A clumped pattern of dispersion occurs when individuals aggregate in patches. For example, a herd of cows all graze in a field together, as it is their only source of food within five miles. Uniform dispersion is when organisms are evenly spaced throughout a given area. This results from territoriality, or when organisms defend their physical space against other organisms. Random dispersion is the unpredictable spacing of organisms throughout a given area. There are no strong attractions or repulsions among individuals that would result in clumped or uniform dispersion; the animals are scattered randomly.  

Life tables are summaries of the survival patterns of a population. They are constructed using cohorts (groups of individuals of similar age). By following and observing these individuals from birth until death, researchers can make life tables and plot survivorship cures, showing the number of cohorts alive over their lifetimes.

Iteroparity refers to an organism's reproductive strategy that involves multiple reproductive cycles. Adults are likely to survive and breed, each time producing few offspring. They care for their young, who grow to adulthood and also reproduce. In these kinds of environments, competition for resources is very intense. Semelparity refers to an organism's reproductive strategy that involves a single reproductive cycle over the course of its lifetime. Semelparity in associated with mass reproduction, and is favored in highly variable and unpredictable environments. Offspring usually have a low survival rate, and reach sexual maturity quickly. 

“Resilience” is the term used to describe the speed at which an ecosystem can re-establish equilibrium after a disturbance.

In exponential growth, the growth rate is modeled as the reproductive rate  times the number of individuals . By adding the term , we arrive at the equation for logistic growth. As  increases, the value of  (and thus of the entire equation) will decrease to the point where . After this, the growth rate will become negative! The result is that the population will be limited to a size of . This limit  is known as the carrying capacity.

Primary succession is the colonizing of a new environment that lacks organisms and plant life. Primary succession is different from secondary succession; secondary succession is the colonizing of an environment that once supported life but was abandoned due to an ecological disturbance. An example of this is the colonizing of new land formed by lava flow.

Secondary succession can be described as the colonization of a habitat that once supported plant and animal life but was abandoned due to ecological disturbance. Types of ecological disturbances such as hurricanes and floods can empty a habitat.

Primary succession occurs in an environment without previous life, or a barren habitat. Secondary succession occurs in an area that had previously been inhabited but experienced a disturbance, such as a wildfire. In this scenario, there still would be soil.

Primary succession occurs in an environment without previous life, or a barren habitat. The first organisms to grow (called pioneer species) are fast growing, hardy species.

Primary succession occurs in an environment without previous life, or a barren habitat. Secondary succession occurs in an area that had previously been inhabited but experienced a disturbance, such as a wildfire. The newly created volcanic island has no previous life, and is made of rock, devoid of soil.