Estimating Housefly Populations
Chapter 23: Arthropods

More than seventy five percent of all known animal species are insects. One of the factors contributing to their survival success is their rapid rate of reproduction and the large number of offspring they produce. You can easily estimate how quickly the population of houseflies increases when you…

Try This

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1. Calculate the potential population of houseflies over four generations starting with the eggs from one female housefly (generation one).
2. Assume that one-half of the eggs from each generation are female, and that each female lays 200 eggs. For this activity, assume that all of the offspring survive.

Analyze Your Results

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1. How many houseflies were produced in the second generation? In the third? In the fourth?
2. What assumptions were made in this activity that may not be present in an actual situation?
3. What are some ways you could prevent this unchecked reproduction of houseflies?

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