Apes B/k Chapter 4

Front 1

Define "population"

Back 1

A group of individuals of the same species living in the same area or interbreeding and sharing genetic information.

Front 2

Define "species"

Back 2

All individuals capable of interbreeding.

Front 3

What are the five key properties of any population?

Back 3

1. abundance
2. birth rates
3. death rates
4. growth rates
5. age structure

Front 4

What is demography?

Back 4

the statistical study of human populations

Front 5

What is the word for the statistical study of human populations?

Back 5

demography

Front 6

Define "population dynamics"

Back 6

the general study of population changes

Front 7

Define "birth rate"

Back 7

the rate at which births occur in a population

Front 8

Define "death rate"

Back 8

the rate at which deaths occur in a population

Front 9

Define "growth rate"

Back 9

The net increase of a population over time.

Front 10

Define "age structure"

Back 10

a population divided into groups by age

Front 11

What does an age structure look like?

Back 11

An age structure is a pile of blocks, one for each age group, where the size of each block represents the number of people in that group.

Front 12

What are the four general shapes of age structures?

Back 12

1. pyramid
2. column
3. inverted pyramid (top-heavy)
4. column with a bulge

Front 13

Describe the population in which a pyramid age structure would occur.

Back 13

It occurs in a population with many young people and a high death rate at each age - therefore a short average lifetime.

Front 14

Describe the population in which a column age structure would occur.

Back 14

It occurs in a population where the birth rate and death rate are low and a high percentage of the population is elderly.

Front 15

Why would a bulge occur in a column age structure?

Back 15

It would occur if some event in the past caused a high birth rate or death rate for some age group but not others.

Front 16

Describe the population in which an inverted pyramid age structure would occur.

Back 16

It occurs when a population has more older than younger people.

Front 17

Define "zero population growth"

Back 17

This results when the number of births equals the number of deaths so that there is no net change in population.

Front 18

Why would it be problematic for a country to have a large elderly population?

Back 18

Because less people work than are necessary to generate enough taxes for elderly care.

Front 19

Define "crude birth rate"

Back 19

Number of births per 1,000 individuals per year

Front 20

Define "crude death rate"

Back 20

Number of deaths per 1,000 individuals per year

Front 21

Define "crude growth rate"

Back 21

net number added per 1,000 individuals per year

(crude birth rate)-(crude death rate)

Front 22

Define "fertility"

Back 22

pregnancy or the capacity to become pregnant or to have children

Front 23

Define "general fertility rate"

Back 23

number of live births expected in a year per 1,000 women aged 15-49 years, considered the childbearing years

Front 24

Define "age-specific birth rate"

Back 24

number of births expected per year among a fertility-specific age group of women in a population

Front 25

Define "total fertility rate"

Back 25

average number of children expected to be born to a woman throughout her childbearing years

Front 26

What does TFR stand for?

Back 26

total fertility rate

Front 27

Define "cause-specific death rate"

Back 27

number of deaths from one cause per 100,000 total deaths

Front 28

Define "incidence rate"

Back 28

number of people contracting a disease during a time period, usually measured per 100 people

Front 29

Define "prevalence rate"

Back 29

number of people afflicted by a disease at a particular time

Front 30

Define "case fatality rate"

Back 30

percentage of people who die once they contract a disease

Front 31

Define "morbidity"

Back 31

general term meaning the occurrence of disease and illness in a population

Front 32

Define "rate of natural increase"

Back 32

(birth rate)-(death rate)
implying annual rate of population growth not including immigration

Front 33

What does RNI stand for?

Back 33

rate of natural increase

Front 34

Define "infant mortality rate"

Back 34

annual number of deaths of infants under age 1 per 1,000 live births

Front 35

Define "life expectancy at birth"

Back 35

average number of years a newborn infant can expect to live given current mortality levels

Front 36

Define "GNP per capita"

Back 36

gross national product (GNP), which includes the value of all domestic and foreign output, per person

Front 37

Why would countries encourage rapid population growth?

Back 37

The easiest way to increase tax income is to increase the percentage of young people.

Front 38

What are the four major time periods in the history of human population?

Back 38

1. hunter-gatherers: less than a few million people
2. begins with rise of agriculture: allows much greater density of people and the first major increase in human population
3. Industrial Revolution: improvements in healthcare and supply of food lead to rapid increase in human population
4. Today: rate of population growth has slowed in wealthy, industrialized nations but continues to increase rapidly in many poorer, less developed nations

Front 39

How does doubling time respond to changes in growth rate?

Back 39

Doubling time is very sensitive to growth rate; it changes quickly as the growth rate changes.

Front 40

Describe the "logistic growth curve"

Back 40

The S-shaped growth curve that is generated by the logistic growth equation. In the logistic, a small population grows rapidly, but the growth rate slows down, and the population reaches a constant size.

Front 41

Define "logistic carrying capacity"

Back 41

In terms of the logistic curve, the population size at which births equal deaths and there is no change in population.

Front 42

How does a logistic carrying capacity relate to the logistic growth curve?

Back 42

The logistic growth curve flattens out (stops increasing exponentially) at the logistic carrying capacity.

Front 43

How realistic is the logistic growth curve?

Back 43

There is little evidence that any human or animal populations actually follow this model.

Front 44

Why is the logistic growth curve unrealistic?

Back 44

Makes assumptions:
1. constant environment
2. constant carrying capacity
3. homogeneous population

Unlikely because if death rates decrease due to improvements in health care, medicine, and food supplies, then the human population must pass through demographic transition before zero population growth and a stabilized population can be achieved.

Front 45

On a logistic growth curve, what is the point at which the curve changes from a steep slope to horizontal carrying capacity called?

Back 45

inflection point

Front 46

Why can't human population growth be predicted using the logistic growth curve?

Back 46

Final population cannot be predicted unless the inflection point is known. Past predictions have often (falsely) assumed that the inflection point is very near or at their current time period.

Front 47

Define "demographic transition"

Back 47

The pattern of change in birth and death rates as a country transforms from underdeveloped to developed.

Front 48

What are the stages of demographic transition?

Back 48

Stage I: In an underdeveloped country, birth and death rates are high and the growth rate low.

Stage II: Death rate decreased, but birth rate remains high and the growth rate is high.

Stage III: Birth rate drops toward the death rate and the growth rate therefore also decreases.

Front 49

What is necessary in order for a society to reach Stage III of demographic transition?

Back 49

Parents must come to believe that having a small family is to their benefit.

Front 50

What two factors contribute to the danger that the human population poses to the environment?

Back 50

the number of people and the impact of each person on the environment

Front 51

What increases the impact of each person on the environment?

Back 51

advancements in technology

Front 52

What is ironic about the fact that international aid attempts to both improve the standards of living and slow down overall human population growth?

Back 52

Improving the standard of living increases environmental impact, countering the environmental benefits of a decline in population growth.

Front 53

Define "human carrying capacity"

Back 53

theoretical estimates of the number of humans who could inhabit the Earth at the same time

Front 54

What does an estimate of human carrying capacity depend on?

Back 54

the quality of life people desire and are willing to accept

Front 55

What are the two methods of estimating human carrying capacity?

Back 55

1. extrapolate from past growth using a logistic growth curve
2. "packing-problem" approach simply considers how many people might be packed onto Earth, not accounting for the need for lands and oceans to provide various services. also called "standing-room-early-approach". leads to very high estimates.

Front 56

Explain "deep ecology"

Back 56

A philosophy that argues that the whole Earth is necessary to sustain life; therefore, everything else must be sacrificed to the goal of sustaining the biosphere. So, because people are considered active agents of destruction of the biosphere, the total number of people should be greatly reduced.

Front 57

What types of human carrying capacity estimates are created based on deep ecology?

Back 57

estimates for the desirable number of people

Front 58

What is the second transitional phase of population growth?

Back 58

A theoretical second stage of demographic transition. In stage IV, birth rate would remain constant but death rate would fall due to advances in treating chronic health problems. In stage V, a second stable phase of low or zero growth would be achieved once the birth rate declined to meet the lowered death rate.

Front 59

What implications does the second transitional phase of population growth have for industrialized nations?

Back 59

Industrialized nations are in danger of a new spurt of population growth, even if they have already passed through the standard demographic transition.

Front 60

What are the three choices that industrialized societies will have to choose from in light of the second transitional phase of population growth?

Back 60

1. stop medical research dealing with chronic diseases of old age and attempts to increase people's maximum lifetime
2. reduce the birth rate
3. do neither and wait for predictions of famine, environmental catastrophes, and epidemic diseases to come true (because of oversized population)

Front 61

What is an "acute" or "epidemic disease"?

Back 61

A disease that appears rapidly in the population, affects a comparatively large percentage of the population, and then declines or almost disappears for a while, only to return later. Typically rare but have occasional outbreaks that infect a large portion of the population.

Front 62

What is a "chronic disease"?

Back 62

A disease always present in a population that typically occurs in a relatively small but relatively constant percentage of the population.

Front 63

Why might epidemic diseases increase as the population grows?

Back 63

The large human population constitutes a great resource and opportunity for other species: humanity offers a huge and easily accessible host.

Front 64

Define "maximum lifetime"

Back 64

This is the genetically determined maximum possible age to which an individual of a species can live.

Front 65

Define "life expectancy"

Back 65

This is the average number of years an individual can expect to live given the individual's present age. (This term is often applied, without qualification, to mean the life expectancy of a newborn.)

Front 66

In demographic transition stages II and III, how has maximum lifetime changed?

Back 66

There has been little or no change in maximum lifetime.

Front 67

How can limiting factors for human populations be grouped? (3)

Back 67

1. short-term factors: affect a population the year in which they become limiting
2. intermediate-term factors: effects are apparent after 1 year but before 10 years
3. long-term factors: effects are not apparent for 10 years

Front 68

What are three ways zero population growth can be achieved? (focused on lowering birth rates)

Back 68

1. delay the age of first childbearing by women
2. biological and societal birth control
3. national programs to reduce birth rates

Front 69

How is the age of first childbearing by women delayed? (2)

Back 69

1. happens naturally as women enter the workforce and as education levels and standards of living increase
2. societal pressures that lead to deferred marriage and childbearing

Front 70

What are some forms of birth control? (3)

Back 70

1. breastfeeding
2. family planning (abstinence, contraceptives etc.)
3. abortion

Front 71

How can governments work to reduce birth rates?

Back 71

By providing family-planning programs that educate on
1. the dangers of rapid population growth
2. the benefits to individuals of reduced population growth
3. birth control methods.
and proved access to birth control methods.

Governments can also attempt to reduce birth rates by offering rewards and imposing penalties.