Populations in Ecosystems: Variation in Populatioon Size
Populations in Ecosystems: Variation in Populatioon Size
- An ecosystem can support a specified population size of a species, known as carrying capacity.
- Population size can fluctuate due to abiotic factors and organism interactions including competition and predation.
- For estimating population sizes:
- Quadrats, randomly placed or along a belt transect, can be used for slow-moving or non-moving organisms.
- The mark-release-recapture method can be used for motile organisms, though certain assumptions are made in this method.
- Ecosystems are dynamic, which implies impacts on food chains and predator-prey relationships.
- It is important to understand the various factors that impact population and be able to compose an appropriate method to calculate population size in a specific area or for a certain species.