Question

The carrying capacity of a wildlife reserve is 570 individuals for a particular species of rodents. If the area of the reserve is extended, the carrying capacity is likely to ( remain the same, increase, decrease) . During the summer, a fatal disease began killing individuals. The carrying capacity of the reserve will therefore ( remain the same, increase, decrease) .

Answer 1

If the area of the reserve is extended, the carrying capacity is likely to increase.

During the summer, a fatal disease began killing individuals. The carrying capacity of the reserve will therefore decrease.

Step-by-step explanation:

Carrying capacity refers to the maximum population size that a habitat can support as per its available resources such as food, space etc. Increasing the area of the reserve would increase the available resources and therefore, the carrying capacity would increase. Any limiting factor such as diseases, natural disasters etc. reduces the carrying capacity by adversely affecting the resources of the system.

Answer 2

Increasing the area of a reserve will increase the carrying capacity of the reserve. The degree of increase will depend on the increase in resources that the rodents need such as food and habitat. For example, if desert land is added to an existing reserve, it is unlikely that the reserve carrying capacity will increase much. If the population of rodents starts to decline, this has no effect on the carrying capacity of the reserve. The carrying capacity is a set value based on resources available.