Limiting Factors- Anything that prevents a population size from
increasing.
Examples:
Space (loss of habitat) – All organism need space to survive and
reproduce. Territorial animals require larger area and may be more
limited by space then others. Overcrowding may cause organisms
to emigrate.
Human Activity – Destruction or contamination (pollution) of an
organism’s environment decreases or eliminates populations. Some
organisms will not live or breed in areas disturbed by humans.
Food and water – This affects all populations. Organisms relying
on only one type of food are most severely affected.
Climate and weather - Temperature changes and precipitation
amounts can reduce populations or limited their geographic range
Predation – An increase in predators limits prey populations.
Cover – Lack of places to hide makes many organisms easy prey
for predators.
Disease – Microbes(bacteria, viruses, etc.) can cause death
.Crowded population cause disease to spread easily.
Amount of light – Some plant populations will not grow or
reproduce in low levels of light. Seeds may not germinated without
enough light.
Competition – Species limit each other by using up needed
resources (one of the above factors). Exotic species out compete
many native species