LIMITING FACTORS establish an ecosystems CARRYING CAPACITY, the population size the ecosystem can support at any given time
Limits turn a J shaped curve into an S shaped curve
Density independent limiting factors Affect any size population Ex: disasters like floods affect populations & members indiscriminately, regardless of pop. size or individual ‘fitness’
Density dependent limiting factors related to population size • ex: disease more effective in a crowded population • Can lead to selection of the ‘fittest’ delta.pmhclients.com Worse as pop more dense Less impact on small pop
Ex: Galapagos finches:1976 drought seed abundance changes seed hardness changes Finch population size decreases Finch beak type shifts Seed abundance Number of birds Seed hardness Beak depth
Ex: predator - prey population interactions Lag time prey predator
Lynx/Snowshoe hare dynamics