Final answer:
The value of r can be positive, negative, or zero, indicating whether the population is increasing, decreasing, or unchanging in size.
Step-by-step explanation:
The value of r can be positive, meaning the population is increasing in size; or negative, meaning the population is decreasing in size; or zero, where the population's size is unchanging, a condition known as zero population growth.
For example, if the intrinsic rate of population growth (r) is 0.05, it means that the population size is growing by 5% per year. On the other hand, if r is -0.02, the population size is decreasing by 2% per year.
Therefore, the correct answer is C) > 0.