Question

which example best illustrates the population characteristic \density\?

a type of bird is found on several continents.
a frog population decreases over time.
a forest has 200 foxes living in 50 square kilometers.

Explanation:

🆕 New Concept Discovered: Population Density
How crowded a population is in a given area

Step 1: Define Population Density

In ecology, population density refers to the number of individuals of a specific species living within a defined unit of area or volume. It answers the question: How crowded is this population?

The formula to represent this concept is:

$$ \text{Population Density} = \frac{\text{Number of Individuals}}{\text{Unit of Area}} $$

Step 2: Analyze the Options

• Option 1: "A type of bird is found on several continents."
• This describes the geographic range or distribution of a species, not how many individuals live in a specific unit of space.

• Option 2: "A frog population decreases over time."
• This describes a change in population size over time, which relates to population growth rate or decline.

• Option 3: "A forest has 200 foxes living in 50 square kilometers."
• This option provides both the number of individuals (\(200\) foxes) and a specific unit of area (\(50\text{ square kilometers}\)). This allows us to calculate the density:

$$ \frac{200\text{ foxes}}{50\text{ km}^2} = 4\text{ foxes per square kilometer} $$

• This perfectly illustrates the concept of population density.

Answer:

A forest has 200 foxes living in 50 square kilometers.