but has no effect on the walnut tree.
Competition: The Double Negative
Competition exists when multiple organisms vie for the same, limiting resource. Because the use of a
limited resource by one species decreases availability to the other, competition lowers the fitness of both.
Competition can be interspecific, between different species, or intraspecific, between individuals of the
same species. It is proposed that two species competing for the same limiting resource cannot coexist in
the same place at the same time. As a consequence, one species may be driven to extinction, or evolution
reduces the competition.

Tolerance
Tolerance is defined as the ability of living organisms to withstand or tolerate little or unfavorable
changes in the environment which affect their survival.
Living things can only live in a particular habitat if they can tolerate the ranges of the abiotic factors that
operate in it. Due to environmental changes, some of these abiotic factors might become too little or too
much producing unfavorable conditions.
Tolerance range
Tolerance range is defined as the range between the minimum and maximum limits to which
organisms can tolerate certain changes in their environment so as to survive. Beyond this range death
occurs. For example, for most animals, the minimum temperature limit is 00C while the maximum limit is
420C. Their tolerance range is 0- 420C. Below 00C or above 420C, the organism will die.
The tolerance range for each abiotic factor varies from species to species. Within the tolerance range for
each abiotic factor is the optimum range, i.e. the range within which the species’ growth and
reproduction are at their peaks.

Fig 1: tolerance range, optimum size and population size

Geographical range
Geographical range can be defined as the areas where a species can live successfully. Outside these
areas it may not survive.
Different abiotic factors like rainfall, temperature, light intensity, availability of food, light, e.t.c. are often
responsible for the geographical boundaries of species of organisms. For example, the biomes of the
world are mainly due to the tolerance range of various types of plants for rainfall and temperature.

Adaptation
Adaptation is defined as the ability of an organism to live successfully in a particular habitat as a
result of its structures, appearance and behavior. In other words, any such feature which helps a
species to live successfully in its particular habitat is called an adaptation. These features are usually
evolved over a long period of time. An adaptive feature is an inherited feature that helps an organism
to survive and reproduce in its environment.
Plant adaptations to water availability;
Xerophytes
These are plants that can survive in extremely dry environments such as the desert, whose water supply
is scarce. They normally show one or more of the following features:
 Their roots are well developed and grow down to great depths.
 Some have swollen stems (cacti), or succulent leaves (aloe) for storage of water
 They have thick cuticle to help reduce water loss through transpiration
 Some have reduced leaves to reduce water loss through transpiration. The stems are usually green
and take over the function of photosynthesis

Mesophytes
These are plants that can survive in environment with an adequate water supply- not too dry or too
wet. They have the following features:
 A well-developed root and shoot systems.
 Their leaves are usually large and flattened.
 A waxy cuticle covers their body surface to reduce water loss through transpiration. Stomata are
present on the leaves for gaseous exchange to occur.
Hydrophytes
These are plants that can live successfully in water. All or part of their body is in water. They have the
following features:
 The cuticle of the immersed parts is thin and allows water to enter the whole body.
 They have poorly developed root or vascular systems.
 Most of them have large well developed air spaces to provide oxygen supply to the underwater
parts of the plant and also to make the plant buoyant and so help it float.
Halophytes
These are plants which are able to live in places which have a high salt content, such as the sea shores
and mangrove swamps. They normally have special salt glands in their leaves to help reduce or excrete
the excess salts. Some are succulent and use their stored water to reduce the concentration of the salt in
their cells. Example; Cordgrasses.