Introduction to Biology
Part III. Ecology
Nguyen Thi Kim Dung
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Email: ntkdung@[Link]
CHAPTER 4
POPULATION
CONTENT OF CHAPTER 4
1. Concept of population
2. Characteristics of population
1. Number – density
2. Growth of population
3. Age structure – sex ratio
4. Dispersion
3. Dynamics in population numbers
[Link]
n-elephants-killed-faster-than-they-are-being-born
1. CONCEPT OF POPULATION
• Population = Quần thể = Chủng quần
• A biological unit = a group of individuals
• Belonging to the same species
• Distributed in a certain space
• Co-existing in the process of life Credit: James Warwick/Getty Images
• Populations in relation to environment [Link]
• Environment influences on population in terms of its:
• Density
• Distribution/dispersion
• Age structure
• Population size
[Link]
1. CONCEPT OF POPULATION
• Belonging to the same species:
• Mating and transferring genetic materials
• Containing genetic diversity in each individual
• Isolating reproduction with other species
[Link]
• Biological characteristics:
• About age: baby, young, old
• About sex: male, female
[Link]
1. CONCEPT OF POPULATION
• Being distributed in a certain space
• Appropriate distribution site:
• Biological characteristics
• Ability to move disperse
• Boundary: geographic barriers
• Small groups: flocks, herds - adapted to
the differentiation of habitats and
efficient use of resources
• Large distribution: sub-units
• Geographic population: influenced by
climate and landscape
• Ecological populations: differences
evolved in morphology, behavior,
phenotype
[Link]
2. CHARACTERISTICS OF POPULATION
• Population size: Number - Density Why is it important for scientist
• Entire individuals existing in the distribution to describe natural population?
area of the population
• To assess the health of population
• Expressing the diversity of the genome
• To determine the endangered or
• Population size threatened status
• Fluctuating within the limit range of population size
• To predict the population dynamics
• Specified/featured for the species
• Defined by:
• Position of the species in the energy flow/ food chain
• Intensity of metabolism
2. CHARACTERISTICS OF POPULATION
• Density
• The average number of
individuals/biomass per unit of
area/volume
• The result of an interplay
between processes that add
individuals to a population and
those that remove individuals
• Immigration is the influx of new
individuals from other areas
• Emigration is the movement of
individuals out of a population
2. CHARACTERISTICS OF POPULATION
• Ecological significance of population size
• The degree of nutrient utilization
• The degree of utilization of habitat space
• Distribution of mating potentials
• The degree of interaction with different populations in a community
2. CHARACTERISTICS OF POPULATION
• Growth of population
• An increase in number of individuals
in the population
• As a result of the below phenomenon
• Biology: reproduction, death
• Mechanics: emigration, immigration
• Ideally, population size grows
according to its biological potentials
• But only in case of the abundance of
nutritional resources, residence space,
and no biological interactions
[Link]
2. CHARACTERISTICS OF POPULATION
• Age structure – sex ratio
• Affected by:
• Birth rate
• Mortality
• Divided into 3 age stages:
• Age group I: Young stage: Pre-
reproductive age
• Age group II: Maturity stage:
Reproductive age
• Age group III: Elderly stage:
Post-reproductive age
2. CHARACTERISTICS OF POPULATION
• Patterns of dispersion
• A clumped dispersion: influenced by resource availability and behavior
• A uniform dispersion: evenly distributed, influenced by social interactions such as
territoriality
• A random dispersion: independent of individuals, lacked of strong interactions or
repulsion
3. DYNAMICS IN POPULATION
• The number of individuals in a population is not completely stable
• Fluctuated periodically or abnormally
• The fluctuations depend on:
• Intrinsic/physiological factors
• Environmental factors
• There are certain rules regulating the dynamics in population
• All populations undergo 3 phases in life cycle:
• Growth
• Stability
• Decline
3. DYNAMICS IN POPULATION
• Characteristics of dynamics
• Size
• Density
• Dispersal
• Immigration
• Emigration
• Births
• Deaths
• Survivorship
3. DYNAMICS IN POPULATION
• Density-dependent factors: limiting
population growth based on density. These
factors include:
• Competition for resources
• Territoriality
• Disease
• Predation
• Toxic wastes
• Intrinsic/physiological factors
• Density-independent factors: occurring by
chance. These may be a forest fire, a flood, a
drought, an earthquake, a tsunami, etc.,
3. DYNAMICS IN POPULATION
3. DYNAMICS IN POPULATION
• Balance of population
• The number of individuals is stably maintained
• It’s the mechanism that regulates population density in case of excess or lack
of its quantity
• There are methods of balancing
• Harsh: thinning, eating each other (shark, crocodile, grassland squirrel, tc.)
• Flexible: inhibiting hormones (water lice)
• Physiological disorders: Reproductive inhibition, increased mortality
Methods measuring population size
Mark-Release-Recapture
A known number of animals are caught,
marked in some way, and then released
back into the community. Later, a
number of individuals are collected
randomly and the number of marked
individuals is recorded.
(Total number of individuals in the first sample) x (Total number of individuals in the second sample)
Estimated population size =
Number of marked individuals recaptured
CHAPTER 5
COMMUNITY
Content of chapter 5
1. Concept of community
2. Characteristics of community
3. Biological interactions
4. Dynamics in community by time
1. Concept of community
• Community
• Being a collection of different species
• Living in a particular area
• Having formed in an evolution
process
• Existing ecological relationships
between species
• Existing adaptation between
organisms and environment
[Link]
2. Characteristics of community
1. Structure of species component
1. Number of species
2. Component of species
3. Diversity index
2. Structure in space
1. Vertical structure/Layers
2. Horizontal structure/Gradients
3. Structure of trophic levels
2.1. Structure of species component
• Number of species
• depends on the environmental conditions.
• Tropical area: high number of species
• Desert and polar areas: very low number of species
• Component of species
• Each community has a featured component of species
• For example:
• Evergreen forests with Dipterocarpaceae
• Semi deciduous forests with Fabaceae
• Pine forests, Melaleuca forests
• Diversity index
• Simpson’s Diversity Index
• [Link]
• Shannon Wiener Diversity Index
• [Link]
2.1. Structure of species component
• Species component and number of species are in a defined relationship
• From high to low latitude or from offshores to sea coasts:
• number of species is increased
• amount of species individuals is decreased
• interrelatedness between species is intensified
• Number of species individuals = species biodiversity
2.1. Structure of species component
• The higher biodiversity, the better stable the ecosystem is
• Rain forest and coral reef
• Every community has some dominant species defined by the number,
size, and specific dispersion of the species
• Interactions between populations within a community are characteristics
of the community of which do not exist in level of population
2.1. Structure of species component
• A community is named by:
• The place of its distribution: estuary community, limestone community
• The living forms: communities of floating organisms
• The dominant species: grassland community, shrubs, bush
• The boundary between community is very hardly determined:
• Overlapped, transition and buffer areas between communities, so called
“ecotone”
2.2. Structure in space
• Vertical structure
• Layers
• 5 main layers/strata in
tropical rain forests
• Light intensity, moisture
• Gradient structure
• Inundation
• Salinity
2.2. Structure in space
[Link]
[Link]
2.3. Structure of trophic levels
[Link]
3. Biological interactions
[Link]
interactions-positive-negative-interactions-
ecosystem-ppt/
[Link]
4. Dynamics in community by time
CHAPTER 6
BIOSPHERE AND BIODIVERSITY
CONSERVATION
1. Biosphere
• What makes up the biosphere?
[Link]
2. Biodiversity
• Variation in life
• Species
• Genetic
• Ecosystem
[Link]
[Link]
biodiversity-crisis-to-be-assessed-at-major-summit/
Map of the world showing the three tropical major regions with a
summary of the biodiversity richness for each, with the three
floristically distinctive subunits of the Afrotropical Region: Tropical
Africa (dark blue), Southern Africa (pale blue), and Madagascar (green).
[Link]