Question

A species of bird has migrated to an island where their population is growing rapidly due to a lack of predators. Identify three limiting factors to the population size, and describe the effect of each.

Answer 1

A limiting factor is anything that constrains a population's size and slows or stops it from thriving. The law of the size of a population, a population will grow exponentially as long as the environment to which all individuals in that population are exposed remains constant. Thus, if the environmental conditions are kept the same, the population of the birds is expected to grow. However, there will come a time when the population will reach the maximum at which the environment can sustain itself. This is called the carrying capacity, the maximum load of the environment, Above this capacity, the population size will eventually decrease. The determiners of carrying capacity are limiting factors. The common limiting factors in an ecosystem are food, water, habitat, and mate. As their population increases, food demand increases as well. Since food is a limited resource, organisms will begin competing for it. The same thing goes for space, nutrients, and mates. Since these resources are available for a limited amount over a given period of time, inhabitants of a particular ecosystem will compete, possibly against the same species (intraspecific competition) or against other groups of species

Answer 2

A species of bird that has migrated to an island where their population is growing rapidly due to a lack of predators may experience the following limiting factors:

1. Food resources: One limiting factor could be the availability of food resources. If the bird population grows too quickly and consumes all of the available food, the population may be limited by a lack of food. This can result in reduced growth, starvation, and decreased survival rates.
2. Disease: Another limiting factor could be the presence of disease. If a disease outbreak occurs, it could reduce the population size and limit its growth.
3. Breeding habitat: The bird population may also be limited by the availability of suitable breeding habitat. If the island becomes overcrowded, the birds may not have access to enough space to build nests, mate, and rear their young. This could result in decreased breeding success, reduced population growth, and ultimately a decrease in population size.

In conclusion, the growth of the bird population on the island may be limited by the availability of food resources, the presence of disease, and the availability of suitable breeding habitat. These factors can have a significant impact on the population size and its ability to sustain itself over time.