Parasitism Usually Affects Populations in a ____________ Manner

Question

Parasitism usually affects populations in a ____________ manner.
A)density-independent
B)density-dependent
C)inverse density-dependent
D)cyclic
E)random

Accepted Answer

Density-dependent factors are those that are affected by the size of a population. Parasitism is an example of a density-dependent factor because the rate of parasitism increases as the population size increases. As the population size increases, there are more hosts available for parasites to infect, leading to a higher rate of parasitism. This means that parasitism will have a greater impact on populations that are larger and more dense.