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Carrying capacity

Definition

Carrying capacity is the maximum number of individuals of a species that an environment can sustainably support without degrading the ecosystem or depleting resources.

Analogy

Think of carrying capacity as the seating capacity of a movie theater. Just like a theater has a maximum number of seats available for viewers, an ecosystem has a limit to how many individuals it can support without causing harm to its resources and balance.

Related terms

Limiting factors: These are environmental factors that restrict the growth, abundance, or distribution of organisms within an ecosystem.

Ecological footprint: A measure of human impact on Earth's ecosystems, representing the amount of land and resources required to sustainably support a population.

Density-dependent factors: These are limiting factors whose effects intensify as population density increases, such as competition for resources or disease outbreaks.