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Negative density-dependence, or density-dependent restriction, describes a situation in which population growth is curtailed by crowding, predators and competition. [citation needed] In cell biology, it describes the reduction in cell division. When a cell population reaches a certain density, the amount of required growth factors and nutrients ...
The first variable is r (the intrinsic rate of natural increase in population size, density independent) and the second variable is K (the carrying capacity of a population, density dependent). [21] It is important to understand the difference between density-independent factors when selecting the intrinsic rate and density-dependent for the ...
At this point, called the maximum sustainable yield, there is a surplus of individuals that can be harvested because growth of the population is at its maximum point due to the large number of reproducing individuals. Above this point, density dependent factors increasingly limit breeding until the population reaches carrying capacity.
Delayed density dependence has been used by ecologists to explain population cycles. [2] Ecologists have been unable to successfully explain regular population cycles for many decades; delayed density dependence may hold the answer. [2] Here populations are allowed to increase above their normal capacity because there is a time lag until ...
Definition. A polyphenism is the occurrence of several phenotypes in a population, the differences between which are not the result of genetic differences. [2] For example, crocodiles possess a temperature-dependent sex determining polyphenism, where sex is the trait influenced by variations in nest temperature.
Intraspecific competition is an interaction in population ecology, whereby members of the same species compete for limited resources. This leads to a reduction in fitness for both individuals, but the more fit individual survives and is able to reproduce. [1] By contrast, interspecific competition occurs when members of different species ...
Carrying capacity. The carrying capacity of an environment is the maximum population size of a biological species that can be sustained by that specific environment, given the food, habitat, water, and other resources available. The carrying capacity is defined as the environment 's maximal load, [clarification needed] which in population ...
The rate at which a population increases in size if there are no density-dependent forces regulating the population is known as the intrinsic rate of increase. It is d N d t = r N {\displaystyle {\mathrm {d} N \over \mathrm {d} t}=rN} where the derivative d N / d t {\displaystyle dN/dt} is the rate of increase of the population, N is the ...