Question

Which of the following is an example of a density-dependent event that has limited our human population growth?

A. Over 15,000 people died as a result of the 2011 earthquake & tsunami in Japan.
B. The final death toll from Hurricane Katrina, which hit the Gulf Coast of the US in 2005, was 1,836 people,
C. The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed an estimated 20-40 million people worldwide.
D. The most powerful earthquake in recorded history hit Alaska in 1964, resulting in 139 deaths.
E. All of the above

Answer 1

The influenza pandemic of 1918 is considered a density-dependent event that has limited human population growth, as infectious diseases tend to have more significant effects on populations with higher density. Therefore, the correct option is c.

Step-by-step explanation:

Among the provided options, C. The influenza pandemic of 1918 is an example of a density-dependent event that has limited our human population growth. Density-dependent factors have more significant effects on population as population density increases, and infectious diseases are classic examples of density-dependent factors. The influenza pandemic, also known as the Spanish Flu, killed an estimated 20-40 million people worldwide and thus reduced the human population.

Infectious diseases can spread more rapidly among people living in close quarters, which is more likely when the human population density is high. The pandemic of 1918 was particularly devastating because it spread during World War I, when large groups of people were in close contact in unsanitary conditions, which led to a higher mortality rate. The severity of pandemics as a limiting factor has decreased with advances in public health, sanitation, and medical innovations, but as history has shown with the bubonic plague and more recently the COVID-19 pandemic, infectious diseases continue to periodically limit human population growth.