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In biology, overabundant species refers to an excessive number of individuals [1] and occurs when the normal population density has been exceeded. Increase in animal populations is influenced by a variety of factors, some of which include habitat destruction or augmentation by human activity, the introduction of invasive species and the reintroduction of threatened species to protected reserves.
Overpopulation or overabundance is a state in which the population of a species is larger than the carrying capacity of its environment.This may be caused by increased birth rates, lowered mortality rates, reduced predation or large scale migration, leading to an overabundant species and other animals in the ecosystem competing for food, space, and resources.
Population control is the practice of artificially maintaining the size of any population.It simply refers to the act of limiting the size of an animal population so that it remains manageable, as opposed to the act of protecting a species from excessive rates of extinction, which is referred to as conservation biology.
In reality, an animal that is not native to an environment may have advantages over the native ones, such being unsuitable for the local predators. If left uncontrolled, such an animal can quickly overpopulate and ultimately destroy its environment. Examples of animal overpopulation caused by introduction of a foreign species abound.
[10] [11] [12] The Global Footprint Network purports to be able to measure how much the human economy demands against what the Earth can renew. [13] [14] The Optimum Population Trust (now called Population Matters) has listed what they believe is the overshoot (overpopulation) of a number of countries, based on the above. [15]
Living costs are a big overpopulation problem.
In some countries there is an overpopulation of pets such as cats, dogs, and exotic animals.In the United States, six to eight million animals are brought to shelters each year, of which an estimated three to four million are subsequently euthanized, including 2.7 million considered healthy and adoptable.
Indeed, some analysts claim that overpopulation's most serious impact is its effect on the environment. [142] Some scientists suggest that the overall human impact on the environment during the Great Acceleration , particularly due to human population size and growth, economic growth , overconsumption, pollution , and proliferation of ...