Every population has what is known as a carrying capacity, which is the maximum number of individuals of a given species that a given environment can hold. Population levels generally stabilize at this number, symbolized by the variable "k".
As population levels approach carrying capacity, intraspecific competition for resources, including food, increase. This means that many individuals in the population may not get enough food, and they may starve to death. Ultimately, this increases mortality rate and decreases birth rate in the population, leading to an overall decrease in population size.
Besides availability of food resources, predators often favor prey species that are abundant in the environment, making the population more susceptible to predation, thus decreasing the population size.
Population sizes above carrying capacity can also lead to an accumulation of toxic waste in the environment.
However, according to the Allee Effect, some species may reproduce quickly due to density-dependent factors, such as the necessity to repopulate an area after a significant population decrease, or to acquire enhanced protection from predators.
In Badlands National Park, population sizes rely heavily on the health and population size of various grasses. Grasses are the primary source of vegetation in Badlands, and therefore are the most important producers in this ecosystem. The primary consumers in this ecosystem compete for grazing space on these grasses, so the supply of grass to this ecosystem is an important density-dependent factor.
As population levels approach carrying capacity, intraspecific competition for resources, including food, increase. This means that many individuals in the population may not get enough food, and they may starve to death. Ultimately, this increases mortality rate and decreases birth rate in the population, leading to an overall decrease in population size.
Besides availability of food resources, predators often favor prey species that are abundant in the environment, making the population more susceptible to predation, thus decreasing the population size.
Population sizes above carrying capacity can also lead to an accumulation of toxic waste in the environment.
However, according to the Allee Effect, some species may reproduce quickly due to density-dependent factors, such as the necessity to repopulate an area after a significant population decrease, or to acquire enhanced protection from predators.
In Badlands National Park, population sizes rely heavily on the health and population size of various grasses. Grasses are the primary source of vegetation in Badlands, and therefore are the most important producers in this ecosystem. The primary consumers in this ecosystem compete for grazing space on these grasses, so the supply of grass to this ecosystem is an important density-dependent factor.