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4: Community and Population Ecology

  • Page ID
    106519
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    Many fish leaping out of the water.
    Figure 4.1 Asian carp jump out of the water in response to electrofishing. The Asian carp in the inset photograph were harvested from the Little Calumet River in Illinois in May, 2010, using rotenone, a toxin often used as an insecticide, in an effort to learn more about the population of the species. (credit main image: modification of work by USGS; credit inset: modification of work by Lt. David French, USCG)
    Learning Objectives
    • Describe how ecologists measure population size and density
    • Describe three different patterns of population distribution
    • Give examples of how the carrying capacity of a habitat may change
    • Explain how humans have expanded the carrying capacity of their habitat
    • Discuss the long-term implications of unchecked human population growth

    Chapter Outline

    • 4.1 Population Dynamics and Demographics
    • 4.2 Population Growth & Regulation
    • 4.3 The Human Population
    • 4.4 Community Ecology
    • 4.5 Chapter Resources

    Thumbnail image - Asian carp jump out of the water in response to electrofishing. The Asian carp in the inset photograph were harvested from the Little Calumet River in Illinois in May, 2010, using rotenone, a toxin often used as an insecticide, in an effort to learn more about the population of the species. (credit main image: modification of work by USGS; credit inset: modification of work by Lt. David French, USCG)


    This page titled 4: Community and Population Ecology is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Matthew R. Fisher (OpenOregon) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.