Final answer:
Density-independent factors impact population regardless of its size, with examples including weather, natural disasters, and pollution. These factors can cause mortality within a population irrespective of its density, illustrating how some abiotic environmental stresses operate.
Step-by-step explanation:
Density-independent factors do not rely on population size because they have the same effect on a population regardless of its density. These factors include environmental stresses such as weather, natural disasters, and pollution, which affect individuals in a population no matter how many there are. For instance, a forest fire may kill an individual deer whether there are many deer in the area or just a few; the deer's chances of survival are independent of the population density. This concept is crucial to understand because it illustrates how certain abiotic factors can impact populations in a way that does not vary with population size.