Final answer:
The deer population wouldn't grow indefinitely due to limiting factors such as food availability and disease, even without predators like wolves.
Step-by-step explanation:
No, the deer population would not have been able to grow at the same rate forever if wolves had not been introduced. Limiting factors such as availability of resources, disease, and overpopulation consequences play a significant role in regulating population growth. Predation is just one of these factors. In a predator-prey dynamics, the presence of a predator like the wolf affects both the population and the evolutionary traits of the prey species. The absence of predators such as wolves may lead to an initial rapid increase in the deer population; however, other factors inevitably impose limits.
Environmental carrying capacity, determined by resources like food and the spread of diseases, ensures a population's growth does not exceed the capacity of its habitat indefinitely. Excessive population growth can lead to a depletion of food, which in turn can affect the health and reproduction rates of deer, leading to natural population control. Additionally, in the absence of predators, populations could become more susceptible to diseases, which can spread more easily in larger populations. Negative feedback mechanisms such as these help maintain the balance within an ecosystem.