When Does a Population Reach the Carrying Capacity of the Environment

Question

When does a population reach the carrying capacity of the environment?
A) The environment can't support a further increase in the population.
B) The environment can't support the current population.
C) It has entered an extended period of exponential growth.
D) The food supply in that particular environment begins to decrease.

Accepted Answer

Carrying capacity is the maximum number of individuals that an environment can support without causing environmental degradation or resource depletion. When a population reaches the carrying capacity of the environment, the environment cannot support a further increase in the population. At this point, the population size stabilizes or begins to decline due to limited resources.