Question

5. Discuss how survivorship curves would be altered in general for each of the following future scenarios: Give details about the changes of the curves.

a) If HIV continues to increase and no cure is discovered.

b) If medical advances continue and most diseases and infant mortality are eliminated.

c)If environmental contamination continues and pollution-related diseases increase.

Answer 1

Survivorship curves plots thevariation between age and percentage of people survivng at that age.

a) If there is no cure to HIV, the death rate continues to increase with which the survivorship curve tends to become less and less concave in shape. Here the percentage of people living in the old age decreasesas death rateincreases at younger ages on the whole.

b) If medical advances continue and most diseases and infant mortality are eliminated, the death rates are vastly eliminated and this can be helpful in making the survivorship curve more and more concave where the people entering the oldage will be of high percentage.

c) If environmental contamination continues and pollution-related diseases increase, the death rate continues to increase with which the survivorship curve tends to become less and less concave in shape. Here the percentage of people living in the old age decreasesas death rateincreases at younger ages on the whole.