Determining Population Size

A logistic growth curve is S-shaped. Populations that have a logistic growth curve will experience exponential growth until their carrying capacity is reached, at which point their growth begins to level. An exponential growth curve is J-shaped. Exponential growth is more common in R-selected species, which have a short life span and a high rate of reproduction.

b. 0.0357 wolves/mi^2

false

a. dividing the number of organisms in a region by the land area

d. Logistic growth curves increase exponentially at first, then experience slowed growth rates.

A number of members of a population are capture, tagged, and released. At a later time, the sampler returns and captures a set number of members of the population and determines the ratio of tagged to untagged individuals. The ratio of tagged to caught individuals is then approximately equal to the ratio of originally tagged individuals to the total population.

The sampling method involves counting the total number of organisms in a certain area and then using that number to determine the total number of organisms in a larger area.

Even though New Zealand has a smaller population than Australia, it has a greater population density because it covers a much smaller area. Australia's population is approximately five times larger than New Zealand's while the area Australia covers is approximately 30 times larger than the area New Zealand covers.

a. logistic growth curve

New Zealand's population density = 4,326,380 people /103,736 mi^2 = 42 people/mi^2. Australia's population density = 21,905,140 people / 2,967,909 mi^2 = 7 people/mi^2.

b. Logistic growth curves stabilize when carrying capacity is reached.

d. mutation rate

false

a. 1.3 bison/mi^2

b. exponential growth curve

100,000 organisms in 0.5 mi^2

a. mark/recapture

c. sampling

true

a. Exponential growth curves are common for R-selected species.