1. Explain how population growths are studied and predicted.

Population growth is studied by plotting the info. on a graph. This is done by using the X coordinate for the number of members of the population. The Y coordinate is the time passed.

When enough of the numbers are plotted, a line can be drawn that shows the story of the population. When the line rises the population is growing, falling means a decline in the population. A flat line means the population is stable. Usually the population will rise until the environment can hold no more. Then either the line will begin to plain out, or fall. Usually the line will fall because the environment has been harmed by the mass of the consuming population.

The population growth can be predicted because, in most cases the curves of the lines are consistent. So when a curve develops the rest can be drawn based in this consistency. Also what is known about the population and there environment can contribute to the prediction.

2. Explain how you feel about the increasing world population. Do you think it should be controlled, if so how?

I think that the increasing world population is a very real and very big problem. There is a possibility that technology can sustain many more people in the world. But this comes at what cost, all places in the world city, every possible spot inhabited? Think of the crime and low living conditions for such a large number of people. The world population needs to begin to make that curve.

But there is a problem. How do you instate this, politically or otherwise. You can not simply pick and kill, you can not force birth control on people who do not believe in it. You can’t limit the number of children, China’s horror stories prove this time and time again. So what can you do, I certainly can’t conceive a way to kill a large number of people, or limit the number of births , and still feel that it is the right thing to do. So I sort if contradict myself, I feel that the population should be controlled but I can’t possibly see myself endorsing any of the methods that would do so.

3. Discuss carrying capacity in detail. Explain how carrying capacity is figured in maintaining game animals in Utah. Use the moose on slope of the Uintahs as an example

Carrying capacity is the ability of an environment to sustain certain number of animals. The capacity is the number of animals that the area can hold for an allotted time.

This number is needed in game management so that the fish and game service can tell how many of these animals it will allow to hunt.

The carrying capacity is figured in calories. The actual number of calories of the winter range (food is less available in the winter than any other time, excluding disaster).

The number of calories on the range is measured in several steps. The first is to determine what species of plants that the moose eat. You can find this out by looking at the moose’s droppings as well as actually observing the moose. Then you have to determine the average number of branches each plant has. After that , you look at the number of calories each branch has, dry weight. The calories of each branch is determined by the amount of sugars, simple and complex, that are present. Then you have to determine the number of plants in the area. This is done by randomly selecting an area on the range and counting the plants on it (scientific sampling).

Now you have to find out how much of these plants the moose is going to eat. This is done by observing the moose to find several characteristics. You must find the metabolic rate of the moose. This is done by closely observing the moose. Close observation of the moose’s eating habits means that the moose is closely watched to see what kinds of plants it will eat, what activities it performs, how much sleep it gets, anything that will determine how many calories it will require. This is done to a male and female moose, as well as youngsters. Then you have to find out what kind of plant the moose will eat. After that you have to see what kinds of activities the moose under goes. This can greatly affect the calories needed by the moose. Also the air temperature and availability of water can affect the need for calories. Then a fudge factor must be added in to care for mistakes.

Once you have the amount of calories needed by each type of moose and the number of calories available, you can determine the number of moose days with simple math. You have to take the total number of calories that you found in the winter range. Then knowing how many calories each moose will need, you can find how long you can support each moose. So if there were 1000 calories on the range, and each moose needed an average of 10 calories a day then you could support one moose for 100 days, or 10 moose for 10 days. So the problem works like this, you have 1000 calories for 10 moose that need 10 calories a day. This means that there are enough calories for each moose for 10 days.

There are other problems that occur. These problems are:

Competition- other organisms might take more than the % of food you had figured they would, causing less food door the moose.

Diseases- these can cut down the population much more rapidly than expected, a problem when giving out hunting permit because the number of moose could turn out far less than calculated.

Poaching- is much like disease in that it reduces the number of moose to lower than calculated level so after the hunting season the moose are in fewer numbers.

Predators- uncalculated predators of the animals fit the equation just like poachers, they are an uncalculated reducer of the populations number.

Weather- bad weather may reduce not only the number of moose on the range due to the need for more calorie output, but it could also reduce the number of plants available to the moose.

Migration- the migration of the moose puts them in an unstudied area at an unscheduled time, leavening the scientist to collect new data.

Forest Fire- these can completely destroy the winter range of the moose, causing migration or wipe-out of the population.