Population ecology is the study of how populations interact with their environments.

• 14.1 What is ecology?
• 14.2 A population perspective is necessary in ecology.
• 14.3 Populations can grow quickly for a while, but not forever.
• 14.4 A population’s growth is limited by its environment.
• 14.5 Some populations cycle between large and small.
• 14.6 “Maximum sustainable yield” is useful but nearly impossible to implement.

A life history is like a species summary.

• 14.7 Life histories are shaped by natural selection.
• 14.8 There are trade-offs between growth, reproduction, and longevity.
• 14.9 This is how we do it: Life history trade-offs: rapid growth comes at a cost.
• 14.10 Populations can be described quantitatively in life tables and survivorship curves.

Ecology influences the evolution of aging in a population.

• 14.11 Things fall apart: what is aging and why does it occur?
• 14.12 What determines the average longevity in different species?
• 14.13 Can we slow down the process of aging?

The human population is growing rapidly.

• 14.14 Age pyramids reveal much about a population.
• 14.15 As less-developed countries become more developed, a demographic transition often occurs.
• 14.16 Human population growth: how high can it go?