POPULATION GROWTH

POPULATION GROWTH
Population explosion refers to growth of a population at exponential rates to a size that exceeds the environmental carrying capacity of a region. It is usually followed by a population crash.
-A population can be defined as a group of individuals of the same species inhabiting an area
-Population density is the population size in relation to some unit of space and time. It varies with food availability and climatic conditions
-Current population growth has led to famine in areas where food production cannot keep pace with population growth
-The kinds of demands a population places on its resources is also important
-Each species has an inherent reproductive capacity
-Population growth tends to follow a particular pattern. This consists of a lag phase, an exponential growth phase and a stable equilibrium phase.
-When a majority of the population is in the reproducing stage, the population begins to increase at an exponential rate and this stage is called exponential growth phase.This leads to population explosion.
-The graph plotted between population on Y-axis and time on X-axis yields an S shaped growth or a J shaped growth curve showing the growth rate pattern
-Human beings have accumulated knowledge that allows for predictions about the future and can make conscious decisions based on likely course of events and adjust their lives accordingly.

FACTORS CONTROLLING POPULATION GROWTH:
Man has modified the environment with new technologies for a better and secured future on me hand and created the problem of population explosion on the other hand. Some of the factors controlling population growth are listed below:
-Famine and other natural calamities like flood, drought, earthquake, volcanic eruptions, hurricanes, landslides, etc
-Epidemic outbreaks (Ebola virus, etc)
-Wars
-Unnatural accidents caused during transportation, fires, etc

FACTORS ASSISTING IN POPULATION GROWTH:
-High production of food and better technologies for storage, processing and distribution
-Better medical facilities provided during childbirth and immunization for babies against deadly diseases

GROWTH OF HUMAN POPULATION:
The population of a given area also depends on the movement of people either temporarily or permanently.
Emigration refers to movement of people from one community to another in a new locality thus causing a decrease in the original population
Immigration refers to addition of new individuals to a population from other localities
Increase in population causes competition due to identical requirements.
One of the most important consequences of increase in population is scarcity of food leading to starvation and death in extreme cases.
Interaction between populations in a given area can lead to conflicts due to competition for resources or dependence of one on the other (Symbiosis - birds eat ticks on the skin of cows & buffaloes)

CONSEQUENCES OF POPULATION EXPLOSION:
The following are the consequences of population explosion:
-Depletion of resources
-Competition for food and space
-Psychologocal stress
-Pollution of the environment
-Large scale unemployment