1. Overpopulation
Standard 8.L.3.1

2. Important Terms
Species: a group of organisms living in an area that can breed to produce fertile offspring.
Habitat: Where a species lives and finds food
Niche: the role a species occupies
Abiotic: any feature in an ecosystem that is not alive.
Population: a group of organisms of the same species that all live in the same area.

3. Important Terms
Carrying Capacity: the number of individuals that a given environment can support
Limiting Factors: populations cannot continue to grow without eventually reaching some environmental limits
Extinction: where there are no more living members of a species

4. Limiting Factors
Density Dependent: issues like competition, disease and predation that only become limiting when a population reaches a certain size

5. Limiting Factors Density-Independent Factors:
Affects all plants and animals in an area. It doesn’t matter how many organisms are in the population. This includes unusual weather, natural disasters and seasonal cycles.