2A. A large population of bats living in a small cave get White-nose syndrome, a fungal disease that is fatal to bats. The disease quickly spreads throughout the entire population and kills the majority of bats in the cave. One infected bat escapes and flies to a large cave system nearby that has a few bats scattered throughout, but the bat dies before the population in this cave system is infected. What type of population dynamic does this situation represent?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

The scenario describes a disease spreading rapidly within a large, dense population in a small cave, then an infected bat escapes to a much less dense population in a different cave and dies before the second population becomes infected. This setup highlights how the impact of the disease depends on population size and density: high density in the first cave facilitates rapid transmission and high mortality, whereas the sparse population in the second cave experiences little to no transmission from a single escaped case.
Option a: Density Independent. This would mean the disease spreads or declines in a way that does not depend on how many individuals are present in the population. Since the outbreak’s spread and severity are clearly influenced by how tightly packed the bats are, this option mischaracterizes the situation.
Option b: Density Dependent. This aligns with the described dynamics: the disease spreads more readily and has a larger impact in the high-density cave, while in the low-density cave the single infected bat does not ignite a large outbreak, illustrating how transmission is influenced by population density.
Option c: Density Separated. This term is not a standard population-dynamics category and does not accurately describe the mechanism at work here; the key feature is the influence of density on transmission, not a separation of densities as a distinct dynamic.
Option d: Density Uncorrelated. This would imply that changes in population density do not affect disease spread or impact, which contradicts the observed contrast between the two caves.

BIO 181 (001&002) FALL 2025 FA25: Exam 2: Ecology - You got this! : )

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