Limiting Factors and Ecosystem Carrying Capacity

Vocabulary flashcards covering ecological concepts, population growth dynamics, limiting factors, and carrying capacity from Science 10 notes.

Population

A group of organisms of the same species living in the same place at the same time.

Births (Natality)

The arrival of new individuals that are born, causing an increase in population size.

Immigration

The movement of organisms into a population, resulting in an increase in population size.

Deaths (Mortality)

The loss of individuals as they die, leading to a decrease in population size.

Emigration

The movement of organisms out of a population, leading to a decrease in population size.

Food

An essential resource that provides organisms with energy, nutrients for growth, and materials for reproduction.

Water

An essential resource needed for life processes, drinking, photosynthesis, transporting nutrients, and regulating body temperature.

Shelter

A resource that protects organisms from danger, harsh weather, predators, and extreme temperatures, and provides safe places for breeding and raising young.

Space

An essential resource that gives organisms room to live, grow, and find food.

Mate

A partner needed by organisms for reproduction, which can become limited by small population size, habitat fragmentation, hunting, or geographic isolation.

Carrying Capacity ($K$)

The maximum number of organisms that an ecosystem or environment can support with available resources without damaging them.

Limiting Factors

Conditions that restrict the growth, size, or distribution of a population and maintain ecological balance.

Density-Dependent Factors

Limiting factors whose effects become stronger as population size increases, such as competition, disease, predation, and parasitism.

Density-Independent Factors

Limiting factors that affect populations regardless of their size, such as typhoons, droughts, floods, earthquakes, and wildfires.