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ECOL111: Population Ecology Questions
and Correct Answers
Open Population Ans: a population that is not geographically
isolated, therefore can lose to/gain from different populations.
Closed Population Ans: a population that's abundance is fixed
(except via birth and death), as no members will be added/lost to
different populations.
Local distribution Ans: distribution of a species in a local area.
Dispersed Ans: a ecological process that involves the movement of
an individual or group away from their birth population.
Over dispersed Ans: large quantities of a population disperse from
the original population, patterns in dispersion tend to occur across
a landscape.
Contagious clumped Ans: organisms in a species are clumped
together, and their distribution is reliant on their proximity to
each other.
Aggregation Ans: a group of animals that is independently formed
because individuals are attracted to an environmental resource in
the area that is important for functioning.
Geological distribution Ans: distribution of a species globally.
Uses for population abundance data Ans: estimating a populations
probability of survival, estimating sustainable harvest,
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understanding populations nature, accessing spread of pests,
calculating needs of a managed population.
Purposes for estimating probability of population survival Ans:
finding annual variation in populations and finding maximum
yield.
Exclusive Economic Zones Ans: an area of the ocean that generally
extends 200 nautical miles (230miles) beyond a nations territorial
sea, within these zones countries have jurisdiction over both living
and non-living resources.
Methods for population abundance estimates Ans: tag recapture,
surveys, counts per unit time (trappings + photos), remote sensing,
proxies (songs, prints, scat).
Tag Recapture Ans: methods that gains access to possible whole
population estimates, and can be used on both 'open' and 'closed'
populations. This methods is also most useful for understanding
species migration/dispersal behavior.
Density estimates Ans: method is useful for gaining density
estimates on population where individuals do not move
frequently.
Counts per unit time Ans: method is useful for understanding a
vague estimate on the number of individuals of a species in a
general area, this method is often used for species with individuals
that move frequently.
Remote sensing Ans: often refers to satellite imaging of a
conspicuous population, or acoustic surveys that gain a general
idea of marine species distribution in a specific area in a moment.
Surveying Ans: counting a population's individuals.
© 2025 All rights reserved
ECOL111: Population Ecology Questions
and Correct Answers
Open Population Ans: a population that is not geographically
isolated, therefore can lose to/gain from different populations.
Closed Population Ans: a population that's abundance is fixed
(except via birth and death), as no members will be added/lost to
different populations.
Local distribution Ans: distribution of a species in a local area.
Dispersed Ans: a ecological process that involves the movement of
an individual or group away from their birth population.
Over dispersed Ans: large quantities of a population disperse from
the original population, patterns in dispersion tend to occur across
a landscape.
Contagious clumped Ans: organisms in a species are clumped
together, and their distribution is reliant on their proximity to
each other.
Aggregation Ans: a group of animals that is independently formed
because individuals are attracted to an environmental resource in
the area that is important for functioning.
Geological distribution Ans: distribution of a species globally.
Uses for population abundance data Ans: estimating a populations
probability of survival, estimating sustainable harvest,
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 2 | Page
understanding populations nature, accessing spread of pests,
calculating needs of a managed population.
Purposes for estimating probability of population survival Ans:
finding annual variation in populations and finding maximum
yield.
Exclusive Economic Zones Ans: an area of the ocean that generally
extends 200 nautical miles (230miles) beyond a nations territorial
sea, within these zones countries have jurisdiction over both living
and non-living resources.
Methods for population abundance estimates Ans: tag recapture,
surveys, counts per unit time (trappings + photos), remote sensing,
proxies (songs, prints, scat).
Tag Recapture Ans: methods that gains access to possible whole
population estimates, and can be used on both 'open' and 'closed'
populations. This methods is also most useful for understanding
species migration/dispersal behavior.
Density estimates Ans: method is useful for gaining density
estimates on population where individuals do not move
frequently.
Counts per unit time Ans: method is useful for understanding a
vague estimate on the number of individuals of a species in a
general area, this method is often used for species with individuals
that move frequently.
Remote sensing Ans: often refers to satellite imaging of a
conspicuous population, or acoustic surveys that gain a general
idea of marine species distribution in a specific area in a moment.
Surveying Ans: counting a population's individuals.
© 2025 All rights reserved
