LIMITING FACTOR NOTES

HABITATHabitat - type of environment in which a particular species lives

4 Components of a Habitat:WaterFood ShelterSpace

CARRYING CAPACITYCarrying Capacity - the maximum population size that a particular environment can support over time

Check for Understanding

1. Why does the white-tailed deer population drop when the carrying capacity is exceeded?a) Resources are too low to

support the population.b) Weather changes reduce

the deer populationc) The height of edible

plants exceeds the height of the deer

d) Competition by other animals is greatly reduced.

LIMITING FACTORLimiting Factor - any biotic (living) or abiotic (nonliving) factor in an environment that limits the size of a population

TYPES OF LIMITING FACTORS

Density-dependent limiting factors – factors that become limiting only when the number of organisms per unit space reaches a certain level Ex. Space, disease, competition

and predation

Density-independent limiting factors – factors that affect all populations in the same way, regardless of their density Ex. Weather, seasonal cycles,

natural disasters and human activities

Check for Understanding

2. The carrying capacity for herbivores in a habitat is most directly affected by the availability of1. heat energy released by carnivores2. carbon dioxide in the atmosphere3. photosynthetic organisms4. decomposers in the soil

3. The size of plant populations can be influenced by the5. molecular structure of available oxygen6. size of the cells of decomposers7. number of chemical bonds in a glucose molecule8. type of minerals present in the soil