We call a biological population any group of individuals of the same species that live in a particular place. Thus, we can have diverse populations of animals, plants, fungi, algae and even protozoa and bacteria.
Examples:
- Population of a species of bacteria found in a person's nose;
- Population of a species of alga found in a river;
- Population of Aedes aegypti found in a vacant lot;
- Population of yellow ipe trees found in the state of Goiás;
- Population of giant anteaters found in an ecological reserve.
Yellow ipe population.
As all living things can form populations, with humans it couldn't be different. We can analyze, for example:
- The human population found across the planet;
- The human population of Latin America;
- The human population of a city;
- The human population that makes up a neighborhood;
- The human population that lives on the streets.
Human population.
The study of population characteristics related to our species, that is, human beings, is called demography.
The set of several populations found in a place is called biological community.
You individuals of a biological community (biotic factors) interact with each other, directly or indirectly. For example:
- A plant provides food, oxygen and shelter to many other living beings;
- One animal feeds on the other;
- A bacterium causes disease in a species of monkey;
- Males and females of a species reproduce;
- An orchid lives under the trunk of a tree.
In addition, biotic factors interact with thenon-living components of the environment (abiotic factors): temperature, humidity, rainfall, soil type, etc.
The set formed by biotic and abiotic facts is called ecosystem.
Set of populations: biological community.
By Mariana Araguaia
Biologist, specialist in Environmental Education
