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Carrying capacity

The carrying capacity is the largest population an environment can support over time. When the population is small and there is space and enough food, it grows quickly. As it approaches the carrying capacity, food, nesting sites or disease become limiting, and growth levels off. The population can swing around the carrying capacity. If you hunt it far below, it can grow quickly again. If the environment changes, for example because habitat is built on, the carrying capacity changes too. It is not a fixed number for the species.

growth→0 as the population nears carrying capacity\text{growth} \rightarrow 0\ \text{as the population nears carrying capacity}logistic growth

Symbols

KKcarrying capacity

Example

Below the carrying capacity there is food to spare, and the population can grow.

Above it the death rate exceeds the birth rate, and the population falls back.

Carrying capacity applies to the population in that environment, not to how much one animal can carry.
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