31

UNIT II

LESSON 1 DYNAMICS
OF BIOLOGICAL POPULATION

On the given definition of environmental science, we mentioned the relationship of human with
its environment. These two factors are on opposite proportion. Human population is increasing
while the resources from the environment are decreasing. What do you think will happen if this
will continue for more years? How will the environment accommodate the needs of humans
which grow exponentially?

What Will You Learn From This?

This lesson will tackle about the factors of growing number of population, the models that
shows its growth, the carrying capacity of the environment and the present patterns of human
population.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to:

1. identify the factors of the growing number of population

2. differentiate the models of population growth
3. give ideas on the effects of human population growth on the environment
32

Share What You Know.

 10
Enricle the words that you are familiar with. Clue: There are words

| Dynamics of Biological Population

Let’s Read.
 Figure
36. World’s population

Population is a group of individuals of the same species which makes up part of the
community in an ecosystem. According to population statistics, after 200 years, in 1850 the
population was doubled to 1 billion. By 1950, the population was doubled to 2.5 billion. Fifty years
later, in year 2000, it reaches more than 6 billion and it is still growing rapidly.

33

Human population is growing at a rate of

about 3 people
per second, 260,000 per day or 1.8 million per
week or 94 million
per year. Every three years, the global
environment must
support another 282 million people. With this data,
we could
imagine the implications in terms of resources that people will
consume, the basic services they need: food, shelter, water and
energy.

Figure 37. Growth of human population

from 1800

In the Philippines, the current population is 109,623,085 as of July 2020, based on Worldometer
elaboration of the latest United Nations data, equivalent to 1.41% of the total world population.
The Philippines ranks number 13 in the list of countries (and dependencies) by the number of
population.
 Figure 38. Growth of human population in the Philippines
| Dynamics of Biological Population

Knowing all the increasing numbers of population in the world and in the Philippines, let us
identify the factors that govern its growth.

Population Ecology

Population ecology is the study of populations in relation to the environment. It includes

environmental influences on population density and distribution, age structure and variations in
population size.

Population Size

This refers to the number of individual organisms in a population. Here are the factors
that govern population size.

34

FACTORS GOVERNING POPULATION SIZE

1. Natality (Birth rate). Refers to the number of individuals produced by a population

through reproduction.
2. Mortality (Death rate). The number of individuals within a population that have died from
any source.
3. Immigration. A process through which individuals become permanent residents or
citizens of another country. It resulted in the development of multicultural societies.
4. Emigration. The relocation or process of people leaving one country to reside in another.
People emigrate for many reasons; include increasing one's chance of employment or
 improving quality of life.

Natality and immigration are the factors that increase population size, while mortality and
emigration are factors in reducing population size.

Figure 39. Factors of population size

Next is the population growth. It refers to how the number of individuals in a population
increases or decreases with time. It is controlled by the rate at which new individuals are added
and the rate at which individuals leave the population.
| Dynamics of Biological Population

Models of population growth are used to describe the rate of change in the size of a
population over time. The first of these models is exponential growth.

MODELS OF POPULATION GROWTH

1. Exponential growth. It describes populations that increase in numbers without any limits to
their growth. The population size is increasing at a greater and greater rate due to
unlimited resources.

35

The best example of exponential growth in

organisms is
seen in bacteria. Bacteria reproduce quickly about an hour
for many
species. If 1000 bacteria are placed in a large flask, with an
abundant supply of nutrients, the number of bacteria will
have
doubled from 1000 to 2000 after just an hour. In another hour,
each of the 2000 bacteria will divide, producing 4000 bacteria.
After the third hour, there should be 8000 bacteria in the flask.
After 24 of these cycles, the population would have increased from
1000 to more than 16 billion bacteria. Figure 40. Exponential
growth of bacteria

The graph of exponential growth shows that when the population size, N, is plotted over
time, a J-shaped growth curve is produced. In the real world, with its limited resources,
exponential growth cannot continue indefinitely.

Figure 41. Graph of exponential growth and logistic

growth

2. Logistic growth. When the number of individuals gets large enough, resources will be
depleted and the growth rate will slow down due to the carrying capacity of an
environment.

| Dynamics of Biological Population

 Carrying capacity (K) of an environment refers to the maximum population size of the species
that the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water and other
necessities available in the environment. It could support a positive natural increase, or could
require a negative natural increase.

36

The carrying capacity of an environment may vary for different

species and may change over time due to a variety of factors,
including: food availability, water supply,
environmental conditions and living space.

When a population is BELOW its carrying capacity, it will

INCREASE in size. Birth rate exceeds death rates. But if it
increases
too much and rises ABOVE its carrying capacity, it will
DECREASE in
size. Death rate exceeds birth rate. Until eventually, the population
size becomes stable at the carrying capacity. Eventually, the growth
rate will plateau or level off

Figure 42. World carrying overpopulation

A graph of logistic growth yields the S-shaped curve. It is a more realistic model of
population growth than exponential growth. This curve will typically follow four key stages – the
lag phase, an exponential growth phase, a transitional phase and a plateau phase

Figure 43.
 Graph of logistic growth

a. Lag phase. Population growth begins slowly from a few individuals.

b. Exponential Growth Phase. Population growth is slow (lag period) as there are few
reproductive individuals that are likely widely dispersed. Mortality is low because there
are abundant resources and minimal environmental resistance
c. Transitional Phase. As the population continues to grow, resources eventually become
limited, which leads to competition for survival. Natality rates start to fall and mortality
rates begin to rise, leading to a slowing of population growth
| Dynamics of Biological Population

37

d. Plateau Phase. Eventually the increasing mortality rate equals the natality rate and
population growth becomes static. The population has reached the carrying capacity (K)
of the environment, with limiting factors keeping the population stable. The population
size at this point will not be constant, but will oscillate around the carrying capacity to
remain even.

3. Irruptive Growth. A growth pattern that happens over a timeframe, within a certain species
population, that is defined by sudden population explosions and then sudden crashes or
diebacks. This growth pattern often repeats over a long timeframe and does not stabilize
when it reaches carrying capacity. Irruptive growth is also referred to as Malthusian growth.

Figure 44. Graph

of Irruptive growth

The rapid increase of human population has resulted to some alarming impacts on the living
conditions of the whole populace, available resources, and on the environment. These impacts
are summarized below.
 1. High demand of basic needs. It may cause scarcity of food and increase in the prices of
food items.
2. Formation of slums in big cities
3. Shortage in agricultural land and water
4. Depletion in natural resources due to more consumption of people. It leads to high
consumption of fossil fuels, minerals and forest resources.
5. More forest will be cut down to provide wood for housing and fuel. More water is required
for drinking, irrigation and industrial purpose.
6. Generation of huge quantity of waste. It results in generation of waste water, industrial
effluents and solid waste which poses the stresses over the facilities for disposal of
wastewater. 7. Increase in migration rate and reduction in living standard of people.

38

8. Increase in unemployment
9. Deterioration in the quality of environment due to pollution in soil, air, water and
air. 10. High crime rate and energy crisis

39 |

Dynamics of Biological Population

Let’s Try.
1. How does the carrying capacity affects the growth of population:
________________________________________________________________________
_______
________________________________________________________________________
_______
________________________________________________________________________
_____ __
____________________________________________________________________
_________ __
2. Based on the consequences of overpopulation on the environment, what are your
suggestions to reduce these impacts?
______________________________________________________________________
_________
______________________________________________________________________
_________
______________________________________________________________________
_________
 ______________________________________________________________________
_________
______________________________________________________________________
_________
3. Search for the present data of population during this time of pandemic. What did you
find?
________________________________________________________________________
_______
________________________________________________________________________
_______
____________________________________________________________________
_________ __
____________________________________________________________________
_________ __
____________________________________________________________________
_________ __

Let’s See What You Have Learned

A. Identify on which each statement is pertaining to. Write your answer on blank provided.

___________________1. A group of organisms of the same species occupying a particular

space at a particular time

___________________2. It refers to the ratio of the number of births to the size of the

population. ___________________3. It is a measure of the number of deaths in a particular

population.

40

___________________4. A process by which new individuals found a population or added to

an existing population, either by birth or immigration

___________________5. It describes the growth of populations that increase in numbers

without any limits to their growth due to unlimited resources.

___________________6. It is a growth pattern that happens over a timeframe, within a certain

species population, that is defined by sudden population explosions and then sudden crashes
or diebacks.

___________________7.The population expansion decreases as resources become scarce,

and it levels off when the carrying capacity of the environment is reached. The growth curve is
S-shaped.
 | Dynamics of Biological Population

B. Enumerate the following

Phases of Sigmoidal Growth Effects of over population

1. ___________________________ 1. ___________________________ 2.
___________________________ 2. ___________________________ 3.
___________________________ 3. ___________________________ 4.
___________________________ 4. ___________________________

Remember
• Population is a group of individuals of the same species which makes up part of the
community in an ecosystem.
• Population Ecology is the study of populations in relation to the environment. It includes
environmental influences on population density and distribution, age structure and
variations in population size.
• Population Size refers to the number of individual organisms in a population. Here are
the factors that govern population size.
• Natality or birth rate refers to the number of individuals produced by a population through
reproduction.
• Mortality or the death rate is the number of individuals within a population that have died
from any source.

41

• Immigration is a process through which individuals become permanent residents or

citizens of another country.
• Emigration is the relocation or process of people leaving one country to reside in another.
• Population Growth refers to how the number of individuals in a population increases or
decreases with time.
• Exponential growth describes populations that increase at a greater and greater rate due
to unlimited resources.
• Carrying capacity refers to the maximum population size of the species that the
environment can sustain indefinitely.
• Logistic growth occurs when the number of individuals gets large enough, resources will
 be depleted and the growth rate will slow down due to the carrying capacity of an
environment. • Four stages of Logistic Growth: Lag phase, Exponential Growth Phase,
Transitional Phase, and Plateau Phase.
• Irruptive Growth is defined by sudden population explosions and then sudden crashes or
diebacks. Irruptive growth is also referred to as Malthusian growth.

LESSON 2
ECOLOGICAL
RELATIONSHIPS

Have you watched The Lion King (2019)? If not, let me share you some words from the movie.
King Mufasa said to Simba, “Everything you see exists together in a delicate balance; we are
all connected in a circle of life” What does it mean? Are we part of the circle of life? How we
are all connected to other species? Let us find out.

What Will You Learn From This?

This lesson will tackle different ecological relationships, the interactions of different
organisms, the richness of biological diversity and the ecological succession of plant species.

Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

1. differentiate each ecological relationship

2. explain how organisms survive after cataclysmic event
3. show the importance of biodiversity
42

Share What You Know

Pair and connect the following organisms based on their needs.
 | Ecological
Relationships

Let’s Read.
The previous activity is about the relationship of one organism to another, how each of
them are benefited and the other is harmed or not affected. Ecological communities consist of
interacting or potentially interacting species in the same environment. This interaction
between different organisms in an ecosystem is called ECOLOGICAL RELATIONSHIP. One
type of ecological relationship is symbiosis.

SYMBIOSIS is a term describing any relationship or interaction between two dissimilar

organisms. The specific kind of symbiosis depends on whether either or both organisms
benefit from the relationship.

Kinds of symbiosis

1. Mutualism - interactions between organisms of two different species, in which each

organism benefits from each other.

43
 Figure 45. Flower and bee

Figure 46. Crocodile and Plover

2. Commensalism - an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the
other is neither benefit nor harm.

44 Other

Figure 47. Clown fish and sea anemones

Figure 48. Tree and
lichens ecological relationship
1. Predation – a feeding strategy in which animals
consume other animals. Example the lion kills a
zebra.

Figure 49. Lion and Zebra

| Ecological Relationships

2. Parasitism – a relationship between two organisms where

one
benefits and other is harmed.

Figure 50. Dog and parasites

3. Competition – organisms tend to compete for food, shelter and
light.

Types of Competition:
 a. Intraspecific Competition – same species of organisms are competing.
b. Interspecfic Competition – different species of organisms are

competing.

52. Interspecific competition of plants

in one area
Figure 51. Intraspecific competition of

monkeys
Figure

45

BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY

Also known as biodiversity, it is defined as the variety of life present in an ecosystem.

This diversity is often understood in terms of the variety of plants, animals, and
microorganism. Based on researchers, there are 3- 30 million of species on Earth, we have
identified only 1.7 million species.

Types of Biodiversity:

1. Genetic biodiversity

This refers to the variations among organisms of the same species. These variations are
usually passed down from parents to offspring. Example: All dogs belong to same specie
but their genes can dictate whether they are Chihuahua or Aspin.

2. Specie biodiversity

It refers to the variety of species within a particular region. They are grouped together in
families based on shared characteristics. Species are the normal measure of biodiversity
for these are the basic units of biological classification.
| Ecological Relationships

3. Ecological biodiversity

This refers to the diversity of ecosystem, natural communities and habitats. An

ecosystem can be as large as an entire forest or as small as a clump of moss that
provides a habitat for plants, microscopic invertebrates, and bacteria.

46
 Figure 53. Examples of the types of biodiversity Society benefits
greatly from the richness of biodiversity since humans can source from natural resources
such as food, medicine, energy and more. Biodiversity in natural ecosystems can regulate
climate, food, pollination, and water and air quality.

ECOLOGICAL SUCCESSION

Ecological succession is the series of changes in an ecosystem when one community is

replaced by another community, as a result of changes in biotic and abiotic factors. These
changes regenerate a damaged community by creating a community in a previously
uninhabited area.

There are two types of ecological succession:

1. Primary Succession. A very slow process of creating and developing an ecosystem in

an area that was previously uninhabited. It occurs in areas with no soil, example at
side of volcanoes and sites of glacier recession
 Figure 54. The pioneer species

| Ecological Relationships

47

Process in Primary Succession:

a. Bare rock is exposed due to some type of disturbance. No soil is present.

b. Pioneer species (mosses and lichens) move into the unoccupied area.
c. Pioneer species die and decay, providing soil and nutrients for other plant species like
small trees.
d. Climax community - small and large trees begin to grow, and the community became
balance.

Figure 55. Process of primary succession 2. Secondary

Succession. A faster process because there is already soil. Pioneer species like grasses
and weeds begin to grow from the soil, roots and seeds left over may also begin to grow
again. Secondary succession is a never ending process.

Process of Secondary succession

a. Organisms are driven away or killed by some type of disturbance, like a forest fire,
leaving the soil behind.
b. Pioneer species like grasses and weeds. Begin to grow from the soil. Roots and seeds
left over may also begin to grow again.
c. Some pioneer species die and replace by other species like shrubs and small trees. d.
Small and large trees begin to grow, and the community reaches an equilibrium or
balance.

48
 Figure 56. Process of secondary succession | Ecological Relationships

Ecological succession never ends. We must recognize that any ecosystem, no matter
how inherently stable and persistent, could be subject to massive external disruptive forces
(like fires and storms) that could re-set and re-trigger the successional process. As long as
these random and potentially catastrophic events are possible, it is not absolutely accurate to
say that succession has stopped.

Let’s Try.
Arrange the following process of ecological succession. Use the number from

1 to 4 Primary Succession:

________ Pioneer species die and decay, providing soil and nutrients for other plant species
like small trees.
________ Pioneer species (mosses and lichens) move into the unoccupied area. ________
Bare rock is exposed due to some type of disturbance. No soil is present. ________ Climax
community - small and large trees begin to grow, and the community became balance.

Secondary Succession:

________ Small and large trees begin to grow, and the community reaches an equilibrium or
balance ________ Organisms are driven away or killed by some type of disturbance, like a
forest fire, leaving the soil behind.
________ Some pioneer species die and replace by other species like shrubs and small trees.
49
________ Pioneer species like grasses and weeds. Begin to grow from the soil. Roots and
seeds left over may also begin to grow again.

Let’s See What You Have Learned

A. Identify the type of ecological relationship between the following. Write only your
answer on the blank

___________________1. Female mosquitoes feed on blood of human.

___________________2. Cat and dog fight for food.
___________________3. Both lions and hyenas compete for prey such as
zebras. ___________________4. Remora fish hides under the shark for
protection.
___________________5. The living corals provide a home for algae. The algae produce food
through photosynthesis that is used by the corals.
___________________6. Male zebras fight to defend their territory and ensure
breeding. | Ecological Relationships

___________________7. Owls hunt the mice and eat them.

___________________8. A crocodile sits with its mouth wide open and plover bird will fly into
the mouth and eat the food stuck in its teeth.
___________________9. Barnacles stick to the surface of whales.
___________________10. Cheetah kills and eats deer for food.

B. Instruction: Fill out the following blanks with the correct word/s to complete a statement.

1. The variety of life present in an ecosystem is called ________________________. 2.

The series of changes in an ecosystem to create a community in a previously uninhabited
area refers as ______________________.
3. ________________________ is the interaction between different organisms in an
ecosystem 4. A community of organism which involves the interaction of living things with
non-living things is called ___________________.
5. a term describing any relationship or interaction between two dissimilar organisms 6.
Primary succession is a very slow type of ecological succession which occurs in areas with
no __________________.
7. ____________________ is a never ending process of ecological succession because
there is already soil.
8. __________________ biodiversity refers to the variation in genes that exist within species
 50

9. __________________ biodiversity is the number of species that are present in a

region 10. The natural communities and habitats of organism is
____________________ biodiversity.

Remember

• Ecological relationship is the interaction between different organisms in an ecosystem is

called One type of ecological relationship is symbiosis.
• Symbiosis is a term describing any relationship or interaction between two dissimilar
organisms. Types of symbiosis are mutualism and commensalism.
• Biological diversity, also known as biodiversity, it is defined as the variety of life present in
an ecosystem. Types of biodiversity are: genetic, specie, and ecological.
• Ecological succession is the series of changes in an ecosystem when one community is
replaced by another community. These changes regenerate a damaged community by
creating a community in a previously uninhabited area.
• Primary Succession is a very slow process of creating and developing an ecosystem in
an area that was previously uninhabited.

• Secondary Succession is a faster process because there is already soil.