Question

carrying capacity
the largest population an area can support with its resources (ie food, water, land) is called its carrying capacity. a population usually stays near its carrying capacity because of the limiting factors of a habitat.
as a population first begins to grow, it will obviously exhibit exponential growth, and it will continue growing until the population overshoots the carrying capacity. the population will then run out of resources and decline rapidly until it can recover and stabilize around the carrying capacity. rabbit populations exhibited this behavior when they were first introduced into australia in the 1800s. at first, their numbers increased rapidly because they had plenty of vegetation to eat and no predators. the rabbits quickly ate the land bare and their population crashed as they starved to death. however, over time, the vegetation recovered and the rabbit population increased again.
the re - introduction of a predator, the lynx, has helped to stabilize the population so that its numbers remain relatively stable.

1. what is carrying capacity? (answer in a complete sentence by restating the question)
2. how are limiting factors related to carrying capacity? (answer in a complete sentence by restating the question)

Explanation:

1. The text defines carrying - capacity as the largest population an area can support with its resources (i.e., food, water, land).
2. The text states that a population usually stays near its carrying capacity because of the limiting factors of a habitat, meaning limiting factors help keep the population around the carrying capacity.

Answer:

1. Carrying capacity is the largest population an area can support with its resources (i.e., food, water, land).
2. Limiting factors of a habitat are related to carrying capacity as they cause a population to stay near its carrying capacity.