Human Population Dynamics - Assignment Example

_     _ _     _ _     _ Human Populations: Review Questions How many people are there on this planet? 2. Have we exceeded the earths carrying capacity yet? Why or why not? 3. Name four ways that human populations have altered the earth. 4. Which consumes more resources per person: a developed or developing nation? 5. Which is likely to have a greater impact on the earths resources: a rapidly growing nation or an affluent one? Explain your reasoning. Humans Exercise 1: Ecological Footprints Part A: 1. Which of these countries has the lowest growth rate? Does it have the lowest total consumption pressure or ecological footprint? 2. Which country has the lowest per person ecological footprint? Does it also have the lowest total ecological footprint? Why or why not? 3. Is population size a good predictor of total consumption pressure? Part B: 1. Do the European countries or the South American countries, in general, have the highest per person ecological footprint? Is this what you would expect? Why or why not? 2. Which countries seem to be utilizing far more resources than they have within their boundaries? 3. Are the carbon dioxide emissions levels related to the consumption pressure of a given country? Would you expect this? Why or why not? 4. Based on these data, do you think reducing the population growth rate of a country is likely to reduce its consumption pressure? Why or why not? Humans Exercise 2: Human Population Model Part A: 1. Which age range has the largest number of individuals in the beginning of the simulation? At the end? 2. Which age range has the highest net immigration every 10 years? Why might this class have the most immigration? 3. Based on the vital rates, how many female offspring will be produced by the age class 20 to 29 in 10 years (one time step)? 4. Based on the vital rates, how many female offspring will be produced by the age class 30 to 39 in 10 years (one time step)? 5. There are fewer women in age class 20 to 29 than in age class 30 to 39, yet the former produces more offspring. Why? 6. How many people of both sexes will there be in the U.S. by the year 2016 based on this model? 7. Which is likely to have a greater impact on the number of people 50 years from now: 50,000 more 10-19 year olds or 50,000 30-39 year olds? Why? Part B: 1. What kind of effect does reducing the immigration by 50% have on the final abundance? Estimate the percentage change from the default Data Set 2 scenario with full immigration. 2. Is eliminating all immigration of 10-29 year olds as effective as reducing immigration of all age classes by 50%? Why or why not? 3. How does the pattern of growth compare with reduced immigration to the original Data Set 2 scenario with full immigration? (e.g., rate of change and shape of curve) 4. Do you think that a 10% reduction in immigration would have a significant effect on the population size in the next 50 years? Why or why not? 5. Reducing the number of immigrants of which age class will have the greatest reduction in the final abundance? Explain. Part C: 1. How many fewer women will there be, compared to the original scenario (Data Set 2 with no changes) after fifty years with half the fertility rate? 2. Even though Scenario 1 enforces approximately one child per couple, why is there still an increase in the population in the first 20 years? 3. How does the effectiveness of this reduced fertility program of Scenario 1 compare to reducing the immigration rate by 50% in limiting the population? 4. What is the effect of limiting pregnancies in younger women have on the final abundance? Is it as effective as reducing the migration rate by 50%? 5. What is the impact on the average change in population abundance when fertility in older women is increased slightly? 6. What would be some of the arguments for and against implemented a reduction in fertility program? 7. Reducing the fertility of which age class will have the greatest reduction in the final abundance? Explain. Part D: 1. How would you estimate the total number of individuals born to a specific age class during one time step? 2. What is the final total abundance after 50 years for Data Set 3? Is that more, less or the same as for Data Set 2? 3. How does the change in the age structure affect the average change for this population? 4. How does the initial age distribution in Data Set 4 compare to that of the U.S. (Data Set 2)? If you changed the U.S. initial age structure (Data Set 2) so that it resembled the Philipines age structure (Data Set 3) in shape, how would that affect the population abundance in 50 years? 5. Is the final age structure for these two Philippines models (Data Sets 3 and 4) similar to the initial age structure? Are the final distributions similar to each other? Would you expect them to be? Humans: Quiz 1. Which of the following countries has the largest ecological footprint?  a. Canada  b. United States  c. Mexico  d. Cuba 2. Which of the following countries has the largest per person biological capacity?  a. Canada  b. United States  c. Mexico  d. Cuba 3. As the consumption pressure of a country increases, carbon dioxide emissions of that country is likely to  a. decrease.  b. stay the same.  c. increase.  d. none of the above. 4. Suppose a population doubles in abundance in year. Its population growth rate is  a. 200  b. 0.50  c. 150  d. 2.0 Short answer questions: 1. Which is likely to have a greater impact on the number of people 50 years from now: 50,000 more 10-19 year olds or 50,000 30-39 year olds? Why? 2. Suppose a war greatly reduced the number of males from ages 20-29 in a single year. How would you expect this to impact the population abundance in the next year? What effect would it have on the populations abundance in 50 years? 3. Suppose you have two populations A and B that have exactly the same number of individuals, same set of survival and fertility rates but the initial abundances of each age class was different, as shown in the graphs. (a) Which of these graphs best describes an "aging" population (i.e., a population where the average age is increasing)? Explain your reasoning. (b) Which of these graphs is typical of a rapidly growing population? Explain your reasoning. (c) Which of these two populations is likely to have more individuals 50 years from now? Sketch a graph illustrating how you think the abundance of each population will change over the next 50 years. (d) Is it likely that the final abundance distribution among the age classes will be similar or different for the two populations after 50 years? Explain. Read More