BIOL 1200 Lecture Notes - Lecture 15: Metapopulation, Logistic Function, Exponential Growth
Document Summary
Concept 40. 5: the exponential and logistic models describe the growth of populations -> unlimited growth occurs under ideal conditions (growth is limited by various factors in nature) Exponential growth - population increase under idealized conditions (food is abundant and all individuals reproduce at physiological capacity: under these conditions, the population increases in size by a constant proportion at each instant in time. A population growing exponentially increases at a constant rate (rr) --> this results in a j- shaped growth curve: a population with a higher intrinsic rate of increase will have a steeper growth curve. Increasing the dn/dt makes the population growth prediction steeper. Carrying capacity: exponential growth cannot be sustained for long in any population, a more realistic population model limits growth by incorporating carrying capacity. Carrying capacity (k): maximum population size the environment can support. Varies with the abundance of limiting resources.
