Warm up:

Balance in the Nature OBJECTIVE: You will be able to explain why populations do not grow out of control. AGENDA: 1.Defintions 2.Graphing

Word DefinitionPicture 1. Habitat Environment where something lives

Word DefinitionPicture 2. Niche An organism’s way of life in an ecosystem, including habitat, food, predators, and competition

What is the niche of a gray wolf? Is it a consumer or producer? –Consumer/carnivore – eats deer, moose, sheep, birds, snakes, fish How do they interact with others? –They live and hunt in packs Do they take care of their young? –Yes – for 2 years Are they needed in the food web? –Yes, they keep other populations in check.

Most living things produce more offspring than will survive. A female frog, for example, might lay hundreds of eggs in a small pond. In a few months, the population of frogs in that pond will be about the same as the year before. Why won’t the pond become overrun with frogs?

Word DefinitionPicture 3. Limiting Factors Anything that keeps a population from growing too large. Ex: food, living space, water

Word DefinitionPicture 4. Carrying Capacity The largest population that a given environment can support over a long period of time

Word DefinitionPicture 5. Competition When two or more individuals or populations try to use the same limited resource, such as food, water, shelter, space, or sunlight

Examples of Limiting Factors Deer: Fish: Bears: Humans:

Drawing of a Limiting Factor

Description of what a Limiting Factor Does.

One thing I will remember about limiting factors is….