ORGANISMS

AND
POPULATIONS
By Amrita Rawal
 POPULATIONS

● A population is a group of individuals of same species that

live in a given geographical area, share or compete for
similar resources and potentially reproduce.
● E.g. All the cormorants in a wetland, rats in an abandoned
dwelling, teakwood trees in a forest tract, bacteria in a
culture plate and lotus plants in a pond, etc.
● Population ecology is an important area of ecology as it
links ecology to population genetics & evolution.
Population Attributes:

● Birth rates: Refer to per capita births. E.g. In a pond,

there were 20 lotus plants last year and through
reproduction 8 new plants are added.
● Therefore, the current population = 28
● Hence, the birth rate = 8/20 = 0.4 offspring per lotus per
year
● Death rates: Refer to per capita deaths. E.g. 4 individuals
in a laboratory population of 40 fruit lies died during a
week.
● Hence, the death rate = 4/40 = 0.1 individuals per fruit fly
per week.
● Sex ratio: An individual is either a male or a female but a
population has a sex ratio. E.g. 60% of the population is
females and 40% males.
● Age pyramid: It is the structure obtained when the age
distribution (% individuals of a given age or age group) is
plotted for the population. For human population, age
pyramids generally show age distribution of males and
females in a combined diagram.
The shape of pyramid reflects the growth status of the
population.

● Growing/expanding → Triangular shaped

● Stable/stationary → Bell shaped

● Decline/decreasing → Urn shaped

Population size or population density (N):
● It is the number of individuals of a species per unit area or
volume. E.g. Population density of Siberian cranes at
Bharatpur wetlands in any year is <10. It is millions for
Chlamydomonas in a pond.
● Population size also called population density is measured in
percentage cover or biomass. E.g. In an area, if there are 200
Parthenium plants but only a single huge banyan tree with a
large canopy, stating that the population density of banyan is
low relative to that of carrot grass amounts to
underestimating the enormous role of the Banyan in that
community.
● In such cases, measuring percentage cover or biomass is
meaningful to show importance of banyan tree. Total number
is difficult measure for a huge population. In such cases,
relative population density (without knowing absolute
population density) is used. E.g. Number of fish caught per
trap indicates its total population density in the lake.
● In some cases, indirect estimation of population sizes is
performed. E.g. Tiger census in national parks & tiger
reserves based on pug marks & fecal pellets
 Population growth
● The population size changes depending on factors like food
availability, predation pressure & weather.
● Changes in population density give some idea about the
population – whether it is flourishing or declining.
● Natality & immigration increase the population density.
● Mortality & emigration decrease the population density.
● If N is the population density at time t, then its density
at time t +1 is Nt+1 = Nt + [(B + I) – (D + E)], Population
density increases if B+I is more than D+E. Otherwise it
will decrease.
● Under normal conditions, births & deaths are
important factors influencing population density.
Other 2 factors have importance only under
special conditions.
● E.g. for a new colonizing habitat, immigration may
be more significant to population growth than
birth rates.
 Growth models

● Resources (food & space) are essential for

unimpeded population growth.
● If resources are unlimited, each species shows
its full innate potential to grow in number.
Then the population grows in an exponential or
geometric fashion.
● If population size N, birth rates (per capita births)
represented as b and death rates (per capita deaths)
represented as d, then the increase or decrease in N
during a unit time period t (dN/dt) will be

dN/dt = (b – d) x N
Let (b–d) = r, then
dN/dt = rN
● The r (intrinsic rate of natural increase) is an important
parameter for assessing impacts of any biotic or abiotic
factor on population growth.
● The r value for the Norway rat = 0.015, r value for the
flour beetle = 0.12, r value for human population in
India (1981) = 0.0205 The integral form of the
exponential growth equation is Nt = N0er
● Where, Nt = Population density after time t N0 =
Population density at time zero r = Intrinsic rate of
natural increase e = The base of natural logarithms
(2.71828)
b. Logistic growth
● There is no population in nature having unlimited
resources for exponential growth. This leads to
competition among individuals for limited resources.
● Eventually, the ‘fittest’ individuals survive and
reproduce.
● In nature, a given habitat has enough resources to
support a maximum possible number, beyond which no
further growth is possible. It is called carrying
capacity (K).
● A population with limited resources shows initially a lag
phase, phases of acceleration & deceleration and finally
an asymptote. This type of population growth is called
Verhulst-Pearl Logistic Growth. It is described by
following equation:
dN/dt = rN((K – N)/K
● Where N = Population density at time t r = Intrinsic
rate of natural increase K = Carrying capacity.
● Since resources for growth for most animal populations
are finite the logistic growth model is more realistic
one.
Life History Variation
● Populations evolve to maximise their reproductive fitness or
Darwinian fitness (high r value). Under a particular set of
selection pressures, organisms evolve towards the most
efficient reproductive strategy.
● Some organisms breed only once in their lifetime (Pacific
salmon fish, bamboo) while others breed many times (most
birds and mammals).
● Some produce a large number of small-sized offspring
(Oysters, pelagic fishes) while others produce a small number
of large-sized offspring (birds, mammals).
● These facts indicate that life history traits of organisms
have evolved due to limited abiotic and biotic components of
the habitat.
Population Interactions

● Organisms interact in various ways to form a biological

community.
● Interaction between two species is called Interspecific
interaction. They include predation, parasitism &
commensalisms, the interacting species live closely
together.
A. Predation
● In a broad ecological context, all carnivores,
herbivores, etc. are predators. About 25 % insects
are phytophagous.
● If a predator over exploits its prey, then the prey
might become extinct. It results in the extinction
of predator. Therefore, predators in nature are
‘prudent’
Importance of predators:
● Predators control prey populations. When certain exotic
species are introduced into a geographical area, they spread
fast due to the absence of its natural predators in the
invaded land.
● E.g., the prickly pear cactus introduced into Australia in the
early 1920’s caused havoc by spreading. Finally, the invasive
cactus was brought under control only after a cactus-feeding
predator (a moth) was introduced into the country.
Defenses of prey species to lessen impact of
predation

● Camouflage (cryptic coloration) of some

insects & frogs.
● Some are poisonous and so avoided by the
predators. Monarch butterfly is highly
distasteful to its predator bird.
● It is due to a special chemical in its body acquired during
its caterpillar stage by feeding on a poisonous weed.
● Thorns (Acacia, Cactus, etc.) are the most common
morphological means of defense in plants. Many plants
produce chemicals that make the herbivore sick, inhibit
feeding or digestion, disrupt its reproduction or kill it.
● E.g. Calotropis produces highly poisonous cardiac
glycosides. Therefore, cattle or goats do not eat it.
Nicotine, caffeine, quinine, strychnine, opium, etc. are
defenses against grazers and browsers.
● Biological control methods are based on the ability of the
predator to regulate prey population. Predators maintain
species diversity in a community, by reducing the intensity of
competition among competing prey species.
● E.g., The starfish Pisaster is a predator in the rocky
intertidal communities of the American Pacific Coast. In an
experiment, when all the starfishes were removed from an
enclosed intertidal area, more than 10 species of
invertebrates became extinct within a year, due to
interspecific competition.
b. Competition
● It is an interaction where fitness of one species (r
value) is significantly lower in presence of another
species.
● Interspecific competition is a potent force in organic
evolution.
● Competition occurs when closely related species
compete for the same limited resources.
● Unrelated species can also compete for the resource.
E.g. Flamingoes & fishes in some shallow South
American lakes compete for zooplankton.
● Competition occurs in abundant resources also. E.g.
In interference competition, the feeding efficiency
of one species is reduced due to the interfering and
inhibitory presence of other species, even if
resources are abundant.
● Evidences for competition: The Abingdon tortoise of
Galapagos Islands became extinct within a decade after
goats were introduced on the island, due to greater
browsing efficiency of the goats.
● Competitive release: A species, restricted to a small
geographical area (due to the presence of
competitively superior species), expands its
distributional range when the competing species is
experimentally removed. Connell’s field experiments
showed that on the rocky sea coasts of Scotland, the
larger & competitively superior barnacle Balanus
dominates intertidal area, and excludes the smaller
barnacle Chthamalus from that zone.
 Gause’s Competitive Exclusion Principle
● It states that two closely related species competing for the
same resources cannot co-exist indefinitely and the
competitively inferior one will be eliminated eventually. This may
be true in limited resources, but not otherwise.
● Species facing competition may evolve mechanisms that promote
co-existence rather than exclusion. E.g. ‘resource partitioning’.
● Resource partitioning: If two species compete for the same
resource, they could avoid competition by choosing different
times for feeding or different foraging patterns. E.g. MacArthur
showed that five closely related species of warblers living on the
same tree were able to avoid competition and co-exist due to
behavioral differences in their foraging activities
c. Parasitism:
● Many parasites are host specific (they can parasitise only
a single host species). They tend to co-evolve. i.e., if the
host evolves special mechanisms against the parasite, the
parasite has to evolve mechanisms to counteract them, in
order to be successful with the same host species.
● Adaptations of parasites: Loss of sense organs, presence
of adhesive organs or suckers to cling on to the host, loss
of digestive system, high reproductive capacity, etc
Life cycles of parasites are often complex. E.g.
● Human liver fluke depends on 2 intermediate hosts (a
snail & a fish) to complete its life cycle.
● Malarial parasite needs mosquito to spread to other
hosts.
● Parasites harm the host. They may reduce the
survival, population density, growth and reproduction
of the host. They may make the host physically weak
and more vulnerable than predation.
 Types Of Parasites
1) Ectoparasites
● Parasites that feed on the external surface of host. E.g.
Lice on humans, ticks on dogs, ectoparasitic copepods on
many marine fishes, Cuscuta plant on hedge plants.
● Cuscuta has no chlorophyll and leaves. It derives its
nutrition from the host plant.
● Female mosquito is not considered a parasite, because it
needs our blood only for reproduction, not as food.
2) Endoparasites
● Parasites that live inside the host body at different sites
(liver, kidney, lungs, RBCs, etc).
● The life cycles of endoparasites are more complex.
● Human liver fluke depends on to intermediate hosts (snails
and fishes) to complete its life cycle.
● They have simple morphological & anatomical features and
high reproductive potential.
d. Commensalism: Examples:
● Orchid (+) growing as epiphyte on a mango branch (0).
● Barnacles (+) growing on the back of a whale (0).
● Cattle egret (+) & grazing cattle (0). The egrets forage
close to where the cattle are grazing. As the cattle move,
the vegetation insects come out. Otherwise it is difficult
for the egrets to find and catch the insects.
● Sea anemone (0) & clown fish (+). Stinging tentacles of sea
anemone give protection to fish from predators
e. Mutualism: Examples:
● Lichen: It is a mutualistic relationship between a
fungus & photosynthesizing algae or cyanobacteria.
● Mycorrhizae: Associations between fungi & the
roots of higher plants. The fungi help the plant in
the absorption of essential nutrients from the soil
while the plant provides the fungi with
carbohydrates.
Mutualism between plant & animal through pollination
and seed dispersion:
1. Fig trees & wasps. The fig species is pollinated only by
its ‘partner’ wasp species and no other species. The
female wasp pollinates the fig inflorescence while
searching for suitable egg-laying sites in fruits. The fig
offers the wasp some developing seeds, as food for the
wasp larvae.
2. Orchids show diversity of floral patterns. They can
attract the right pollinator insect (bees & bumblebees)
to ensure pollination. Not all orchids offer rewards.
● ‘Sexual deceit’ of Ophrys (Mediterranean orchid). One
petal of its flower resembles female bee in size, colour &
markings. So male bee ‘pseudocopulates’ with the flower
and is dusted with pollen. When this bee ‘pseudocopulates’
with another flower, it transfers pollen to it.
● If the female bee’s colour patterns change slightly during
evolution, pollination success will be reduced unless the
orchid flower co-evolves to maintain the resemblance of
its petal to the female bee.
Figure: Showing bee-a pollinator on orchid flower
Thankyou!