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Questions and Answers
What primarily determines the biotic potential of a species?
Which of the following pairs reflects a species with a relatively high biotic potential?
What is meant by carrying capacity of an ecosystem?
Which of the following factors is NOT considered a limiting factor affecting carrying capacity?
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What phenomenon results from a combination of limiting factors in an ecosystem?
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At what condition is a population considered to be at its carrying capacity?
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Which species has the highest biotic potential according to the examples given?
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What role does environmental resistance play in relation to a species' biotic potential?
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What happens when the death rate of a species surpasses its birth rate with respect to carrying capacity?
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How does overgrazing by cattle affect the soil nutrients and the cattle population?
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What role did wolves play in controlling the deer population in North America prior to colonization?
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In a forest ecosystem, when does competition among trees become significant?
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What happens to barnacles and oysters when their carrying capacity is established?
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What is a consequence of exceeding the carrying capacity for a species?
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What impact does the carrying capacity have on the growth of new tree sprouts in a forest?
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Study Notes
Biotic Potential
- Biotic potential is the maximum rate of reproduction a species can achieve under ideal conditions, with unlimited resources, no predators, and no diseases.
- Biotic potential varies widely among species, determined by factors like reproduction rate and number of offspring per cycle.
- Most species don't reach full biotic potential because their environment is not ideal.
- Examples of biotic potential:
- Geese: 10-12 offspring per year
- Ducks: 60-300 offspring per year
- Humans: 1-2 offspring per year
- Rabbits: 72 offspring per year
- Flies: 75-100 offspring per year
- Whales: 1 offspring per year
- Snakes: 10-30 offspring per year
- Insects generally have high biotic potential due to their large number of offspring.
Carrying Capacity
- Carrying capacity is the maximum population size a specific environment can sustain over time, considering available resources and environmental limitations.
- Limiting factors influence carrying capacity:
- Predators
- Interspecies competition for resources
- Diseases
- Limited resources like food, water, and shelter
- Environmental resistance is the sum of all limiting factors that restrict population growth.
- A population is typically stable at its carrying capacity when birth and death rates are equal.
- When death rate exceeds birth rate, the carrying capacity has been surpassed.
- Overpopulation beyond carrying capacity leads to resource scarcity and competition.
Carrying Capacity Examples
- Cattle: Overgrazing can deplete soil nutrients, exceeding carrying capacity.
- Barnacles and oysters: Competition for space on rocky surfaces restricts their population size.
North American Deer
- Before colonization, wolves kept deer populations in check, maintaining carrying capacity.
- Human colonization and wolf hunting caused exponential deer population growth.
- Deer population exceeded carrying capacity, leading to resource scarcity and starvation, eventually stabilizing the population.
Trees in a Forest
- Trees in a forest also have a carrying capacity, competing for space, nutrients, and sunlight.
- A forest at carrying capacity provides enough resources for established trees, potentially limiting new saplings' growth due to competition.
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Description
Explore the concepts of biotic potential and carrying capacity in this quiz. Understand how reproduction rates and environmental conditions affect species populations. Test your knowledge on examples and factors influencing these ecological principles.
