Introduction
Population is defined as the total number of organisms of the same species living together in a given area at a particular time. In an ecosystem, the community is made up of many populations of different species.
In population studies of a habitat, the following are usually studied:
- Types of organisms: This involves the listing of the various types of populations that are found in the particular habitat. It helps to determine the relationships that exist between the various organisms (plants and animals) in a habitat.
- Dominance: Dominance refers to those species that exert a greater influence or a major controlling effect on the other members of the community. The relative importance of a species in the community is expressed by dominance.
Dominance could be expressed in terms of:
o Their number
o Occupation of largest portion of space
o Possession of the highest biomass and
o The largest contribution to the energy flow in the habit. For a species to be dominant in a habitat, it should possess some of these attributes over other species.
Population Characteristics
These characteristics include:
- Population size: This refers to the total number of the species of the same kind in a given area or habitat. A large population stands a better chance of surviving dangerous and unfavourable conditions such as fire, diseases etc while a small population can easily be wiped out.
- Population density: Population density is defined as the number of individual organisms per unit area or volume of the habitat.
Mathematically, Population density = total population or population size / Area of habitat
Population density can be used to estimate the total number of individuals of a population or population size. Mathematically, population size = population density x area of habitat…
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