subpoblacions

Subpoblacions, or subpopulations, are distinct groups within a larger population that differ in characteristics such as geography, demography, genetics, behavior, or ecology. These groups maintain some degree of interaction with other subgroups but exhibit limited gene flow, contact, or exchange relative to the whole population. The concept is used across disciplines, including ecology, epidemiology, genetics, and social sciences, to understand variation, dynamics, and responses to environments or interventions.

In ecology, subpopulations or demes are connected by dispersal but can become locally adapted or diverge due to barriers or habitat fragmentation. In population genetics, substructure arises from non-random mating, migration, and selection, and is quantified by measures such as F-statistics. In epidemiology and public health, subpopulations differ in disease risk, exposure, progression, or treatment response, depending on factors like age, sex, ethnicity, comorbidity, or geography.

Detecting subpopulations commonly uses clustering of individuals by traits, stratified sampling, geographic or genetic data, and model-based approaches such as finite mixture models or latent class analysis. The identification informs targeted interventions, risk assessment, clinical trial design, conservation planning, and policy development. Caution is advised because boundaries among subpopulations may be fluid, definitions depend on data and purpose, and misclassification can bias results. Subpopulation analysis should complement, not replace, population-wide descriptions.