population dynamics. population dynamics and the sea otter the population dynamics of the sea otter...
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POPULATIONPOPULATIONDYNAMICSDYNAMICS
Population Dynamics and the Sea Otter
• The population dynamics of the sea otter have helped us to better understand the ecological importance of this keystone species.
• Sea otter – almost extinct in 1900’s, caused a population explosion of sea urchins because nothing to keep pop. In check
• Kelp beds lost, decrease in diversity• When sea otters made a comeback,
deforested kelp areas recovered
Population Dynamics and the Sea Otter
Population Dynamics •Population dynamics is the change in population structure due to environmental stress and changes in environmental conditions.
Population Dynamics•Four ways in which population structure changes:–Size (# of individuals)–Density (# of individuals in a certain space)
–Dispersion (spatial patterns)–Age distribution
Dispersion – Spatial Patterns
Population Size
•Population change =•(births + immigration) – (deaths + emigration)–Immigration – organisms moving into a population
–Emigration – organisms leaving pop.
Population Size•To determine percent growth
rate:•=[(CBR-CDR) + (IR-ER)] *100
CBR crude birth rate = #births/1000CDR crude death rate = #deaths/1000
IR Immigration rate = #immigrating/1000
ER emigration rate = #emigrating/1000
Population Size
• Biotic Potential – a population’s growth potential
• Intrinsic Rate of Increase (r) – rate at which a population would increase with unlimited resources– Ex. One single female housefly could give
rise to 5.6 trillion flies in 13 months with no controls on the pop.
Population Size
•….but, as we know, in nature there are always limits to population growth.–Environmental resistance are all the factors that limit population growth
Population Size
•Together the biotic potential and environmental resistance determine carrying capacity (K)
Population Size
•Carrying capacity (K) -- # of individuals of a given species that can be sustained indefinitely in a given space (area or volume)
Population Size•Exponential Growth – a
population that has few resource limitations; growth starts out slowly, but gets faster and faster (j-shaped growth curve)
Exponential Growth
Logistic Growth
•Involves exponential growth, with a steady decrease in population growth as it encounters environmental resistance, approaching carrying capacity and leveling off
•Sigmoid growth curve
Logistic Growth
Logistic Growth• In reality, populations fluctuate
slightly above and below the carrying capacity
Population Size – Doubling Time
•How long it takes for the population to double
•= 70/ % growth rate–Ex. In 2002, world pop. Grew by 1.28%…..so 70/1.28=54.7 (so world pop. Should double in approx. 55 yrs.
What if carrying capacity is exceeded?
• This happens when a pop. Uses up its resource base and temporarily overshoots carrying capacity
• Occurs because of reproductive time lag: period needed for birth rate to fall and death rate to rise
• Pop. Would then suffer a crash or dieback
Example of Overshoot
•26 Reindeer were introduced to an island off of Alaska in 1910
•1935 – pop.= 2,000 (no predators and plentiful resources)
•By 1950, the pop. Crashed with only 8 reindeer remaining
Factors Affecting Carrying Capacity
•Competition within and between species
•Immigration and emigration•Natural and human caused
catastrophes•Seasonal changes in resource
availability
What About Human Pop. Carrying Capacity?
•Currently growing at an exponential rate
•Humans can be affected by overshooting carrying capacity–Ex. Potato famine in 1845 (Ireland) 1 million people died and 3 million emigrated
Population Density
•Density-independent population controls: affect pop. Size regardless of density
•Examples: floods, fires, hurricanes, unseasonable weather, habitat destruction, pesticide spraying
Population Density
•Density-dependent population controls: have a greater affect as population increases
•Examples: competition, predation, parasitism, disease
Population Density• Human Example: • Bubonic Plague • (bacterium usually • found in rodents) • spread like wildfire • through cities of • Europe in 14th • century killing • 25 million people
Revisiting Predator-Prey Relationship
Revisiting Predator-Prey Relationship
•Top-down control hypothesis: the predator population keeps the prey population in check
•…but is this really true?
Revisiting Predator-Prey Relationship
• Research shows that the snowshoe hare pop. Has a similar cycle even when lynx aren’t present
• Bottom-up control hypothesis: the hare population overshoots its carrying capacity, and then crashes, so in reality the hare pop. Controls the lynx pop.
Revisiting Predator-Prey Relationship
•It has been found that both of these hypotheses are not mutually exclusive, they exist in different ecosystems
Reproductive Patterns
•Asexual Reproduction: all offspring are clones or identical copies
Reproductive Patterns
•Sexual Reproduction: half of genetic material coming from each parent; 97% of known organisms
•Risks: females only ones producing offspring, chance of genetic errors, mating may spread disease, injury
Reproductive Patterns•If sex is so risky, why do so
many organisms reproduce this way?–Greater genetic diversity, so more likely to survive environmental change
–Males can help provide for offspring, increasing chances for survival
Reproductive Patterns•Two different patterns:•r-selected species•K-selected •species
Reproductive Patterns•r-selected species or
opportunists: reproduce early and put most of their energy into reproducing
•Called opportunists because can rapidly colonize a new habitat or colonize after a disturbance; usually boom and bust cycles
Characteristics of r-selected species
•Little or no parental care•Early reproductive age•Many offspring at once•Short lived
Characteristics of r-selected species
• examples
K-selected species or competitors
•Tend to do well in competitive conditions when population size is near carrying capacity (K)
•Thrive best when environmental conditions are stable
K-selected species or competitors
•Characteristics:–Develop inside mothers–Reproduce late in life–Mature slowly–Parental care–Fewer offspring–*prone to extinction due to these char.
K-selected species or competitors
K-selected species or competitors
Survivorship Curves•Shows the # of survivors of
each age group
Survivorship Curves•Type I: late loss curves
(humans, typical K-selected species)–High survivorship (parental care) until a certain age, then a high mortality
Survivorship Curves
•Type II – constant loss curve (songbirds, lizards)–Fairly constant mortality rate in all age classes
Survivorship Curves•Type III: early loss curves
(r-selected species, fish, insects)–High juvenile mortality rate
Conservation Biology• A multidisciplinary science to take
action to preserve species and ecosystems
• 3 principles:– Biodiversity is necessary to life on earth– Humans should not cause or hasten
ecological damage including extinction– Best way to preserve biodiversity is to
protect intact ecosystems
Conservation Biology
Conservation Biology
•How humans have altered natural ecosystems:–Fragmenting and degrading habitat
How humans have altered natural ecosystems:
–Simplifying natural ecosystems (monocultures)
Conservation Biology
–Using, wasting, or destroying a percentage of earth’s primary productivity
Conservation Biology
•Genetic resistance of some pest and bacteria pops. Due to overuse of pesticides and antibiotics
Conservation Biology•Eliminating some predators
Conservation Biology
•Deliberately or accidentally introducing nonnative species
Conservation Biology
•Overharvesting renewable resources
Conservation Biology•Interfering with the normal
chemical cycling and energy flows in ecosystems
Conservation Biology
•So… what can we do?
–Learn about processes and adaptations by which nature sustains itself
–Mimic lessons from nature