Population Ecology
Campbell Chapter 47

1. Define population density and dispersion.

2. Distinguish between clumped, uniform, and random dispersion.

3. Define the following demographic factors: age structure, fecundity, death rate, generation time, and sex ratio.

4. State the relationship between generation time and body size. Explain why this relationship is significant.

5. Describe the three basic survivorship curves.

6. Body size, adult mortality, and current reproductive effort affect the life history of organisms. Explain the effect of each.

7. How does allocation of resources affect reproductive strategy. How do longevity and fecundity illustrate this principle?

8. Elaborate on the strategies of semelparity and iteroparity and relate them to allocation of resources.

9. Explain how the age of first reproduction affects the balance between current reproduction and survival plus future reproduction.

10. What is the general relationship between generation time and maximum population growth rate (r_max)?

11. Explain the concept of carrying capacity (K).

12. What is the relationship between population size (N) and growth rate (r)?

13. How are N, K, and r related in the logistic growth model?

14. Define and outline the characteristics of both K-selected (equilibrial) and r-selected (opportunistic) populations.

15. How do density-dependant factors control a population?