POPULATION ECOLOGY
Population Dynamics - Research Connections
Entire Document (PDF 876 KB)
TABLE OF CONTENTS |
|
|
|
Research Connection 1: The population dynamics of an equilibrium black-capped chickadee population over 25 years. |
|
|
|
Research Connection 2: Exponential increase of an algae in the Glenmore reservoir in Calgary, Alberta. |
|
Research Connection 3: Exponential density-independent increase in endangered species populations. |
|
|
Research Connection 4: Density dependence in plants: the self-thinning rule. |
|
|
Research Connection 5: Testing the chronosequence assumption that tree populations succeed each other over time.. |
|
Research Connection 6: Estimating per capita death rates of Pinus contorta and Picea engelmannii tree populations. |
|
1. INTRODUCTION TO POPULATION DYNAMICS Print Version
Population Dynamics describes a population's abundance and density, and how it changes over time as a function of birth rates, death rates, and migration rates.
A population is a group of individuals of the same species that occupy the same geographic area at the same time. The population abundance is the absolute number of individuals that compose this population, whereas population density is the number of individuals of a population in a given unit area.
Population abundance and density rarely remain constant. Environmental conditions, interactions between individuals, interactions with other species, and the behaviour and physiology of individuals can all influence the processes, which drive population dynamics. The following sections provide examples of the factors influencing populations that are growing, declining, or in equilibrium.
Population Dynamics is an important tool for Conservation Biology and Resource and Wildlife Management. Population Dynamics allows us to:
1) Monitor populations for changes in abundance.
2) Identify the relative importance of environmental or biological factors affecting a population, including the impacts of invasive or introduced species.
3) Understand how human activities will impact populations.
4) Assess the status of endangered species and their likelihood of extinction.
5) Control pest populations.
6. RESEARCH LITERATURE CONNECTION Print Version
Cooper, W.S. 1923. The recent ecological history of Glacier Bay, Alaska: II. The present vegetation cycle. Ecology 4: 223-246.
Dennis, B., P.L. Munholland, and J.M. Scott. 1991. Estimation of growth and extinction parameters for endangered species. Ecological Monographs 61(2): 115-143.
Fastie, C.L. 1995. Causes and ecosystem consequences of multiple pathways of primary succession at Glacier Bay, Alaska. Ecology 76: 1899-1916.
Gorham, E. 1979. Shoot height, weight and standing crop in relation to density of monospecific plant stands. Nature (London) 279: 148-150.
Johnson, E.A. and G.I. Fryer. 1989. Population dynamics in lodgepole pine-Engelmann spruce forests. Ecology 70: 1335-1345.
Knight, R.R., and L.L. Eberhardt. 1985. Population dynamics of Yellowstone grizzly bears. Ecology 66(2): 323-334.
Krebs, C.J. 1989. Estimating abundance: mark-and-recapture techniques. In Ecological Methodology. HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., 654 pp.
Loery, G. and J.D. Nichols. 1985. Dynamics of a Black-Capped Chickadee Population, 1958-1983. Ecology 66(4): 195-1203.
Meyer, W.H. 1938. Yield of even-aged stands of Ponderosa pine. USDA Tech. Bull. 630.
Watson, S.B, T. Satchwill, E. Dixon, and E. McCauley. 2001 Under-ice blooms and source-water odour in a nutrient-poor reservoir: biological, ecological and applied perspectives. Freshwater Biology 46: 1553-1567.
Westoby, M. 1984. The Self-Thinning Rule. Advances in Ecological Research 14: 167-225.
White, J. 1980. Demographic factors in populations of plants. In Demography and Evolution in Plant Populations. Solbrig, O.T. (Ed.), pp. 21-48. Blackwell, London.
