Question

Which of the following is not a reason why population growth declines as population size approaches the carrying capacity?
A. Climate becomes unfavorable.
B. Competition for resources increases.
C. Predation rates increase.
D. Disease rates increase.

Answer 1

Hint: The greatest number of a biological species that can be supported by a given environment, given the availability of food, habitat, water, and other resources, is known as the carrying capacity of that ecosystem. According to population ecology, the carrying capacity is the maximum load that the ecosystem can support at a time when the number of births and deaths in a population is equal (as well as immigration and emigration). Using a logistic function, the impact of carrying capacity on population dynamics is modelled.


Complete step by step solution:
Carrying capacity refers to a species' average population size in a particular habitat. The environment can regulate a species' population size by providing enough food, shelter, water, and mates. If these needs are not met, the population will decrease until the resource is replenished.

The intensity of density-dependent effects increases as population size approaches the carrying capacity of the environment. For instance, resource rivalry, predator activity, and infection rates all rise with population density and eventually have a limiting effect on population growth.

While the availability of food and water, habitat space, and competition with other species are some of the reasons limiting a particular environment's carrying capacity, other elements in human populations, such as sanitation, diseases, and access to medical treatment, are also important.

Therefore option A is the correct answer i.e., Climate becomes unfavorable.

Note:
The term "carrying capacity" refers to the maximum population that an ecosystem, farm, or fishery can sustain. Before the 1950s, the phrase "carrying capacity" had been used to refer to population restrictions in relation to a number of different processes. The concept of sustainable population includes the idea of human carrying capacity.