Populations

Population – a group of individuals of a single species that live in the same area.

Dispersion One metric used to analyze populations is to look at their dispersion, the pattern of spacing in a population

Uniform arises when there are repulsing factors that push organisms apart Clumped arises when there are attracting factors (such as herding) that pull organisms together. Random occurs when there is a lack of attracting or repulsing effects.

Population Size and Density Population size – total number of organisms in a population Often measured with mark- recapture Population density – number of organisms per unit area