Population ecology

Population ecology studies how populations change in size, structure, and distribution over time through births, deaths, movement, and interactions with their environments.

Exponential growth: A population growth pattern in which numbers increase at a constant per-capita rate under unlimited resources. It provides the baseline model for growth before resource limits are included.
Population: A group of organisms of the same species living in a defined area and time. The population is the unit whose size, structure, and change the field examines.
Population viability analysis: A quantitative assessment of a population's extinction risk under specified conditions and uncertainties. It applies demographic data and uncertainty to estimate persistence or extinction risk.
Community ecology: The study of interactions among species living in the same area and how those interactions shape communities. Predation, competition, and mutualism connect population changes across species.
Population genetics: The study of genetic variation within and between populations and how it changes over time. It tracks allele frequencies, whereas population ecology centers on demographic properties.
Logistic function: A growth model in which increase slows as a quantity approaches an upper limit. Its carrying-capacity form models how density can slow population growth.
Population density: The number of individuals in a population per unit area or volume. Density distinguishes a crowded population from a sparse one of the same size.
Conservation biology: The scientific study of protecting biodiversity and managing the persistence of species and ecosystems. Population ecology supplies tools for assessing endangered species and planning recovery.
Metapopulation: A set of spatially separated populations of one species linked by dispersal. Its regional persistence depends on local extinctions and recolonization.
Lotka–Volterra equations: Mathematical models describing changes in interacting predator and prey populations. They isolate a specific interaction that can drive population fluctuations.

Linked from 29 pages