Study Questions for Populations Dynamics & Growth

1.       What kind of survivorship curves (I, II, or III) are most associated with r and K life history strategists?  Explain why these survivorship curves are adaptive given the nature of the environments you usually find r- or K-type species in.

2.       What kind of survivorship curves (I, II, or III) are most associated with R, C, and S life history strategies?

3.       What are the four factors determining change in population size?

4.       What is an age class structure?  What kinds of ecological things can you infer from an age class structure?

5.       Explain how the logistic model of population growth incorporates both ideas of exponential population increase and carrying capacity.  Use the logistic equation to do this.

6.       Explain 2 problems with using the logistic model to describe how populations behave in nature.