BIOLOGY AND POPULATION DYNAMICS

Abstract

Population Biology and Dynamics focuses on biotic and abiotic interactions that govern population structure and organisation assembly. The main objective of this module is to provide an overview of the biology and dynamics of populations, namely the structure and organization of individuals within a population, characterized by major shifts that depend on demographic processes controlling population size, whose variation contributes to population equilibrium. It also aims to understand the relationships between a population and its environment, in their complexity, by analyzing the effects of environmental changes on demography and social systems, without neglecting the reverse effects. The density of a population, its increase or decrease, depends on the number of individuals added to it (natality, immigration) and those that disappear (mortality, emigration). It is the interaction between intrinsic and extrinsic factors that ultimately determines densities and the stability of population sizes.