A population is a group of individuals (all members of a single species) who live together in the same habitat and are likely to interbreed. Changes in individual success in finding and exploiting resources, mating and reproducing, and avoiding mortality agents determine numbers of individuals, their spatial distribution, and genetic composition at any point in time. Researchers’ simulations suggest that small population sizes and inbreeding made Neanderthal populations vulnerable to chance fluctuations in population size. Intraspecific cooperation has certainly contributed to the evolutionary success of all social insects (ants, bees, wasps, and termites). Impact Factor 2.416 | CiteScore 3More on impact ›. 1990). Consideration is also given to research demonstrating an integrative approach, such as addressing the ultimate causes of population change or the implications of such change on conservation or management interventions. A population is a collection of individual organisms of the same species that occupy some specific area. The niche is a Gestalt-like concept encompassing all of the biotic and abiotic parameters that determine where a population lives (its "habitat") as well as the role it plays within the food web (its "profession"). Ecologists recognize that r- and K-selection are opposite ends in a broad spectrum of life history strategies. Population and Evolutionary Dynamics welcomes submissions of the following article types: Brief Research Report, Correction, Data Report, Editorial, General Commentary, Hypothesis and Theory, Methods, Mini Review, Opinion, Original Research, Perspective, Policy and Practice Reviews, Review, Specialty Grand Challenge, Systematic Review and Technology and Code. These are some of the broad, albeit critically-important topics that are covered in this section. This relationship can be expressed in a simple equation: All other factors (both biotic and abiotic) exert their impact on population density by influencing one (or more) of the variables on the right-hand side of the above equation. Growth is said to be geometric when each generation's increase is a constant percentage of the total population size. Interspecific competition usually leads to one of three possible evolutionary outcomes: Density-dependent emigration (movement away from crowded conditions) is another important regulator of population size.
Cold winter temperatures, for example, could increase mortality and reduce population density. This life history strategy, often called "r-selection," is typically found in species that have a short life cycle, small body size, and high mobility (ex. Each territory generally provides enough resources for the owner's survival and reproduction; failure to "win" a territory can be a competitive disadvantage. Frontiers Editorial Office Avenue du Tribunal Fédéral 34 CH – 1005 Lausanne Switzerland Tel +41(0)21 510 17 40 Fax +41 (0)21 510 17 01, Frontiers Support Tel +41(0)21 510 17 10 Fax +41 (0)21 510 17 01 support@frontiersin.org, Avenue du Tribunal Fédéral 34 CH – 1005 Lausanne Switzerland, Tel +41(0)21 510 17 40 Fax +41 (0)21 510 17 01, For all queries regarding manuscripts in Review and potential conflicts of interest, please contact On the other hand, low predation rates in the summer might increase natality and allow the population to grow. Under these conditions, often called "K-selection," there is no particular advantage to having large numbers of offpring. Anemones keep their algae populations in check. This section addresses population and evolutionary change, but is particularly interested in contributions that address the tight interplay between population and evolutionary dynamics. Indexed in: Scopus, Web of Science Science Citation Index Expanded (SCIE), Google Scholar, DOAJ, CrossRef, Semantic Scholar, Ulrich's Periodicals Directory, CLOCKSS, OpenAIRE, PMCID: coming soon for all published articles. In the long term, emigration benefits the individuals who remain behind as well as the pioneers who find new places to live. Contest Competition: In situations where resources (food, space, etc.) Latecomers encounter a depleted resource that may no longer support growth and development. In practice investigations and theory on population dynamics can be viewed as having two broad components: first, quantitative descriptions of the changes in population number and form of population growth or decline for a …