A population's carrying capacity (A) may change as...

A population's carrying capacity
(A) may change as environmental conditions change.
(B) can be accurately calculated using the logistic growth model.
(C) increases as the per capita population growth rate decreases.
(D) can never be exceeded.

Key Concepts

Carrying Capacity

This concept refers to the maximum population size that an environment can sustainably support over time. It is determined by the availability of resources such as food, water, and shelter, and can be influenced by interactions with other species, disease, and environmental changes.

Environmental Variability

Environmental variability acknowledges that carrying capacity is not a static value; it can change as a result of alterations in weather, climate, resource availability, or other ecological factors. This concept underlines the idea that the environment is dynamic and can modify the limitations on population size.

Logistic Growth Model

The logistic growth model is a mathematical representation of population growth that incorporates the concept of carrying capacity. It describes how a population’s growth rate slows as it approaches the carrying capacity due to resource limitations, although in practical applications, accurately calculating carrying capacity using this model can be challenging.

Population Growth Rate

This concept involves the per capita growth rate of a population, which typically decreases as the population size nears the carrying capacity. It is a central element in understanding how populations adjust their growth in response to resource constraints and increasing competition within an ecosystem.

Transcript

00:02 Here we're looking at a population's caring capacity.

00:26 So as the per capita rate of a population increases and it approaches zero, the population reaches its caring capacity for that given environment.

00:39 So let's look at that on a graph here to help us.

00:44 So we know that in the environment there are only so much space, resources like food, and so only a certain number of a population can be supported.

00:58 So over time, so time's going to be on our x, and then we have number of individuals on our y.

01:12 With the, well, when we see a caring capacity is in our logistic growth curve.

01:22 And so what happens is the population starts to increase early on, this is a per capita, but then it's going to level off where only a certain amount of individuals really it does not increase past that point.

01:42 This is the caring capacity there's only so much food so there's no more individuals that can be supported this line here would not always be a consistent number.

02:01 It's not always going to be a hundred individuals always in that population what will happen is that this number sometimes will go up and then it's going to shoot back down.

02:12 It overshoots it.

02:13 Some more individuals, so a little bit more die -off.

02:17 So it kind of fluctuates.

02:20 The actual line, the actual size of the population fluctuates above and below that caring capacity.

02:35 Let's look at our choices for our answers for this question.

02:41 Our first one off the bat that will eliminate is d never exceeds, can never be exceeded.

02:53 The caring capacity can never be exceeded.

02:58 And we already showed on that graph that is not true.

03:04 Our population can go above that...