Unit 4 Lesson 6: Impacting Carrying Capacity Flashcards
carrying capacity
the maximum number of individuals of a particular species that an ecosystem can support at a given time
Since the environment is always changing, the carrying capacity also changes regularly. Are enviroments every stable
However, most systems eventually reach a point where the amount of change is very slight, allowing for populations to remain fairly stable.
What is repsresnted by the letter K
This is represented by the letter K, the carrying capacity.
Sometimes different populations living in the community (the different groups of living things in an area) compete for the same resources as well.What impact can this havE?
This type of competition can also limit how large populations can get and how many individuals the ecosystem can support.
Imagine this rabbit is sitting in the middle of a field by itself. Now picture other rabbits moving into the same field. Which factors would limit the carrying capacity of the population?
In the scenario above, space and food are limiting factors. As more rabbits move into the field, they will end up competing with each other for resources. When this happens, the rabbits that are better at getting resources will survive, and the rest will either die or leave the area. The field can only support a certain number of rabbits. Once that limit has been reached, individuals need to compete to survive.
The resources organisms need, whether they are biotic or abiotic, are not always visible. Think about plants living in the forest. Each of these organisms has things it needs to survive. What kinds of things do plants need to survive? Well, they need:
- light
- water
- nutrients
- space
Nutrients are taken in through the roots. IS there competion for nutrients?
In areas like the tropical rainforest, there are so many plants that there is a major competition for resources all the time. When there are many plants in an ecosystem, they begin to compete for soil resources.
How do some plants adapt to the competion of soil
Some plants grow long, deep roots in order to better collect what they need from far underground. Other plants have shallow, clustered roots, which can collect nutrients over a wider area.
What about other resources? Some deep-rooted plants, such as trees, grow to become very tall. The taller the tree, the better its access to sunlight. What is a drawback of a tall tree
But a tall tree needs more nutrients and more space. Trees must compete for those with one another, which limits their populations’ carrying capacity.
Some plants, such as coffee and ginger, don’t compete with the trees for access to the sun.
. Instead, they grow best in the large trees’ shade.
. Tall trees attract animal inhabitants, what is the benift of that
all trees attract animal inhabitants whose droppings enrich the soil near their bases.
Plants like ginger and coffee have adapted to take advantage of those extra nutrients and thrive without direct sunlight, are there any drawbacks?
but their populations are also limited by the need for space in the tall trees’ shade.
Some plants are interdependent on one another, meaning they rely on each other to survive. Give an example using sweet potao plants. What benifts does the tress give the sweet potaot
In the rainforest, sweet potato plants grow very well beneath trees. The tree canopy gives the potato plants protection from the elements.
Waht benifts does the sweet potato give to the tree
The potatoes multiply and spread out their shallow, matted roots, giving a heavy ground cover that helps keep the soil beneath them moist, preventing erosion and locking in more water for the trees. This benefits the potatoes, the trees, and the rest of the rainforest ecosystem.
drawbacks of plant life in rainforest
Still, there are only so many nutrients in the soil, and only so much space in the rainforest. The population sizes of the plants, and the carrying capacity, is limited.
A scientist placed two different species into a flask of water to determine how their interactions would limit their population growth. One species, a rotifer
a microscopic organism that lives in pond water. They are predators, feeding on bacteria and other microscopic organisms.
A scientist placed two different species into a flask of water to determine how their interactions would limit their population growth. The other organism placed into the flask was a water flea
These creatures are also found in pond water and tend to feed on microscopic particles.
Both species were placed into the same flask. Rotifers were also placed into a flask on their own. What was the result
Population growth was recorded. When population sizes of both species were small, they were both able to grow without interruption. However, once the populations reached a certain size (1800 individuals), the population of rotifers started to decline.
Why did the population of rotifers start to decline?
Most likely, the water fleas were better competitors for their resources. They outcompeted the rotifers and drove that population size down.
What impact does the presence of a competitor have
The presence of a competitor can have a large impact on the population size and carrying capacity.
This example shows how the other members of the community can limit population size and carrying capacity. Waht community
all members of all species in a given area
Impact of competition between individuals
Competition between individuals of different species can lead to one of them decreasing in population size—or reducing its carrying capacity.
Air temperature, water, sunlight, and space are all things that can affect a forest ecosystem.
Why would access to mates be a limiting factor to a population?
Without access to enough mates, levels of reproduction would be low. This would prevent more offspring from being born, which in turn, lowers the overall population size. This would then impact the food supplies and other resources, which brings down the carrying capacity.
How would the look of a population graph change if resources were always plentiful?
Hypothetically (because this is never the case), the graph would show a straight vertical line. The population would continue to grow because there would be no carrying capacity.
What makes an ecosystem different from a community?
An ecosystem refers to all of the living and nonliving parts of an area, while the community just refers to the living parts.
How would habitat availability, presence of predators, and food resources all affect the carrying capacity of an ecosystem?
All three of these factors can limit the carrying capacity. If these resources are plentiful (in terms of habitat and food) and predation low (for predators), then the population will be able to grow. There will be a high carrying capacity. On the other hand, if space and food are limited and predation is high, the population size will be smaller and the environment will not be able to support as many individuals.
What happens to the carrying capacity under unstable conditions?
When resources are unstable, the carrying capacity will change. Sometimes it will be higher than others. This is because things like food availability, predation, and space are changing.
How does extreme weather, such as tornadoes and hurricanes, impact the carrying capacity of an ecosystem?
Extreme weather, such as a hurricane, can have a dramatic impact on the carrying capacity. Storms like this can destroy habitats or other required resources, so competition for them increases. Since resources are in short supply, few individuals will be able to survive.
How does an ecosystem relate to a population?
An ecosystem is all of the living and nonliving things in an area. A population is all the members of one species in an area.
What types of things impact the growth of a population?
There are several things that can limit the size of a population. These include the availability of food and shelter, mates, predation, weather, and things such as temperature, pH, salinity, and turbidity.
What is the relationship between food and space as limiting factors?
If a population lives in an area where there is a lot of space, there will most likely be a lot of food available. This will allow the population size to be large. Conversely, a small habitat limits the amount of food available, so the population size will be small.
How can severe weather events limit the carrying capacity of an ecosystem?
Severe weather can damage habitat, food supplies, and alter the environment (temperature, water chemistry, etc.). This results in a ripple effect, causing fewer individuals to survive, lowering the carrying capacity.
Choose an ecosystem that has been disrupted through a natural or human-created disaster. Report on how the ecosystem was changed by the disaster.
Reports should include changes to populations before and after the disaster as well as changes to the nonliving parts of the ecosystem.
