Population Distribution

In class last week we learned about population distribution. We learned that in nature, there are 3 types of ways that animals and plants space themselves out in their environment. Those three ways are uniform, random, and clumped.

The first method of distribution is uniform. One example in nature that you can see of this in when looking at a species of bird called Cape Gannets. These birds live off the coast of New Zealand and are a perfect example of uniform distribution. The birds are very territorial and so naturally they space out evenly in order to maintain their own territory. Despite their territorial aggression, there is strength in numbers which is why they still stay in a large flock. 

The second form of distribution is random. This concept is hard to see in many species of animals but it is often the most common form of distribution seen in plants. Dandelions are a prime example of this, when dandelions reach a certain age they release their seeds into the wind. Since the plants cannot control the wind or the animals their seeds land on, the seeds are spread randomly around. Once those seeds grow, the process starts all over again.

The last form of distribution is clumped. This dispersion can be seen in most species of animals that stay in large groups such as elephants or certain types of schooling fish. One example that can be seen in the Unites States is the wolf. Wolves stay in relatively large packs and travel around their territory. The only time the wolves are not together is when the mothers stay back to raise cubs while the other members go and hunt.

Depending on where you live, humans can fall into any of the three categories of distribution. In cities people are often very uniform, living in apartment buildings on blocks. In the suburbs, people are often clumped into neighborhoods where there are 20-30 houses in a neighborhood with neighborhoods that are spread throughout a city. And then in rural areas there is often random distribution, with houses spread out between large spaces of land. Everyone has a preference of how they like to live, which way sounds most appealing to you?