Limiting Factors

Limiting Factors Is an environmental factor that causes a population to stop growing.

1. Food and Water All organisms need to take in nutrients! If not, members of the population will die.

2. Space Each organism needs to have enough space to live.

3. Light Sunlight is a limiting factor for plants.

4. Soil Composition Soil must contain the proper amount of nutrients in order for plants to get enough nutrients.

5. Weather Many organisms require a particular range of temperatures and amount of rainfall to live and reproduce.

The largest population an area can hold. Carrying Capacity

Survival is Just a Roll Directions Dice Roll What Happened? How did the Population Change? 2 2 wolves killed in a fight with a neighboring population -2 3 1 wolf hit by a car -1 4 rancher kills 2 pups 5 3 pups killed by predators -3 6 hunter kills 2 wolves 7 the pack lives well (no change in the population) -0 8 2 wolves immigrate into the population +2 9 drought kills 2 wolves 10 3 wolves die from a disease 11 4 wolves die due to a food shortage -4 12 ½ of the population dies due to harsh weather divide total by 2

Record Keeping Table 1 2 3 4 5 Year Last Year’s total Add a litter (+6) First 6 months Second 6 months Pack subtotal Subtract matured pups? (emigration) Total pack for the year Reason Affect on pack 1 2 3 4 5

SURVIVAL IS JUST A ROLL OF THE DICE

Just a Roll of the Dice: Questions 1. In which year(s) was the wolf population the highest? 2. In which year(s) was the wolf population the lowest? 3. Over what years did the population decrease in size? 4. What caused the population to decrease in size? 5. Over what years did the population increase in size? 6. What caused the population to increase in size? 7. Do you think that this game realistically represents what happens to a real life population of wolves? Why or why not?