Understanding
the
Population
What is Population?
. Population - is a group of individuals
of a particular species, sharing the
common genepool and occupying a
particular area at a specific time.
.Population Ecology - Study of
individuals of the same species and
the related processes such as
aggregation interactions
between individuals and the
factors leading to those processes.
Population Characteristics
•Size and density
•Size is the number of individuals in a
population.
Density is the number per unit area
(or volume) of environment.
Population Characteristics
•Natality (birth rate)
•The number of offsprings produced annually per one
thousand individuals.
•
Mortality (death rate)
•The number of deaths occurring annually per one
thousand individuals.
Population Characteristics
•Growth Rate
•Natality – Mortality x 100%
•
Doubling Time
•Length of time it will take for a population to double in size.
•
Doubling Time = 70/growth rate(%), where 70 is a demographic
constant.
Population Characteristics
•Vital index
•The birth to death ratio for a population (birth/death X 100)
Survival rate (how many survive from death) is expressed as
survivorship curve.
Population Characteristics
•1. Highly convex curve
•Here the population , mortality is low until the end of the life span
(deer, man)
•
2. Highly concave curves
•Mortality rate is high during the young stages (oyster, shell fish)
•
3. Diagonal curves
•The curve approaches a straight line due to more or less constant
age-specific survivability
•Constant proportion of organism dying per unit time
•No population has constant age-specific survival rate
•Undergo metamorphosis
Population Characteristics
•Dispersion
•The spatial pattern of individuals in a population, relative to one another.
•
1. Regular dispersion
•Equal distance between individuals.
•Vary rate in natural system; but common in man-made system (crop land).
•2. Random dispersion
•Individuals are not having equidistance.
•Not common in nature.
•3. Clumped dispersion
•Results from social aggregation.
•Certain patches of favourable environment for the population concerned.
Population Characteristics
•Dispersion
•The spatial pattern of individuals in a population, relative to one another.
•
1. Regular dispersion
•Equal distance between individuals.
•Vary rate in natural system; but common in man-made system (crop land).
•2. Random dispersion
•Individuals are not having equidistance.
•Not common in nature.
•3. Clumped dispersion
•Results from social aggregation.
•Certain patches of favourable environment for the population concerned.
Population Characteristics
•Immigration – new individuals enter and reside
within a population.
Emmigration – individuals leave the population.
Population Characteristics
•Age Distribution
•
Age distribution influences both natality and mortality
•The ratio of different age groups in a population determines the
current reproductive status of the population.
•
1. Pre-reproductive age – juvenile such as larvae of insects,
fingerlings of tilapia, plants seedlings or babies;
•2. Reproductive age – sexually mature insects, plants with
flowers and fruits or Homo sapiens in early adulthood.
3. Post-reproductive age –no longer capable of sexual
reproduction.
Population Characteristics
•Age Distribution
•
Age distribution influences both natality and mortality
•The ratio of different age groups in a population determines the
current reproductive status of the population.
•
1. Pre-reproductive age – juvenile such as larvae of insects,
fingerlings of tilapia, plants seedlings or babies;
•2. Reproductive age – sexually mature insects, plants with
flowers and fruits or Homo sapiens in early adulthood.
3. Post-reproductive age –no longer capable of sexual
reproduction.
Population Characteristics
•Sex ratios
•Number of males compared to
number of females.
Population Characteristics
• Based on differences in ratios between age distribution and
sex ratio, three types of populations can be observed:
• 1. Constrictive;
• 2. Expansive; and
• 3. Near stationary
Population Characteristics
Expansive Type
Population Characteristics
Near-stationary
Population Characteristics
• Constrictive
Population Growth and Regulation
• The growth of a population can be categorized
into several stages, namely:
• Lag phase;
• Log or exponential phase;
• Plataeu or stationary phase;
• Death phase
Population Growth and Regulation
Population Growth and Regulation
• Population growth theories
• Population growth rate is the net result of
births, deaths and dispersals.
• 1. Exponential or geometric fashion growth
• 2. Sigmoid growth form or Logistic growth
Population Growth and Regulation
• Population growth theories
• 1. Exponential or Geometric growth
• The population density keeps on increasing
exponentially or geometrically until some resources
runs out or encounters some other limitation
• For example binary fission produces double the
offsprings every successive generation. It is also know
as J-shaped growth form.
Population Growth and Regulation
• 2. Sigmoid growth form or Logistic growth
• Population growth has upper limit
• Increase in density reduces the rate of growth
• It is S- shaped on arithmetic coordinates
• It is less steep than exponential growth
Population Growth and Regulation
• 2. Sigmoid growth form or Logistic growth
• Population growth has upper limit
• Increase in density reduces the rate of growth
• It is S- shaped on arithmetic coordinates
• It is less steep than exponential growth
Population Growth and Regulation
• Biotic potential “r”
• The maximum reproductive rate of a species.
• For a population to maximize its biotic potential
in a certain habitat, a sufficient support system
is essential.
• Food, maternal care, space, absence of
predator.
Population Growth and Regulation
• Carrying capacity “k”
• Maximum number of individuals of any species that can be
supported by a particular ecosystem on a long-term basis.
• Environmental Resistance
• Totality of factors that would tend to limit the population.
• Raw material availability – food, air, water
• Energy availability
• Waste accumulation and disposal
• Organism interaction
Reproductive Patterns and Survival
• Not all species reach a stable carrying capacity
• Species can be broadly lumped into two categories:
• K- selected species (competitors) logistic growth
• Small number of offspring, high parental care
• Late successional species
• r- selected species (opportunists) exponential (boom or bust)
• Large number of offspring, low parental care
• Early successional species
Reproductive Patterns and Survival
Trends in the World Population
• The growth curve of the human population has a “long lag phase”.
• Why?
• Noted during the stone age and towards the agricultural revolution.
• The population was in close commune with nature.
• World population from AD1 until 1000 years after was about 300
million.
Trends in the World Population
• With the advent of the agricultural revolution, domestication of
plants and animals was practiced. Population began to settle in
defined areas.
• Crude health measures were tried that resulted in the lowering of
death rates although life expectancy is still short.
• Consequently, human population increased with corresponding
demands on the resources together with the production of more
waste.
Trends in the World Population
• Industrial Revolution
• Discovery of coal as a source of energy was the moving force that
supported the advancement of technology to increase food
production and mobility.
• Advances in the physical sciences and the use of scientific method
become popular.
Trends in the World Population
• World Population
• In demographics, the world population is the total number of humans currently
living, and was estimated to have reached 7,800,000,000 people as of March 2020.
[2][3]
It took over 2 million years of human prehistory and history for the world's
population to reach 1 billion,[4] and only 200 years more to reach 7 billion.[5]
• The world population has experienced continuous growth following the
Great Famine of 1315–1317 and the end of the Black Death in 1350, when it was
near 370 million.[6] The highest global population growth rates, with increases of
over 1.8% per year, occurred between 1955 and 1975 – peaking at 2.1% between
1965 and 1970.[7] The growth rate declined to 1.2% between 2010 and 2015 and is
projected to decline further in the course of the 21st century. [7]
Population Change in Interval of Five years (thousands)
from 1950 – 2005 in Least Developed Countries
Period Population Change per year
1950-
1955 4150
1955-
1960 5074
1960-
1965 6080
1965-
1970 7360
1970-
1975 8353
1975-
1980 9407
1980-
1985 11011
1985-
1990 12772
1990-
1995 15029
1995-
2000 15312
2000-
2005 17173
Population Change in Interval of Five years (thousands) from 1950 –
2005 in More Developed Countries
Period Population Change per year
1950-1955 10090
1955-1960 10416
1960-1965 10267
1965-1970 8208
1970-1975 7905
1975-1980 7069
1980-1985 6449
1985-1990 6757
1990-1995 5082
1995-2000 3874
2000-2005 3582
Trends in the World Population
• Rapid growth rate with increased demand of resources and energy as well as
increased production of waste materials.
• Climax communities like mountain forests or grasslands are converted into
agricultural and grazing lands in order to meet this increasing demand.
• Marine environment are now being explored as additional resource for the
growing population and some fish population are already depleted.
• The world’s ocean is declining in productivity particularly coral reefs, which are
breeding places of fish, are slowly being destroyed.
Trends in the World Population
• Energy source is a vital part of development to support growing
population like coal, oil and natural gas (non-renewable) and wind,
solar hydro and geothermal (renewable).
• In the production of goods, waste is also produced. Solid waste
management is of primary importance.
The Philippine Population
The Philippine Population
• One of the core values of Philippine society is equitable development
where all members of the society have the capacity, opportunity and
equal chance to succeed in life. This is hampered by a rapidly
increasing population so that parents are unable to invest fully on the
health and education of their children. This result to slow economic
growth and low standard of living.
• People are entice to migrate to the cities which lead to an increase in
urban poor communities.
The Philippine Population
• With the present growth rate of 2.36%, the quality of life of the
Filipinos is jeopardized.
• Concrete effort on the government and private sector has to be
strengthened.
• Emphasis on women empowerment and involvement of men in
reproductive health is necessary.
Activity 1
•Discuss the impact of population
growth on climate change
