WEEKS 1 AND 2

DEFINITIONS:
Habitat - the place where an organism or species normally lives

Species - organisms that resemble one another in appearance, behaviour, chemistry, and genetic
makeup. They have the ability to interbreed with each other under natural conditions to produce
fertile offspring

Population size - the number of individuals of the same species occupying a given area/volume
at a given time

DENSITY:
Population density - the number of individuals of the same species per unit area/volume

Crude density - density of individuals for the entire habitat

Ecological density - density of individuals for only the areas in which these individuals use

DISPERSION:
Population dispersion - the general pattern in which individuals are dispersed through a specified
area

Clumped dispersion - individuals are concentrated in certain spots, as these areas are favourable
for survival (eg. Cattails grow on edges of ponds/lakes)

Uniform dispersion - individuals equally spaced out, may have resulted from competition
between species that set up territories for feeding, breeding, or nesting (eg. King penguins)

Random dispersion - individuals are arranged unpredictably, the pattern is unaffected by

interactions with other individuals and environment

Quadrat - a sampling frame used for estimating population size, most effectively used on
stationary populations (eg. trees)

Mark-recapture method - a sampling technique for estimating population size an density but
comparing the proportion of marked and unmarked animals captured in a given area

HOW TO CALCULATE POPULATION SIZE

You can calculate population size by using different sampling techniques. For example, a
quadrat or the mark-recapture method can be used (as described above)

Equations:

N=Mxn
m

N=DxS

HOW TO CALCULATE POPULATION DENSITY (D)

D=N
S

Divide the total population number (N) by the total space of the area desired (S)

eg) If 34 turtles were counted in a 200-ha park, what is the population density?

Answer:
34 (N) = 0.17 (D)

200 (S)

HOW TO USE THE MARK-RECAPTURE METHOD

N=n

The proportion of marked items (M) in the entire population (N) for the first capture should be
equal to the proportion of recaptured (m) items in the second sample (n)

eg) Biologists captured 80 wood ducks from a population and marked them. Two weeks later,
110 wood ducks were taken and 12 were previously marked. Estimate the total population size.
M

N= n

80 12
N = 110

N = 80 x 110
12

N = 8788

ACTIVITY PAGE 657

a)
N=Mxn
m

N = 22 x 30
4
N = 165

b) The number of kids actually in the grade 12 population is 210. The mark recapture method
isn't completely accurate, but it gives a ball park range.

c) Yes I should count myself because the question is asking about the entire grade 12 population
and the entire biology class, both of which I am apart of.

QUESTIONS PAGE 659, #1,3,5,6

1.
a) A large population of Greater Snow Geese could contribute to a food and water shortage.
Geese mainly eat plants, while they sometimes eat insects and fish. The large amount of geese
could take over and eat a majority of the plants, leaving a smaller amount for other animals.
Also, the insects and fish may start decreasing in population due to the geese feeding off them.

b) Find a place on earth with a similar environmental situation as the Eastern Arctic, and move a
portion of the geese there.

3.
a) I estimate the pattern is random dispersion

b)
N = 195 x 210
10
N = 4095

5.
a) Population size for the school yard
N=Mxn
m
N = 280 x 130
8
N = 3737.5

Population density for the school yard

D=N
S

D = 3737.5
2 ha

D = 1868.75 grasshoppers/ha

Population size for the oil refinery

N=Mxn
m
N = 150 x 70
26
N = 402.85

Population density for the oil refinery

D=N
S
D = 402.85
1 ha

D = 402.85 grasshoppers/ha

b) I can conclude that the environment of the school yard is more fitted for the grasshoppers, as
there are around 4x more grasshoppers in the school yard than by the oil refinery.

6.
a) D = N
S
D = 1800
2400 km squared
D = 0.75 elephants per km squared

b) S = N
D
S = 5306
1.4 per km squared
S = 3790 km squared

c) D = N
S
D = 1050
3790 km squared
D = 0.27 giraffes per km squared