Understandings:
- Sampling techniques are used to estimate population size.
- The exponential growth pattern occurs in an ideal, unlimited environment.
- Population growth slows as a population reaches the carrying capacity of the environment.
- The phases shown in the sigmoid curve can be explained by relative rates of natality, mortality, immigration and emigration.
- Limiting factors can be top down or bottom up.
Applications and skills:
- Application: Evaluating the methods used to estimate the size of commercial stock of marine resources.
- Application: Use of the capture-mark-release-recapture method to estimate the population size of an animal species.
- Application: Discussion of the effect of natality, mortality, immigration and emigration on population size.
- Application: Analysis of the effect of population size, age and reproductive status on sustainable fishing practices.
- Application: Bottom-up control of algal blooms by shortage of nutrients and top-down control by herbivory.
- Skill: Modelling the growth curve using a simple organism such as yeast or species of Lemna.
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International-mindedness:
- The issues around the growing global human population are of international concern regardless of different growth rates in different countries.
Utilization:
- Syllabus and cross-curricular links:
- Geography
- Part 1.1 Populations in transition
- Environmental systems and societies
- Topic 8.4 Human population carrying capacity
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