Question

A queen ant established an ant nest in an unoccupied patch that is suitable for building nests. The ant population grew quickly at first, then leveled off at the carrying capacity. Which of the following parameters could affect the population growth of this ant colony? (Check all that apply)

		carrying capacity (K)
		intrinsic rate (r)
		the relationship between N and K
		initial population size (N

Answer 1

The parameters which effect population growth is intrinsic rate (r) , initial population size and carrying capacity

Intrinsic rate of growth is number of births - number of deaths in per generation time. So population growth depends upon the individuals this. If birth rate exceeds death , then population will increase and of death increase birth number, then population will decrease. So, intrinsic rate is very much important to predict population growth. If the initial population size is more, more progeny will be produced in per generation initially and thus it also will control population growth of the ant colony. Carrying capacity is the potential of any environment to support the population size. As any population proceeds towards carrying capacity, then the resources became limited and the population will cease their growth. This carrying capacity controls population size.