What is meant by carrying capacity in ecosystem?

The correct answer is The number of organisms of a species that can be supported in a given environment.

Explanation:

• Carrying capacity (K) refers to the maximum population size of a species that an ecosystem can support indefinitely without degrading its environment.
• It is determined by the availability of resources such as food, water, shelter, and the environmental conditions.
• Carrying capacity is not a fixed number; it can change over time due to factors like climate change, habitat destruction, or resource availability.
• When a population exceeds its carrying capacity, it can lead to resource depletion, environmental degradation, and a decrease in population size due to starvation, disease, or competition.
• Human activities, such as deforestation, pollution, and overexploitation of resources, can lower the carrying capacity of ecosystems.
• The carrying capacity is calculated by considering both biotic factors (like food availability and predation) and abiotic factors (like water, climate, and space).

Carrying capacity is an important factor in logistic growth patterns of populations.

Logistic growth is represented as: 

where,

• N = Population Density,
• K = Carrying Capacity,
•  = Intrinsic rate of natural increase
•  = Rate of change of population density.
• 'r' value denotes the difference between the per capita birth and death (b-d).
• The environmental resistance is represented in the equation as .