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In population genetics and population ecology, population size (usually denoted N) is a countable quantity representing the number of individual organisms in a population. Population size is directly associated with amount of genetic drift , and is the underlying cause of effects like population bottlenecks and the founder effect . [ 1 ]
In conservation biology, minimum viable population (MVP) size helps to determine the effective population size when a population is at risk for extinction. [5] [6] The effects of a population bottleneck often depend on the number of individuals remaining after the bottleneck and how that compares to the minimum viable population size.
Population dynamics is the type of mathematics used to model and study the size and age composition of populations as dynamical systems. Population dynamics is a branch of mathematical biology , and uses mathematical techniques such as differential equations to model behaviour.
The effective population size (N e) is the size of an idealised population that would experience the same rate of genetic drift as the real population. [1] Idealised populations are those following simple one- locus models that comply with assumptions of the neutral theory of molecular evolution .
MVP refers to the smallest possible size at which a biological population can exist without facing extinction from natural disasters or demographic, environmental, or genetic stochasticity. [1] The term " population " is defined as a group of interbreeding individuals in similar geographic area that undergo negligible gene flow with other ...
Population size can be influenced by the per capita population growth rate (rate at which the population size changes per individual in the population.) Births, deaths, emigration, and immigration rates all play a significant role in growth rate. The maximum per capita growth rate for a population is known as the intrinsic rate of increase.
A population exhibiting a weak Allee effect will possess a reduced per capita growth rate (directly related to individual fitness of the population) at lower population density or size. However, even at this low population size or density, the population will always exhibit a positive per capita growth rate. Meanwhile, a population exhibiting a ...
Population genetics is a subfield of genetics that deals with genetic differences within and among populations, and is a part of evolutionary biology. Studies in this branch of biology examine such phenomena as adaptation , speciation , and population structure .