Biology 2485B Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Yellow Fever, Exponential Growth, Carrying Capacity
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Learning objectives: understand and describe important characteristics of populations (size, density, structure, dynamics, understand and define exponential growth, logistic growth, carrying capacity, limiting factors, understand the difference between r- and k-selected species. What is a population: population = individuals of the same species inhabiting a particular area. You define the population based on the area you choose to focus on. Species often consist of multiple populations that are geographically isolated from one another: based on geographical disjunction; not continuous. Characteristics of populations: size, density, structure (spatial and age, dynamics. Why do we care about these characteristics of populations: yellow fever mosquito. Controlling its member and reducing its population: white rhinoceros. Interested in growing and maintain its population: because they determine the fate and impact of the population, reducing population sizes we don"t want vs. maintain population sizes we do want. Population size: population size = the number of individuals in the population.