Population Ecology in Developed vs. Underdeveloped Countries

Introduction to Population Ecology

The population ecology of developed and underdeveloped countries is under the microscope in modern times, as concerns rise about everyday resource consumption and how population growth levels are damaging the organismic structure of the planet. This paper focuses on and compares the population ecological systems of developed and underdeveloped countries, examining specific aspects such as natural selection, metapopulation, age distribution and structure, and population growth (Sarkar and Plutynski, 2003).

Before beginning the analysis, it is important to define what population ecology means. The study of population ecology primarily encompasses the examination of natural organisms in an environment from the perspective of population size and configuration. It is important to note that population ecology does not encompass the behavioral patterns of populations, but focuses mainly on how individual choices impact interactions with other organisms. Some of the aspects studied in population ecology include the following (Rockwood, 2006):

All of the aforementioned aspects are considered emergent properties of populations, as they take into consideration communal aspects of organisms rather than individual ones. Campbell and Reece (2002) write: "The characteristics of a population are shaped by the interactions between individuals and their environments on both ecological and evolutionary scales, and natural selection can modify these characteristics in a population."

From this definition, we can understand that when analyzing the regulation of population in developed and underdeveloped countries, we will most likely find vast differences, since individual organisms also play a major role in structuring population ecology.

Metapopulation Dynamics and Migration

Populations can also be examined using the metapopulation framework, which was first defined in 1969 and has been described by Levins (1970) as "a population of populations which go extinct locally and re-colonize" (Levins, 1970, p. 105).

Metapopulation dynamics primarily describe the transference of population through migration. The concept divides the entire landscape of a population into different levels based on various characteristics — most populated areas, least populated areas, and unpopulated areas. People moving or migrating to and from these divisions are structured within the category of metapopulations. Furthermore, these divisions are titled sources or sinks based on migration patterns. Source divisions are areas with consistent and productive inward migration, while sinks are areas from which many people emigrate (Sarkar and Plutynski, 2003).

When examining the importance of the metapopulation concept within the domain of population ecology in developed and underdeveloped countries, we understand how migration structures and the metapopulations formed thereof can play a major role in population growth and the irregularities that result. We see many source dynamics forming in underdeveloped nations, where people move from rural areas into metropolitan or industrial cities in search of a higher quality of life and better vocational opportunities. In developed countries, however, the pattern appears to be the exact opposite. Developed countries mirror a concept in metapopulation ecology known as the rescue effect — a process in which smaller or less-populated areas are sustained by new immigrants who introduce new opportunities into the region and, over time, become sources of development (Turchin, 2001).

The important thing to note is that both patterns lead to competition; the rescue-effect pattern found in developed countries tends to produce healthier competition than the outmigration pattern found in underdeveloped ones. This is where the concept of natural selection takes shape.

Natural Selection and Differential Reproduction

Natural selection, simply put, is the competition among organisms for access to a common yet limited resource. Two or more divisions in a population will typically use a resource differently, and the one that utilizes it more efficiently will tend to outcompete and, over time, eliminate the other (Vandermeer and Goldberg, 2003).

Differences in resource utilization are a direct result of individual differences among organisms. Most organisms differ from one another on non-consequential levels, but certain differences can initiate a chain of events that renders one organism more efficient than another. A simple example is a rabbit that runs faster than others in its group — it is more adept at escaping predators. The significance of natural selection in population ecology is that a species with a higher survivorship capacity will, in turn, achieve higher rates of reproduction (Rockwood, 2006).

The reproductive structure of organisms can be heritably driven — that is, passed from generation to generation. This is called differential reproduction and can favor the growth of certain organisms over others within a single population division. In this way, each environment selects for the traits best suited to reproduction, resulting in the formation of distinct population patterns and growth formats for both humans and animals. This is why we observe such dominant and consistent patterns of development in certain countries over centuries. In the past century, dominant nations have experienced sustained development partly because of the individual characteristics of their populations and the cumulative impact those characteristics produce (Rockwood, 2006).

Population growth in both developed and underdeveloped countries has been shaped by these individual characteristics. Some of the natural characteristics that affect population growth differently across development levels include climate, soils, salinity, temperature, and extreme weather (Rockwood, 2006). These are the abiotic conditions to which natural and human organisms adapt, drawing on biotic responses that include (Mikkelson, 2003; Odenbaugh, 2001):

Conclusion

The philosophy of population ecology is very important to examine, especially today when the problems of science and society seem to go hand in hand with how populations deal with their environment and the resources available to them. In this essay, we focused on numerous features of population ecology — including natural selection, metapopulation, age distribution and structure, and population growth in developed and underdeveloped countries — to understand how critical this topic truly is and how greater attention needs to be devoted to it in the near future.

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