As a population nears carrying capacity, what happens to its growth rate?

As a population nears carrying capacity, what happens to its growth rate?

• A. Growth rate increases as resources become scarce
• B. Growth rate is unaffected by resource limits
• C. Growth rate becomes negative from the start
• D. Growth rate slows down as a population approaches carrying capacity

Answer: (D)

As a population approaches carrying capacity, the growth rate slows down. Carrying capacity is the maximum number of individuals the environment can support long term given the available resources like food, water, and space. When resources are plentiful, a population can grow rapidly because births outpace deaths. But as the group grows, resources become scarcer per individual, leading to more competition, lower birth rates, and higher death rates. This makes the net rate of increase (how fast the population size changes) decline and approach zero as the population gets close to the carrying capacity. If the population temporarily overshoots, the growth can dip or oscillate, but the general pattern near carrying capacity is a slowing growth rate, not continued rapid growth or unchanged growth.

As a population approaches carrying capacity, the growth rate slows down. Carrying capacity is the maximum number of individuals the environment can support long term given the available resources like food, water, and space. When resources are plentiful, a population can grow rapidly because births outpace deaths. But as the group grows, resources become scarcer per individual, leading to more competition, lower birth rates, and higher death rates. This makes the net rate of increase (how fast the population size changes) decline and approach zero as the population gets close to the carrying capacity. If the population temporarily overshoots, the growth can dip or oscillate, but the general pattern near carrying capacity is a slowing growth rate, not continued rapid growth or unchanged growth.