A population is a group of organisms of one species that interbreed and live in the same place at the same time. The characteristics of a population includes population density, distribution and dispersion.
Population density is the measurement of a population per unit area or unit volume and is often used on living organism. With the case of the Sumatran elephant, researchers estimated their population distance sampling. 33 transects were laid with a total length of 93 km. They walked these transects five to eleven times and obtained a total of 795.5 km of walks. Data was collected on the location, number and age-sex classes through different elephant sightings. When the results were recorded they found that the elephant density was 1.7 elephants/km squared.
Population distribution can be clumped, random or uniform distribution. In the case of the Sumatran elephant, they demonstrate clumped distribution. This distribution pattern is common among species in which individuals gather into groups for positive interactions from predators or to increase hunting efficiency. The reason why these elephants are in this type of distribution is due to them travelling in herds and their social relationship as well as them having to live in national parks in order for them to remain safe and out of harm's way now that their habitat is being destroyed.
Population density is the measurement of a population per unit area or unit volume and is often used on living organism. With the case of the Sumatran elephant, researchers estimated their population distance sampling. 33 transects were laid with a total length of 93 km. They walked these transects five to eleven times and obtained a total of 795.5 km of walks. Data was collected on the location, number and age-sex classes through different elephant sightings. When the results were recorded they found that the elephant density was 1.7 elephants/km squared.
Population distribution can be clumped, random or uniform distribution. In the case of the Sumatran elephant, they demonstrate clumped distribution. This distribution pattern is common among species in which individuals gather into groups for positive interactions from predators or to increase hunting efficiency. The reason why these elephants are in this type of distribution is due to them travelling in herds and their social relationship as well as them having to live in national parks in order for them to remain safe and out of harm's way now that their habitat is being destroyed.
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia and part of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island that is completely in Indonesia and is the sixth largest island in the world. Due to this critically endangered species travelling within wide home rages, they often have various habitats. Some are found in forest swamps, which are forests overrun with freshwater, either permanently or seasonally. They normally occur along the lower outstretch of rivers and around freshwater lakes. Freshwater swamp forests are found in a range of climate zones, from boreal temperates and subtropical to tropical.Another location is the peat swamp forest which are tropical moist forests where waterlogged soil avert dead leaves and wood from entirely decomposing. Last, is the lowland forests. A lowland rainforest is what most people picture when they think of a typical rainforest. These areas are characterized, in general, by their equatorial location, warm temperatures, and wet climate. These three factors allow for year-round growth and reproduction in the lowland forest, making the richness of species in these areas possible.The many layers of the lowland forest vegetation create a variety of different specialized habitats, or niches, to be occupied by a variety of different plant and animal species. This allows the rainforest to be among the most biologically diverse areas on the planet.
These elephants are in fact threatened with a loss of genetic diversity due to a lowered numbers of males. The danger starts when they are eliminated, and poachers find it worthwhile to kill immature males for their small tusks. When these elephants are killed, the number of males in a population decreases, resulting in a change in the sex ratios. This may lead to inbreeding and eventually to high juvenile mortality and due to low breeding success. Removing a large number of males also reduces the probability that these longer-ranging loners will mate and exchange genes with females of different sub-populations. Reduction in their numbers means that breeding males are usually closer family members. Due to this, genetic mutations occur in the offspring's DNA which may result in a lower birth rate and an ultimate reduction in population.
These elephants are in fact threatened with a loss of genetic diversity due to a lowered numbers of males. The danger starts when they are eliminated, and poachers find it worthwhile to kill immature males for their small tusks. When these elephants are killed, the number of males in a population decreases, resulting in a change in the sex ratios. This may lead to inbreeding and eventually to high juvenile mortality and due to low breeding success. Removing a large number of males also reduces the probability that these longer-ranging loners will mate and exchange genes with females of different sub-populations. Reduction in their numbers means that breeding males are usually closer family members. Due to this, genetic mutations occur in the offspring's DNA which may result in a lower birth rate and an ultimate reduction in population.
Another characteristic of the population that refers globally to Asian elephants, which also involves Sumatran elephants, is age structure. The definition of age structure is the distribution of ages of individuals of a population.
Elephants live in a structured group and the social lives of females and males are different. As one can see from the chart, there is a much smaller number of males than females. This is most likely due to the poaching of their tusks. Grown males usually live a lonely life. Young males often leave their family when they are sexually mature and they often go live in herds. It is due to them becoming sexually mature at a young age that these elephants are still able to inbreed.