Carrying Capacity and Population Growth Flashcards

Practice questions regarding Carrying Capacity 5.5, including population growth curves, environmental limiting factors, and ecological homeostasis.

What is defined as the total population able to be supported by a particular environment indefinitely?

Carrying Capacity

What provides the restriction on population sizes according to the transcript?

Environmental resistance or limiting factors

What type of population growth curve is produced when there are few, if any, environmental limiting factors and a very low death rate?

An exponential population growth leading to a J-shaped curve

What curve shape is associated with population equilibrium?

An S-shaped curve

What are the two general categories of population limiting factors mentioned?

Density dependent and density independent factors

In terms of population size, what is the equilibrium?

The equilibrium is the optimum population an environment can support.

What is the term for when the population of a species fluctuates around the equilibrium (set point)?

Ecological homeostasis

What happens when a population does not have any limiting factors?

The population will continue to grow, producing an exponential population growth.