Populations

A population, in the ecological sense, is any group of organisms belonging to the same species that can interbreed among themselves, occupy a shared area, and together function as a component of the wider biotic community. Unlike an individual organism, a population has emergent, group-level properties: population density, natality (birth rate), mortality (death rate), age distribution, biotic potential, dispersion pattern, and characteristic growth form (whether it behaves more like an r-selected or a K-selected species). A population also carries genetic characteristics of its own, shaped over time, that are directly tied to how well it adapts, how successfully it reproduces, and how persistently it can occupy its habitat — with the life history of its member organisms forming an important part of that overall picture. At any …