Overpopulation Standard 8.L.3.1

Important Terms Species: a group of organisms living in an area that can breed to produce fertile offspring. Habitat: Where a species lives and finds food Niche: the role a species occupies Abiotic: any feature in an ecosystem that is not alive. Population: a group of organisms of the same species that all live in the same area.

Important Terms Carrying Capacity: the number of individuals that a given environment can support Limiting Factors: populations cannot continue to grow without eventually reaching some environmental limits Extinction: where there are no more living members of a species

Limiting Factors Density Dependent: issues like competition, disease and predation that only become limiting when a population reaches a certain size

Limiting Factors Density-Independent Factors: Affects all plants and animals in an area. It doesn’t matter how many organisms are in the population. This includes unusual weather, natural disasters and seasonal cycles.