Issue 20 | June 2014
Populations
What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you read the word population? Most likely it’s the ever-increasing human population on earth. The term population isn’t just used to describe humans; it includes other animals, plants and microbes too. In this issue, we learn more about how populations grow, change and move, and why understanding them is so important.
Download the PDF, browse through the individual articles, check out our multimedia content and consider our lesson ideas. We’ve also picked out content from other issues that we think is especially relevant.
Foundations of populations
First things first
Our primer explains why it’s important to study populations
Populations picture infographic
A snapshot of populations around the world
Ecology and the environment
Studying populations in place
Demography dynamics
Using statistics to study populations
Time for a check-up
Epidemiology looks at a population’s health
Gene pool
Studying populations through genetics
Extreme locations
Finding life where you least expect it
Hindsight is 20/20
Fields of scientific study often overlap, and population studies are a case in point
Changes big and small
Supersized
The implications of persistent population growth
Malthus vs Boserup
Humans, like members of all populations of plants and animals, are in competition with one another for the Earth’s resources
Behind the scenes
Abiotic and biotic factors influence ecosystem and population change
Evolutionary forces
What’s Darwin got to do with it?
Movers and shakers
The role of migration and travel in population change
An uneasy relationship
How are populations and disease intertwined?
Complex networks
The game of life
Organisms must compete for survival
Cooperation
Some species are natural partners, or even bedfellows
Conservation
What efforts are humans making to preserve biodiversity?
Sources of sustenance
How do humans and plant populations interact?
Talk talk
Bacteria communicate with each other using quorum sensing
Fight to the finish
Understanding host–pathogen interactions
Herd mentality
Childhood vaccination against infectious diseases has saved countless lives. The main beneficiary, of course, is the child who gets vaccinated
Find out for yourself
Video: What’s up, buttercup?
Watch or download our video on population sampling techniques
Animation: Surveying populations
Watch or download our animation, which demonstrates the range of methods that can be used to investigate different populations in a woodland ecosystem
How to set up a population study
Set up your own population study with our short guide
Presentation is key
Help the data you collect to reach their full potential
Beating bias
How researchers try to reduce bias
Grand designs
Why the design of your experiment will depend on the question you’re asking
Citizen science
This approach to science involves members of the public – from schoolchildren to birdwatchers and fishermen – taking part in scientific research
Ecology and geography fieldwork techniques
Excellent resources on practical fieldwork, be it a handy how-to guide or a bit of advice on investigating specific animals or habitats
Bacterial basics
What are the challenges of investigating bacterial populations?
Treasure hunt
Using data on human populations
Population problems
Cervical cancer vaccinations case study
In the UK 12-year-old girls are offered the vaccine – why? Read on and decide what you think about this population problem
Antibiotic resistance case study
Why are our antibiotics not working? What will happen if this continues? Debate and discuss this issue
Birth control case study
How do you cope with the combination of soaring populations and ageing populations?
Genetic modification case study
Are genetically modified crops a good or a bad thing? Decide what you think
The ethics of population studies
A population study is a scientific investigation that looks at a group of individual plants or animals of the same species living in a given area or habitat
Real Voices interviews
Real Voices interview: Rupert Houghton
Meet Rupert, a PhD student at the University of Aberdeen studying crayfish populations
Real Voices interview: Philip Taylor
Meet Philip, an apple farmer from Chelmsford, Essex
Real Voices interview: Tejovathi and Gopal Rao
Meet Tejovathi and Gopal, a married couple living in Chandanagar, Hyderabad, India
Activities and lesson ideas
Lesson ideas for ‘Big Picture: Populations’
Suggestions for using this issue in the classroom
Further resources and activities on populations
The Wellcome Trust has funded many organisations to produce activities and resources to engage and educate young people on the topic of populations
Fast Facts
Each issue of 'Big Picture' comes with a sprinkling of Fast Facts, fascinating snippets of information on the topic covered.