Population ecology

Population growth: The study of how populations grow over time and what factors contribute to this growth.

Carrying capacity: The maximum number of individuals that an environment can support sustainably.

Density-dependent factors: Negative feedback mechanisms that occur as populations approach their carrying capacity, such as competition for resources and increased predation.

Density-independent factors: Environmental disturbances that can affect populations regardless of their density, such as natural disasters and climate change.

Life history strategies: The trade-offs that organisms make between reproductive success and survival, including reproductive age, number of offspring, and longevity.

Population structure: The characteristics of a population, including age distribution, sex ratio, and spatial distribution.

Survivorship curves: Visual representations of the number of individuals in a population that survive at each age.

Fecundity: The number of offspring that individuals can produce.

Mortality: The death rate within a population, including age-specific mortality rates.

Migration: The movement of individuals into or out of a population.

Metapopulations: Networks of interconnected subpopulations that can help sustain a larger population over time.

Population genetics: The study of genetic variation within and among populations, including genetic drift, gene flow, and natural selection.

Demographic stochasticity: Random fluctuations in population size due to chance events, such as disease outbreaks or extreme weather.

Ecological stochasticity: Random fluctuations in population size due to environmental variability, such as changes in temperature or rainfall.

Population models: Mathematical representations of population dynamics, used to forecast future changes in population size or structure.

Growth rate analysis: This looks at the rate at which populations grow and how this growth can be affected by different variables like food availability, competition, or predation.

Life table analysis: This examines the survival and reproductive rates of populations, and how these factors change with different environmental conditions.

Age structure analysis: This examines the proportion of individuals in a population according to age, which can be useful for predicting future population growth.

Reproductive ecology: This looks at the ways in which populations reproduce and how this can affect their overall growth and survival rates over time.

Density-dependent and density-independent factors: These are factors that can affect population growth rates, like resource availability, disease, or natural disasters.

Genetic drift and gene flow: These are evolutionary factors that can alter the genetic makeup of populations over time and affect overall population dynamics.

Metapopulation ecology: This looks at the way in which groups of populations interact and change over time as individuals move between different subpopulations.

Island biogeography: This examines how populations on isolated islands can evolve differently from mainland populations, with implications for conservation efforts.

Community ecology: This looks at the interactions between different species within an ecosystem and how these interdependent relationships can affect overall population levels.

Conservation ecology: This focuses on the practical application of ecological knowledge to preserve endangered species and protect biodiversity in natural areas.