to bring out all the pedants and pick nitters
I get what you're saying, but you don't need any chemistry to study population dynamics.
Nor can you
use chemistry to study population dynamics.
Neutral drift is not a chemical reaction nor is it a chemical process, and it cannot be studied using chemistry..
Life is not just chemistry bubbling in a vat. A hot spring with a lot of chemical reactions going on is not life.
Enjoy.