Carrying capacity is defined as:

Carrying capacity is defined as:

• A. The maximum number of individuals that the environment can sustain over time.
• B. The maximum number of individuals that the environment can sustain without depleting resources.
• C. The average population in a stable ecosystem.
• D. The total number of species in the habitat.

Answer: (B)

Carrying capacity is the largest number of individuals of a species that an environment can support over the long term given the available resources. When a population stays at or below this limit, resources like food, water, space, and shelter are sufficient, and the population can persist. If the population grows beyond this limit, resources become scarce, competition increases, and the population tends to decline or migrate back down toward the carrying capacity. The best choice states the maximum number that the environment can sustain without depleting resources, which directly captures this idea. The other options miss the key point: carrying capacity is not about an average population in a stable ecosystem, nor about the total number of species in the habitat, and while it’s related to sustainability, it isn’t simply “the maximum over time” without explicitly tying it to resource depletion.

Carrying capacity is the largest number of individuals of a species that an environment can support over the long term given the available resources. When a population stays at or below this limit, resources like food, water, space, and shelter are sufficient, and the population can persist. If the population grows beyond this limit, resources become scarce, competition increases, and the population tends to decline or migrate back down toward the carrying capacity.

The best choice states the maximum number that the environment can sustain without depleting resources, which directly captures this idea. The other options miss the key point: carrying capacity is not about an average population in a stable ecosystem, nor about the total number of species in the habitat, and while it’s related to sustainability, it isn’t simply “the maximum over time” without explicitly tying it to resource depletion.