Exponential and Logistic Growth

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What is exponential growth?

Back

Exponential growth occurs when the growth rate of a population is proportional to its current size, leading to a rapid increase in population over time, often represented by a J-shaped curve.

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What is logistic growth?

Back

Logistic growth is a model of population growth that accounts for environmental limits, resulting in a population that grows rapidly at first and then levels off as it approaches the carrying capacity, represented by an S-shaped curve.

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Define carrying capacity.

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Carrying capacity is the maximum number of individuals of a species that an environment can sustainably support, considering the available resources.

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What is a population bottleneck?

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A population bottleneck is an event that drastically reduces the size of a population, leading to a loss of genetic diversity.

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What is the founder effect?

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The founder effect occurs when a new population is established by a small number of individuals, resulting in reduced genetic variation compared to the original population.

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What are density-dependent factors?

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Density-dependent factors are environmental factors that affect a population's growth in relation to its density, such as competition, predation, and disease.

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What are density-independent factors?

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Density-independent factors are environmental factors that affect a population's growth regardless of its density, such as natural disasters and climate.

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What is a population pyramid?

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A population pyramid is a graphical representation that shows the distribution of various age groups in a population, typically divided by sex.

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What is an age-structure diagram?

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An age-structure diagram is a graphical representation that shows the number of individuals in a population by age, without necessarily dividing by sex.

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What does a J-shaped curve represent?

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A J-shaped curve represents exponential growth, indicating that a population grows rapidly without any limiting factors.