Carrying capacity is the maximum number of individuals of a species that an environment can sustainably support without degrading the ecosystem or depleting resources.
Think of carrying capacity as the seating capacity of a movie theater. Just like a theater has a maximum number of seats available for viewers, an ecosystem has a limit to how many individuals it can support without causing harm to its resources and balance.
Limiting factors: These are environmental factors that restrict the growth, abundance, or distribution of organisms within an ecosystem.
Ecological footprint: A measure of human impact on Earth's ecosystems, representing the amount of land and resources required to sustainably support a population.
Density-dependent factors: These are limiting factors whose effects intensify as population density increases, such as competition for resources or disease outbreaks.
K-selected species tend to reproduce once their habitat reaches carrying capacity.
What happens when a population exceeds the carrying capacity of its environment?
What factors contribute to determining the carrying capacity of an ecosystem?
What happens to a population that exceeds the carrying capacity of its environment?
Which of the following is true regarding the relationship between carrying capacity and population growth?
Which of the following factors can contribute to an increase in carrying capacity for a population?
Which type of growth occurs when a population exceeds its carrying capacity and goes beyond the limit of available resources?
Which population growth model is described by a line at the top of the graph indicating the population's carrying capacity?
Which type of growth occurs when a pollution exceeds its carrying capacity and declines due to limited resources?
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