Chapter 5, Problem 47A

Summary Introduction

To explain:

The concept of carrying capacity.

Introduction:

The study of human population size, density, distribution, movement, and birth and death rates is demography. For many years, environmental conditions kept the size of the human population at a relatively constant number below the environment's carrying capacity. Humans have learned to alter the environment in ways that appear to have changed its carrying capacity. Medicines and technological advances have improved the chances of human survival by reducing the number of deaths from parasites and diseases.

Explanation of Solution

The maximum number of individuals in a species that an environment can support for the long term is the carrying capacity. Carrying capacity is restricted by the water, energy, oxygen, and nutrients available. When populations develop in an environment with plentiful resources, there are more births than deaths. The population soon reaches or passes the carrying capacity. As a population nears the carrying capacity, resources become bounded. If a population exceeds the carrying capacity, deaths outnumber births because adequate resources are not available to support all of the individuals. The concept of carrying capacity is used to explain why many populations tend to stabilize.

Conclusion

Thus, carrying capacity of an environment is dependent upon the resources found in that area.