The Conservation of Populations: Concept, Theory, and Analysis

Abstract

In this chapter, you will learn:1. What populations are 2. What factors determine the size and persistence of populations 3. What causes populations to decline and become extinct 4. What metapopulations are and how they can be conserved 5. How to use population viability analysis to determine important threats to population persistence The traditional definition of population is “all coexisting individuals of the same species living in the same area at the same time.” As noted in Chapter 4, the species concept, upon which this definition depends, has been subjected to new interpretations, particularly as genetic techniques provide increasing precision on measurements of genetic similarities and differences of organisms.