Final answer:
Marita's blue jay population likely experienced exponential growth initially and then logistic growth as it approached the carrying capacity. Bacteria in a lab exemplify exponential growth, while polar bears in a warming habitat may show logistic growth. A seal population would likely decline or level off if their food source is reduced due to pollution or overfishing.
Step-by-step explanation:
When analyzing the population of songbirds and other species, there are key terms and concepts important to understanding population dynamics. A population increases by immigration, where individuals enter an area, and decreases by emigration, where individuals leave an area. The blue jay population Marita observes likely increased by exponential growth initially, as it doubled over a short period, which is typical when resources are abundant and there are few limiting factors. However, as the population reached the carrying capacity of the environment, it showed a pattern of logistic growth. This shift happens because resources become more limited as the population size approaches the carrying capacity, the maximum number of individuals that the environment can sustain over the long term.
An example of exponential growth is bacteria growing in an enriched medium in a lab, where they double in number at regular intervals. In contrast, a logistic growth pattern could be seen in a population of animals where the population grows rapidly at first but levels off as resources become scarce, such as a population of polar bears in a warming habitat facing the diminishing ice they depend on.
If the major food source of seals declines due to pollution or overfishing, the seal population will be negatively affected. Their population growth might shift from exponential to logistic, declining or leveling off as their access to food becomes the limiting factor in their environment.