Organisms and Populations

Class XII
 Syllabus
5. Ecology and Environment
(i) Organisms and Populations
Population, population interactions - mutualism, competition, predation, parasitism; population attributes -
growth, birth rate and death rate, age distribution.
Definition of population; population attributes: sex ratio, types of age distribution pyramids for human
population; definition of population density, natality, mortality, emigration, immigration, carrying capacity.
Ways to measure population density. Calculation of natality and mortality.
Population growth: factors affecting population growth and population growth equation; growth models:
exponential growth and logistic growth along with equations, graph and examples of the same; life history
variations: definition of reproductive fitness and examples.
Population interactions – definition of mutualism, competition (interspecific, interference, competitive
release and Gause’s Principle of Competitive Exclusion), predation (adaptations in organisms to avoid
predation), parasitism (ecto-, endo-, and brood parasites), commensalism, amensalism.
 Population
Population:

The term population can be defined as the total number of

individuals of a species in a specific geographical area, which can
interbreed under natural conditions to produce fertile offsprings
and function as a unit of biotic community.

Population ecology is an important area of ecology because it

links ecology to population genetics.
Demography:
It refers to the statistical study of human population covering all aspects
and parameters.

Those parameters include:

 Distribution of population
 Size and Density of population
 Birth rate
 Death rate
 Growth rate of population (Growth rate = Birth rate - Death rate)
Population Attributes:
A population has certain attributes, which individual organisms do not
possess. Some of them are as follows:

1) Population size or density:

It refers to the number of individuals of a species present in per unit area or
volume at a given time.

Population density = Number of individuals of a species in a

region (N)

Size of unit area in the region (S)

D = N/S
2) Birth rate or Natality:
 Birth rate or natality is the inherent ability of a population to increase.

 It is the number of birth of new individuals per unit of population per unit
time

OR

It is expressed as the number of births per 1000 individuals in a population

per year.

e.g. if in a pond, there were 50 lily plants last year and through reproduction,
15 new plants are added. Then,

Birth rate = Number of individuals born /Total number of individuals

= 15/50 = 0.3 per lily plant per year or 300 lily plant per 1000 per year
 Natality contributes to an increase in the population size and can be
categorized into two types:

 Absolute natality: The maximum number of births under ideal

conditions.

 Realized natality: The actual number of births under existing

environmental conditions.
3) Death rate or Mortality:
 Mortality is defined as the number of death of organisms in a population of
specific area.

 It is the number of loss of individuals per unit of population per unit time due to
death or due to the different environmental changes, competition, predation, etc.

OR

It is expressed as the number of deaths per 1000 individuals of a population per

year.

e.g. if 8 individuals in a population of 80 fruitflies died in a year. Then

Death rate = Number of individual died/ Total number of individuals

There are two types of mortality:

Potential mortality: The lowest possible death rate under ideal

environmental conditions.

Realized mortality: The actual death rate under prevailing environmental

conditions, including natural hazards and human influences.

4)Sex ratio:
An individual is either a male or a female but a population has sex ratio.

Ratio of number of males to females in a population

Sex ratio is expressed as the number of females and males per 1000
individuals of a population in a given time.
 Age Distribution
• A population can be composed of individuals of different age
groups.

• The distribution of individuals of different age groups in a

population is known as age distribution.

• There are three major ecological ages (age groups) in any

population (proposed by AS Bodenheimer; 1985), which are as
follows:
(i)Pre-reproductive
(ii) Reproductive
• The relative duration of these age groups in proportion to
the lifespan varies greatly with different organisms.

• Age distribution plot for a given population is given by the

age pyramid.
 Age Pyramid

• A graphical representation of proportion of different age group

of a population is called age pyramid.

• When the age distribution (per cent individuals of a given age

or age group) is plotted for the population in which pre-
reproductive age is at base, reproductive is in middle and post-
reproductive is at top, we get a pyramid called age pyramid.

• The shape of the pyramids reflects the growth status of the

population that whether it is expanding (triangular-shaped),
stable (bell-shaped) or declining (urn-shaped).
The age pyramid can be of following types:

i) Triangular age pyramid: In this number of pre-reproductive individuals

is very large, number of reproductive individuals is moderate, while post-
reproductive individuals are fewer. This type of age pyramid shows that
population is growing or shows an expanding population. The rate of
growth depends upon the size of pre-reproductive population. This type of
(ii) Bell-shaped age pyramid: In this the number of pre-reproductive and
reproductive individual is almost equal. Post-reproductive individuals are
comparatively fewer. The rate of growth becomes slow and stable (stable
population). This type of population growth is observed in countries like
USA, Denmark, etc.

(iii) Urn-shaped pyramid: It indicates large number of post-reproductive

individuals, showing dying declining population. The proportion of
reproductive age group is higher than the individuals in pre-reproductive age
group. It is declining or diminishing population with negative growth. This
type of population growth is observed in countries like Japan.
 Population Growth

Population growth refers to the total number of increase in the organisms

occupying a certain area.

The size of a population is an ever-changing aspect since it depends upon

availability of food, predation, weather conditions, etc.

The density of a population in a given habitat during a given period

fluctuates due to the four basic processes:

1. Natality: It refers to the number of births during a given period in the

population that are added to the initial density.

2. Mortality: It is the number of deaths in the population during a given

3. Immigration: the addition of population of organisms from
neighboring populations OR it is the number of individuals of the same
species that have come into the habitat from elsewhere during the time
period under consideration.

4. Emigration: the loss of individuals to other populations OR it is the

number of individuals of the population who left the habitat and moved
elsewhere during a given time period.

Out of these four, natality and immigration contribute to an increase in

population density, while mortality and emigration contribute to the
So, if N is the population density at time t, then its density at time t
+ 1 is

Nt + 1 = Nt + [(B + I) − (D + E)]

where, N = Population density, t = Time, B = Birth rate, I =

Immigration,

D = Death rate and E = Emigration

From the above equation we can see that population density will
The population growth rate (r = intrinsic rate of natural increase ) is
calculated by the following formula

r = (no. of births + no. of immigrants) - (no. of deaths + no. of emigrants)

no. of individuals in population/time

r = [(B + I) − (D + E)]

N
 Growth Models
Growth curves of population are of the following types:

1) EXPONENTIAL GROWTH:

• It occurs normally when resources, i.e. food and space are unlimited.
Though, initially the rate of growth is slow but is rapid later. The population
tends to grow in an exponential pattern. Thus, availability of resources is an
essential feature for such growth of population.

• Any species growing exponentially under unlimited resource conditions

without any check, can reach enormous population densities in a short time.

• In exponential growth, when N in relation to time t is plotted on graph, the

curve becomes J-shaped as shown in graph.
• The increase or decrease in population density (N) at a unit time period
(t) is calculated as (dN/dt).

• Equation for exponential growth can be

dN/dt = (b - d) × N

Let (b - d) = r ,then

dN/dt =
rN

Where, N = Population size, b = Birth per capita and d = Death per capita,
t= time period,

r = intrinsic rate of natural increase

 or Nt = N0 * e ^ rt

Nt= Population density after time t

N0 = Population density at time zero,

r= Intrinsic rate of natural increase

e = Base of natural logarithms (2.71828),

b = Birth rate

d = Death rate
2) LOGISTIC GROWTH:

• It occurs when resources become limited at certain point of time.

Practically, no population of any species in nature has unlimited
resources to permit exponential growth.

• When the resources are limited, it leads to competition between

individuals and survival of the fittest. In such a case the population
tends to grow in a logistic manner.

• In nature, a given habitat has enough resources to support a

maximum possible number, beyond which no further growth is
possible. This is called carrying capacity (K) for that species in
that habitat.
• S-shaped (sigmoid) growth curve is obtained when the
population first increases slowly then more rapidly (initial lag
phase followed by acceleration) and finally it slows down
gradually (deceleration phases and finally asymptote) due to
environmental resistance until an equilibrium level is reached
i.e when population density reaches its carrying capacity (K). It
signifies the maximum size of population that an environment
can carry or sustain.
• When N in relation to t is plotted, it results in a sigmoid curve called the
Verhulst − Pearl Logistic growth given by the following equation,

dN/dt = rN(K-N/K)

Where, N = Population density at time t

r = Intrinsic rate of natural increase

K = Carrying capacity

• The logistic growth model is considered more realistic since, resources for
growth of most animal populations are finite and become limited sooner or
later.
 Life history variations
• Reproductive fitness (also known as Darwinian fitness) is a
measure of the genetic contribution of an individual to the next
generation's gene pool relative to the average for the population.
It describes individual reproductive success and is measured by
the number of offspring or close kin that survive to reproductive
age.

• Darwinian fitness (high r value) states that the populations

evolve to maximise their reproductive fitness in the habitat in
which they live.
• The rate of breeding varies from species to species,

e.g. Pacific salmon fish and bamboo breed only once in their
lifetime, while most birds and mammals breed many times in their
life.

• Some organisms produce a large number of small-sized

offsprings (oysters, pelagic fishes), while birds and mammals
produce a small number of large-sized offsprings.

• Life history traits of organisms have evolved in relation to the

constraints imposed by the abiotic and biotic components of the
 Population Interactions

A natural habitat consists of many organisms living together and these

organisms communicate and interact with each other. For example, plants
depend on insects for pollination.

Relationship between the organisms of the same species is known as

intraspecific relationship, and that between two or more different species
is called interspecific relationship.
1) Mutualism:

In this interaction, both the partners are benefited.

Some examples of mutualism are•

• Lichens, interaction of algae and fungi, where both are benefited between a
fungus and photosynthesising algae. Here, the fungus helps in the absorption of
nutrients and provides protection, while, algae prepare the food.

• Mycorrhizae are the close mutual association between fungi and the roots of
higher plants. In which fungi help the plant in absorption of nutrients, while, the
plant provides food for the fungus. Ectomycorrhizae, which occur on trees, form
a mantle of fungus around the tips of rootlets, whilst endomycorrhizae, which
are associated with a wide range of wild and crop plants, invade the root cells,
• Plants and animals also show mutual relationship. Plants need
help from animals for pollination and dispersal of seeds. In
return, plants provide nectar, pollens and fruits to the
pollinators,

e.g. the female wasp uses the fig fruit not only as an oviposition
(egg-laying) site but uses the developing seeds within the fruit for
nourishing its larvae. The wasp pollinates the fig's inflorescence,
while searching for suitable egg-laying sites. In return, fig provides
the wasp some seeds as food for the developing wasp larvae.
Not all orchids offer rewards, e.g. Mediterranean orchid Ophrys
employs 'sexual deceit' to get pollinated by a species of bee. One
petal of its flower bears an uncanny resemblance to the female of
the bee in size, colour and markings. The male bee is attracted to
what it perceives as a female, pseudocopulates with the flower.
During this process, pollen is dusted from the flower. When the
same bee pseudocopulates with another flower, it transfers
pollen to it and pollinates the flower. This case indicates the
process of co-evolution.
Protocooperation is an interaction between two different species in which
both are mutually benefitted but they can live without each other. It is also
called facultative mutualism, e.g. sea anemone is carried from place to
place by the moving crab and is benefitted by getting more places for the
food. Hermit crab may also derive benefit through camouflage and protection
provided by sea anemone because of the presence of stinging cells in the
latter.
2) Competition:

It is the rivalry between two individuals belonging to closely related or even

unrelated species which require the same resources that are limiting., e.g. in some
shallow South American lakes, visiting flamingoes and resident fishes compete for
their common food, i.e. zooplanktons.

• However, for competition to take place resources need not be always scarce.

• In competition, the fitness of one species is significantly lower in presence of

another species and survival of fittest ultimately takes place.

• Competition occurring between members of the same species is said to be

intraspecific competition.

• When two species utilize the same limited resource, interspecific competition
will occur.
• Both intraspecific or interspecific competition, exhibited two forms.

In interference competition, one individual prevents access to

resources by another individual; and in exploitative competition,
both individuals have access to resources but one uses it
excessively or more efficiently than the other.

• In interference competition, the feeding efficiency of one species might be

reduced due to the interfering and inhibitory presence of the other
species, e.g. when goats were introduced in Galapagos Islands, the
Abingdon tortoise became extinct within a decade due to greater
browsing efficiency of the goats.
• Competitive release provides another evidence of
competition in nature. It is a phenomenon, in which a species
whose distribution is restricted to a small geographical area
because of the presence of a competitively superior species, is
found to expand its distributional range dramatically, when the
competing species is experimentally removed.

• Connel's elegant field experiments showed that on the rocky

sea coasts of Scotland, the larger and competitively superior
barnacle Balanus dominates the intertidal area and excludes
the smaller barnacle Chathamalus from that zone.
Gause’s Competitive Exclusion Principle:
• According to Gause's competitive exclusion principle, no two species of organisms
can occupy the same niche at the same time. If two species of organisms do
occupy the same niche, the competition will be so intense that may result in: one
species to become extinct, force one species to migrate to different area, or the
two species may adjust to slightly different niches to avoid competition.

OR

• It states that two closely related species competing for the same resource cannot
co-exist indefinitely and the competitively inferior will be eliminated eventually.

• Moreover, some species may develop mechanisms to facilitate their co-existence.

• Resource partitioning is a mechanism evolved by competiting
species for co-existence. If two species compete for the same
resource, they could avoid competition by choosing, for
instance, different times of feeding or different foraging
patterns.

• In this relation, Mac Arthur showed that five closely related

species of warblers living on the same tree were able to avoid
competition and co-exist due to behavioural differences in their
foraging activities.
3) Predation:

• Predation is a kind of direct food relationship between two species of

animals in which one, called predator, captures and feeds on the other, the
prey.In contrast to a parasite which derives nourishment from its host
without killing, a predator is free-living which catches and kills another
species for food.

• It acts as a means of transfer of energy to the next higher trophic level and
of maintaining balance in the ecosystem.
Important roles of predators are:

• They keep prey population under control.

• They help in maintaining species diversity in a community by reducing

the intensity of competition among prey species.

For example, in American Pacific coast the starfish Pisaster is an important

predator. When all the starfishes were removed from an area more than 10
species of invertebrates became extinct within a year due to interspecific
competition.

• In the absence of predators, prey species could achieve very high

population densities and cause instability. So, predators play very
important role to provide population stability.
• When certain exotic species are introduced into a geographical area, they
become invasive and start spreading fast because the invaded land does
not have natural predators, e.g. prickly pear cactus introduced in Australia
(1920s). It was controlled only after a cactus feeding predator was brought
from its natural habitat.

• If a predator is too efficient and overexploits its prey, then the prey might
become extinct. Following it, the predator will also become extinct because
of the lack of food.
Defensive Measures of Prey Against Predators:

Prey species have evolved various defence mechanisms to lesser the impact
of predation. Some of them are

• Some species of insects and frogs are cryptically coloured (camouflaged) to

avoid being detected easily by the predator.

• Some are poisonous and therefore, avoided by the predator.

• Phytophagous insects like monarch butterfly is highly distasteful to its

predators (birds) because of a special chemical present in its body. The
butterfly acquires this chemical during its caterpillar stage by feeding on a
poisonous plant (weed).
• For plants, herbivores are predators.

• Some plants have thorns or spines to ward off predators e.g.

Acacia, cactus.

• Some plants produces secondary metabolites or highly

poisonous chemicals like cardiac glycosides, nicotine, caffeine,
quinine, strychnine, opium, etc. These are actually defence
mechanisms against grazers and browsers, e.g. Calotropis.
4) Parasitism:

• Parasitism is an interaction between two species in which one

(known as parasite) obtains its food in ready-made form from
the other living organism (said to be host). The host-parasite
association is thus beneficial to the parasite but harmful to the
host. A typical parasite lives in its host without killing it,
whereas a predator kills its prey upon which it feeds.
• Adaptation methods of a parasite are:

(a)Parasite is host-specific in a way that both host and parasite

tend to co-evolve.

(b) Loss of unnecessary sense organs.

(c) Presence of adhesive organs or suckers for clinging on to host.

(d) Loss of digestive system.

(e) High reproductive capacity.

• The life cycles of parasites are often complex, involving one or two
intermediate hosts or vectors to facilitate parasitization of its primary host.

For example,

(a) Human liver fluke (a trematode parasite) depends on two intermediate

hosts (a snail and a fish) to complete its life cycle.

(b) Malarial parasite (Plasmodium) needs a vector (mosquito) to spread to

other hosts.

• Majority of parasites harm the host. They reduce the survival, growth and
reproductive ability of the host.

• They reduce its population density. They might render the host more
vulnerable to predation by making it physically weak.
TYPES OF PARASITES:

Parasites are broadly divided into following main types

1. Ectoparasites depend on the external surface of the host

organism for food and shelter, e.g. lice on humans, ticks on
dogs, copepods in marine fishes and Cuscuta, a parasitic plant
that grows on hedge plants.

2. Endoparasites live inside the host's body at different sites like

liver, kidney, lungs, etc., for food and shelter, e.g. tapeworm,
liver fluke, Plasmodium, etc. The life cycles of endoparasites are
Brood parasitism in birds is a fascinating example of parasitism
in which the parasitic bird (e.g., koel) lays its eggs in the nest of
its host (e.g., crow) and lets the host incubate them.

During the course of evolution, the eggs of the parasitic bird have
evolved to resemble the host's egg in size and colour to reduce
the chances of the host bird detecting the foreign eggs and
ejecting them from the nest.
5) Commensalism:

Commensalism is an association between two different organisms in which

one is always benefited but the other is neither benefited nor harmed.

Some examples of commensalism are

• An orchid growing as an epiphyte on a mango tree. Orchid gets shelter and

support from mango tree, while the mango tree is neither benefitted nor

harmed.

• Barnacles growing on the back of whale. Barnacles are benefitted to move

to different locations for food as well as shelter, while the whales are

neither benefitted nor harmed.

• Egrets always forage close to where the cattle are grazing. Because, the

cattle as they move stir up the bushes and insects are flushed out from the

vegetation to be catched by cattle egrets.

• Sea anemone has stinging tentacles and the clown fish lives among them.

The fish gets protection from predators, which stay away from the stinging

tentacles. The anemone does not appear to derive any benefit by hosting

the clown fish.

6) Amensalism:

It is an interaction between two living individuals of different species in

which an organism does not allow other organisms to grow or live near it.

Examples:

• Penicillium(a mould secretes penicillin) does not allow growth of

Staphylococcus bacterium;

• Barley, Sorghum and sunflower do not allow weeds to grow near by;

• black walnut produces a chemical which is toxic to apple and tomato