Chapter 53, Problem 53.1CR

Gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) gather each winter near Baja California to give birth. How might such behavior make it easier for ecologists to estimate birth and death rates for the species?

Summary Introduction

To determine: The way in which the reproductive behavior of gray whale species “Eschrichtus robustus” in California bay helps ecologists to estimate birth and death rates for the species.

Introduction: The study of change in population is termed as population dynamics. Population ecology can be defined as both, the number of individual for a particular species in an area and dynamics of the population.

Explanation of Solution

The birth rate and death rate of an organism depends upon the number of population present in a given time period. The increase in the population size leads to an increase in the number of species of the gray whale. Ecologists can estimate the birth rates by counting the number of young born per Eschrichtus robustus in a given time period. Similarly, they can estimate the death rate by observing the number of deaths in their population.