Ohio Biology

The largest number of organisms that the environment can support. 

• Carrying Capacity

• Limiting Factor

In the graph to the right, what is the population of deer at the carrying capacity of the environment?

• 3

• 7

• 70

• 40

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In a forest ecosystem, which of the following is NOT an example of a limiting factor that would greatly affect a rabbit population?

• a rainy season

• a disease that causes rabbits to die

• grass available to eat

• the population of hawks that eat rabbits

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When a population grows past the ecosystem's carrying capacity, what happens to the population?

• It continues to grow higher and higher.

• The population starts to die off and returns to the carrying capacity.

• The population will go extinct due to lack of resources.

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The graph to the right shows the interaction of the wolf and moose populations on Isle Pekie. If the moose population continues to increase, the wolves' food supply will increase. What will most likely happen to the wolf population as a result?

• It will decrease.

• It will increase.

• It will remain the same.

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The reason that organisms cannot produce populations of unlimited size is that

• Populations always stay exactly the same.

• The resources of Earth are limited.

• There is no carrying capacity for the whole Earth.

• Species rarely compete with each other for food.

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Which factor that limits a population’s size is important especially when population numbers become large and dense?

• seasonal changes

• extreme weather

• competition for food

• sea level height

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A scientist was studying a population of fish in a pond over a period of 10 years. He observed that

the population increased each year for 3 years, and then remained nearly constant for the rest of

the study. The best explanation for this observation is that the population had

• stopped reproducing

• reached carrying capacity

• mutated into a different species

• run out of food and all died

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Mice produce a large number of offspring all year long, yet the number of mice within a given population changes very little from year to year. The stability of the population size is most likely the result of

• mice continuing to reproduce when its population is large

• the survival of more female mice than male mice

• the development of mutations in young mice

• limiting factors that keep the population in check

Ten breeding pairs of mink are introduced onto an island with no natural predators and a good supply of water and food. What will most likely happen to the mink population?

• It will remain relatively constant due to equal birth and death rates.

• It will die out.

• It will increase until it exceeds carrying capacity.

• It will decrease and then increase forever.

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