Limiting factors and competition

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Chapter 26.1

• Limiting factors and competition

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Limiting Factors

• Certain environmental conditions called limiting
  factors keep a population from increasing in size
  and affect the balance of ecosystems.
• Examples of limiting factors are the availability
  of food, water, and living space, and the spread
  of disease.

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Limiting Factors

• Light, temperature, and types of soil are also
  limiting factors because they help determine the
  types of organisms that can live in an
  ecosystem.

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Limiting Factors

• Limiting factors are often related to population
  density. The greater the population density, the
  greater effect limiting factors has on a
  population.

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Limiting Factors

• For example, plants may be a limiting factor to
  deer living in a forest.
• If the population of deer is too dense, there
  may not be enough food for each one.
• Some deer will not survive, and the population
  will decrease.

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Competition

• Populations can grow when their needs are met.
• But when many populations share an ecosystem, the
  resources needed by one population may be the
  same as those needed by other populations.
• When two or more species in an ecosystem must use
  the same limited resources, competition occurs.

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Competition

• Living space is a major cause of competition.
• All populations need a certain amount of living
  space to find food, to reproduce, and to
  interact.
• For example, two species of birds may compete for
  nesting sites in the same tree.

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Competition

• Because they can move about easily, animals often
  move to another habitat to avoid competition.

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Competition

• Other animals, such as owls and hawks, adapt to
  the ecosystem by changing their feeding habits.
• Both owls and hawks feed on some of the same
  animals.
• But, hawks hunt during the daytime, while owls
  hunt at night, reducing competition.