Question

Yellowstone National Park has an average of about 4500 bison living in it. The park covers 3472 square miles. What is the population density of bison living in Yellowstone?

a. 1.3 bison/mi
b. 16 bison/mi
c. 77 bison/mi
d. 0.77 bison/mi

(These are all squared, btw)

Answer 1

It would be A) 1.3 Bison/mi

Answer 2

The correct answer is A

Population density is an important parameter in ecology, livestock management and human demographic. When we calculate the number of individuals on a set area (meters, miles, kilometers) it can give us valuable information about the population dynamics and help us in spatial planning and conservational efforts.

In our example, there are 4500 bison living on 3472 square miles.

If we want to calculate the population density, or in other words, how many bison are there per one square mile we should divide the number of bison with the miles

$\frac{number of bison}{size of the area} = population density\\\frac{4500}{3472} = 1,3$