Population Ecology

Abstract:

Population ecology is the subfield of ecology that identifies those ecological factors--in the community or in the ecosystem--that regulate a population's size. The student will learn about intrinsic population growth and discover how such growth can be quantified, along with the factors that inhibit growth. Also, the student will apply his or her understanding of population ecology to determine a population's current status and construct a management plan to maintain population size. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: explain how population ecology is used to address problems in evolution, conservation, epidemiology, and resource management; describe the interactions among and between the biotic and abiotic components of a healthy ecosystem and explain how these components are interdependent; identify factors that threaten the maintenance of biodiversity in ecosystems and the population measures used to sustain ecosystem biodiversity; use mathematical models and equations to describe population growth and interaction between populations; identify density-dependent and density-independent factors that affect population growth and regulation; employ the principles and techniques of population dynamics and ecology to analyze population viability and develop a resource management plan by using data gathered from a sample population. (Biology 313)

Subject:

Science and Technology

Grade Level:

Post-secondary

SubTopics:

Green

Collection:

Saylor Foundation