Chapter 21

Populations
and Communities

Warm Up 3/5/15
1. What is the smallest unit in an ecosystem called?
2. Why do different organisms live in different
habitats?
3. What is the difference between Abiotic and Biotic
factors?
4. What are the levels of organization from smallest
to biggest?
5. What is the study of how living things interact is
called?

II. Studying Populations

A. Determining Population
Size
1. Counting all members or exact
number of a population is called direct
observation
i.e.) counting number of students
2. Indirect observation involves
observing signs of organism rather
than the
organisms

3. Sampling - A sample count is

taken by making an estimate of the
number of organisms in small area
and multiply to find a number for a
large area
4. Mark and Recapture Studies
(unscramble for your notes)
* by counting the number of
organisms that have been previously
captured and using a
mathematic formula
an estimate
of the total population can be

Why might an ecologist use

indirect observation to estimate a
population?

When a population is small or difficult to

find

B. Changes in Population
Size
1. Populations can change in size when
new members join or when they leave
2. Births and Deaths
a. Birth rate of a population is the number of
births
in a certain period of time
i). If birth rate > death rate, population size
increases

b. Death rate of a population is the number of

deaths in a certain period of time
i). If death rate > birth rate, population size
decreases

3. Population Statement
a. If birth rate > death rate,
population
size increases
b. If death rate > birth rate,
population
size decreases
4. Immigration and Emigration
a. Immigration means moving into a
population
b. Emigration means moving out of a
population

5. Graphing Changes in Population

a. Changes in a population can be
graphed on a line graph

6. Population Density
a. Population density is the number
of
individuals in an area of a specific
size
Population density = Number of
individuals
Unit area

C. Limiting Factors
1. A limiting factor is an environmental
factor
that causes a population to decrease
(food and water, space and weather)
2. Food and Water
a. Organism require food and water
to
survive, but the supply is often
limited
b. The largest population that an
area

3. Space
a. If an organism can not find the
space
it needs to nest the population will
be
limited
b. Space is also a limiting factor for
plants
* room to gather the things it
needs
for survival

Why is space a limiting factor to

plants?

Room to survive: sunlight, water, soil, and

nutrients

4. Weather
a. Weather conditions can limit
population growth especially
when
organism are young and
developing

What are some of the weather

conditions that can limit the
growth of a population?

Temperature, rainfall (too much or too

little), wind, storms, and floods

Skills Lab 21.2

Counting
Turtles
Year

Number
Marked

Total
Number
Captured

11
22
33
44

32
32
25
25
23
23

28

15

10

28
21
21
19
19

Number
Recaptured
(with Marks)
15
15
11
11
1111
11

Estimated
Total Population

60
48
40