4: Populations
- Page ID
- 32483
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- 4.1: Introduction to Human Populations
- We know more about the human population and how it has grown than we know about the population of any other species thanks to demography, which is the scientific study of human populations. Demography encompasses the size, distribution, and structure of populations.
- 4.2: Population Dynamics
- Populations are dynamic. They are continuously gaining individuals through births and losing individuals through deaths. Populations may also gain or lose significant numbers of individuals through migration, when people either enter or leave a population. All of these factors together determine whether and how quickly a population grows.
- 4.4: Population Growth and Regulation
- Population ecologists make use of a variety of methods to model population dynamics. An accurate model should be able to describe the changes occurring in a population and predict future changes.
- 4.5: Human Population Growth
- Although humans have increased the carrying capacity of their environment, the technologies used to achieve this transformation have caused unprecedented changes to Earth’s environment, altering ecosystems to the point where some may be in danger of collapse. The depletion of the ozone layer, erosion due to acid rain, and damage from global climate change are caused by human activities. The ultimate effect of these changes on our carrying capacity is unknown.