1What makes specialist species more prone to extinction?
They have a narrow ecological niche and specific food requirements, making them less adaptable.
2What makes generalist species less prone to extinction?
They have broad food requirements and high adaptability.
3What are K-selected species characterized by?
Few offspring, high parental care, and long lifespan.
4What are r-selected species characterized by?
Many offspring, little to no parental care, and short lifespan.
5Why are K-selected species more affected by environmental change?
They have low biotic potential and slower population recovery.
6Why are r-selected species more likely to be invasive?
They reproduce rapidly and adapt quickly to changing environments.
7What happens when a population overshoots carrying capacity?
It experiences a die-off due to resource depletion.
8What is carrying capacity (K)?
The maximum number of individuals an ecosystem can support based on limiting resources.
9What is biotic potential?
The maximum potential growth rate of a population with no limiting resources.
10What type of survivorship curve do most mammals have?
Type I.
11What type of survivorship curve do insects typically have?
Type III.
12What is a Type II survivorship curve?
A steady decline in survivorship throughout life.
13What are examples of density-dependent factors?
Food, water, competition, and disease.
14What are examples of density-independent factors?
Natural disasters such as floods or fires.
15What is the formula for population size change?
Population size = (births + immigration) - (deaths + emigration).
16What does the Rule of 70 calculate?
The time (in years) it takes for a population to double.
17How do you calculate doubling time?
70 divided by the population growth rate.
18What is total fertility rate (TFR)?
The average number of children a woman will bear in her lifetime.
19What is replacement level fertility in developed countries?
About 2.1.
20Why is replacement level fertility higher in less developed countries?
Due to higher infant mortality rates.
21What is infant mortality rate (IMR)?
The number of deaths of children under age 1 per 1,000 people.
22What factors lower IMR?
Access to clean water, healthcare, and reliable food supply.
23How does affluence affect TFR?
More developed nations have lower TFR due to education and family planning access.
24How does female education impact TFR?
More education leads to fewer unplanned pregnancies and later childbearing.
25Who developed the Malthusian theory?
Thomas Malthus.
26What did Malthus believe about population growth?
Human population grows faster than food supply, leading to a carrying capacity limit.
27How have humans increased Earth’s carrying capacity?
Through technological innovation, like synthetic fertilizer.
28What is crude birth rate (CBR)?
Births per 1,000 people in a population.
29What is crude death rate (CDR)?
Deaths per 1,000 people in a population.
30How do you calculate population growth rate (r)?
r = (CBR - CDR) ÷ 10.
31What factors increase population growth rate?
High TFR, high immigration, and access to healthcare.
32What factors decrease population growth rate?
High death rate, higher education, and delayed marriage.
33What is GDP?
Gross Domestic Product, the total value of goods and services produced.
34What does per capita GDP measure?
GDP divided by total population.
35What does life expectancy indicate?
The average age a person is expected to live.
36What are indicators of development?
High GDP and high life expectancy.
37What does industrialization mean?
Transition from an agrarian to a manufacturing-based economy.
38What are characteristics of pre-industrial (Stage 1) countries?
High death rates, high TFR, and little to no growth.
39What happens during Stage 2 of demographic transition?
Death rates drop due to modernization, but TFR remains high.
40Why does Stage 2 show rapid growth?
Because birth rates stay high while death rates fall.
41What happens in Stage 3 of demographic transition?
TFR declines due to education, family planning, and delayed marriage.
42What are characteristics of Stage 3 countries?
High GDP, long life expectancy, and TFR near replacement level.
43What happens in Stage 4 of demographic transition?
TFR drops below replacement level, causing population decline.
44What are indicators of Stage 4 societies?
Very high GDP, long life expectancy, and widespread contraceptive use.
45Which stage has the fastest population growth?
Stage 2, due to high birth rates and falling death rates.
46What shape does a rapidly growing population pyramid have?
An extreme pyramid shape with a wide base.
47What does a “house-shaped” population pyramid indicate?
Stable population growth.
48What does a narrow-based population pyramid indicate?
Population decline.
49How do you interpret age cohorts?
Differences between 0–14 and 15–44 age groups show growth rate trends.
50What does a larger 0–14 cohort indicate?
Current and future population growth.
51What does roughly equal 0–14 and 15–44 cohorts indicate?
Stable or slow growth.
52What does a larger 15–44 cohort indicate?
Population decline.
53What relationship exists between hare and lynx populations?
Increases in hares cause lynx to increase; overpredation causes die-offs.
54What is a consequence of deer population overshoot?
Overgrazing and starvation leading to die-off.
55What are signs of a K-selected population?
Stable population near carrying capacity and strong parental care.
56What are signs of an r-selected population?
Fluctuating population size and rapid reproduction.
57Why do r-selected species recover faster after disturbance?
They have high biotic potential and short generation times.
58Why are K-selected species less likely to adapt?
They reproduce slowly and invest heavily in fewer offspring.
59What type of growth occurs when resources are unlimited?
Exponential growth.
60What type of growth occurs when resources are limited?
Logistic growth.
61What is population density?
The number of individuals per unit area.
62What does a clumped distribution indicate?
Social or herd-based species.
63What does a uniform distribution indicate?
Territorial behavior.
64What does a random distribution indicate?
Species not influenced by others’ locations.
65What is a density-dependent limiting factor?
A factor that increases in effect with population size, like competition.
66What is a density-independent limiting factor?
A factor affecting populations regardless of size, like natural disasters.
67What does “biotic potential” measure?
The ability of a population to increase under ideal conditions.
68What is the relationship between IMR and TFR?
Higher IMR leads to higher TFR.
69How can government policy affect fertility rates?
Through coercive or encouraging population control methods.
70What is a coercive population policy example?
China’s former one-child policy.
71What is a noncoercive population policy example?
Tax incentives or microloans for smaller families.
72What does “Think like a mountain” imply in APES?
Consider long-term ecological consequences and systems thinking.
73What is an ecological niche?
The role a species plays in its environment, including its use of resources and relationships with other species.
74Why are generalist species more likely to become invasive?
Their adaptability allows them to thrive in varied environments and exploit new resources.
75Give an example of a specialist species.
The giant panda, which primarily eats bamboo.
76Give an example of a generalist species.
Raccoons, which can eat a wide variety of foods and live in diverse habitats.
77What is the main trade-off between K-selected and r-selected strategies?
K-selected invest in few offspring with care, r-selected produce many with little care.
78What does “low biotic potential” mean?
The species reproduces slowly and takes longer to recover after disturbances.
79What does “high biotic potential” mean?
The species reproduces quickly and can recover rapidly after disturbances.
80Why can invasive r-selected species outcompete K-selected natives?
They reproduce faster and use resources more quickly.
81Why does high parental care make K-selected species vulnerable?
The loss of a parent often means the offspring cannot survive.
82Why does low parental care benefit r-selected species?
The death of a parent does not affect offspring survival as much.
83What type of environment usually supports K-selected species?
Stable environments with limited resources and high competition.
84What type of environment usually supports r-selected species?
Unstable or disturbed environments with low competition.
85What variable represents maximum reproductive rate?
r (intrinsic rate of increase).
86What is a survivorship curve used for?
To show how survival rates vary with age in a population.
87What shape does a Type I curve have?
A convex curve that drops sharply in old age.
88What shape does a Type III curve have?
A concave curve that drops steeply early in life.
89What does a steep drop in a survivorship curve indicate?
A high death rate at that life stage.
90What kind of survivorship do birds often show?
Type II survivorship, with a constant death rate.
91What does “cohort” mean in population studies?
A group of individuals born at the same time.
92Why do populations not grow exponentially forever?
Limiting resources slow growth as carrying capacity is reached.
93What are common limiting resources?
Food, water, shelter, and space.
94What is overshoot followed by?
A die-off caused by resource depletion.
95What caused the reindeer crash on St. Paul Island?
They overshot their carrying capacity and ran out of lichen to eat.
96What happens if resource depletion is too severe?
The population may crash completely instead of stabilizing.
97What is the predator–prey population pattern called?
A cyclical fluctuation where predator and prey numbers rise and fall together.
98Why did the hare population decline after growing?
Increased lynx predation reduced their numbers.
99What does a high population density increase the risk of?
Competition, disease spread, and resource depletion.
100What are three main patterns of population distribution?
Random, uniform, and clumped.
101What type of distribution do herd animals show?
Clumped distribution.
102What type of distribution do territorial animals show?
Uniform distribution.
103What does a random distribution imply?
Individuals’ locations are independent of one another.
104How does skewed sex ratio affect population growth?
It can limit reproduction if one sex is underrepresented.
105What is the “bottleneck effect”?
A reduction in genetic diversity due to a sharp population decline.
106What kind of factor is food availability?
A density-dependent factor.
107What kind of factor is a hurricane?
A density-independent factor.
108What is the difference between exponential and logistic growth curves?
Exponential growth is J-shaped; logistic growth is S-shaped.
109What does the logistic model show?
Rapid growth followed by leveling off at carrying capacity.
110What is intrinsic growth rate?
The rate a population grows under ideal conditions without limits.
111How do you calculate growth rate from CBR and CDR?
Subtract CDR from CBR, then divide by 10.
112If a country’s CBR = 18 and CDR = 9, what is its growth rate?
0.9%.
113How long will a population with a 0.9% growth rate take to double?
About 77.8 years.
114What happens to doubling time when growth rate increases?
Doubling time decreases.
115What happens to doubling time when growth rate decreases?
Doubling time increases.
116What are three main factors influencing TFR?
Infant mortality, female education, and government policy.
117Why do developed countries have lower TFR?
They have higher education levels, more contraception, and delayed childbirth.
118Why do less developed countries have higher TFR?
Limited education and healthcare increase birth rates.
119How does access to clean water reduce TFR?
Lower infant mortality decreases the need for replacement children.
120Why does access to healthcare reduce TFR?
Healthier children increase survival, reducing need for large families.
121How does economic development affect fertility?
Wealthier societies have fewer children.
122How can tax incentives affect fertility?
They can encourage families to have fewer children.
123What is an example of a coercive fertility policy?
China’s one-child policy.
124What is an example of a noncoercive fertility policy?
Providing microloans to child-free women entrepreneurs.
125How does the Malthusian theory relate to food supply?
It predicts population will outgrow food production.
126How did synthetic fertilizer affect carrying capacity?
It increased food supply, raising Earth’s human carrying capacity.
127What does GDP per capita indicate about a country?
Its economic development level.
128How does life expectancy relate to standard of living?
Higher life expectancy means better healthcare and resources.
129What stage of demographic transition has high birth and death rates?
Stage 1 – Preindustrial.
130What stage has falling death rates but still high birth rates?
Stage 2 – Industrializing.
131What stage shows declining birth rates and slow growth?
Stage 3 – Developed.
132What stage shows negative growth?
Stage 4 – Post-industrialized.
133What causes the “generational lag” in fertility decline?
It takes time for social and educational changes to spread.
134What stage has the lowest GDP and shortest life expectancy?
Stage 1.
135What stage experiences rapid growth due to modernization?
Stage 2.
136What stage achieves near-replacement fertility rates?
Stage 3.
137What stage often has TFR below replacement level?
Stage 4.
138What is a key economic indicator of a Stage 3 country?
High GDP and literacy rate.
139What is a key economic indicator of a Stage 4 country?
Very high GDP and longest life expectancy.
140Why does population decline in Stage 4 countries?
Birth rates fall below death rates.
141Which stage represents developing countries?
Stage 2.
142Which stage represents highly developed countries?
Stage 4.
143How can governments slow population growth?
By promoting education, contraception, and economic opportunities for women.
144How does biodiversity relate to rapid human population growth?
More people mean more habitat loss and resource consumption.
145What does “#ThinkLikeAMountain” mean in ecology?
Understand long-term ecosystem interactions and consequences.
146What does “#WriteLikeAScholar” mean in APES?
Use evidence-based, precise explanations in writing.
147How can population density lead to disease outbreaks?
Close contact increases transmission of pathogens.
148What is a limiting resource?
A resource that constrains population growth when scarce.
149Why do K-selected species usually live near carrying capacity?
Their population growth stabilizes due to limited resources.
150Why do r-selected populations fluctuate widely?
They overshoot and crash due to high reproductive rates.
151What is population overshoot?
A temporary population spike above carrying capacity.
152What is die-off?
A sharp population decline following overshoot.
153What does “biotic” mean?
Living components of an ecosystem.
154What does “abiotic” mean?
Nonliving factors like sunlight, water, or soil.
155How does competition influence carrying capacity?
Limited resources restrict population size.
156Why are invasive species often r-strategists?
They reproduce rapidly and adapt easily to new environments.
157How can invasive species disrupt ecosystems?
They outcompete natives for resources and alter habitats.
158Why do K-strategists have more stable populations?
Their population size remains near carrying capacity due to low reproductive rates.
159What is an example of an r-selected species?
Mosquito or dandelion.
160What is an example of a K-selected species?
Elephant or whale.
161What happens to population growth when resources become scarce?
It slows or declines due to competition.
162What does “intrinsic rate of increase” mean?
Maximum possible growth under ideal conditions.
163How is logistic growth more realistic than exponential growth?
It includes environmental limits and carrying capacity.
164How can density-dependent disease spread affect population stability?
It increases death rates when density rises.
165What role does parental care play in survivorship?
High parental care increases early survival rates.
166What does “high competition habitat” favor?
K-selected species with stable populations.
167What does “low competition habitat” favor?
r-selected species with rapid reproduction.