Population Lecture Carrying Capacity s the maximum number

Population Lecture

Carrying Capacity s the maximum number of individuals of a given species that an area's resources can sustain indefinitely without significantly depleting or degrading those resources

Survivorship Curves s Type I survivorship curves are characterized by high survival in early and middle life, followed by a rapid decline in survivorship in later life. Humans are one of the species that show this pattern of survivorship. s Type II curves are an intermediate between Type I and III, where mortality rate is roughly constant regardless of Some birds follow this pattern of survival. s In Type III curves, the greatest mortality is experienced early on in life, with relatively low rates of death for those surviving this bottleneck. This type of curve is characteristic of species that produce a large number of offspring. One example of a species that follows this type of survivorship curve is a dandelion.

Human Population Growth

Doubling Time s Formula that calculates the number of years it will take a population to double in size given a certain growth rate per year. s Formula: s n = 70 / r s n represents the doubling time in years s 70 is the average life expectancy s r represents the growth rate in percent per year

Doubling Time s Example: s In a country with a growth rate of just 1% annually the doubling time would be 70 years s n = 70 / 1 s n = 70 s Meaning that in a single person’s lifetime the population would DOUBLE!