Question

1. graph the following data on a separate sheet of graph paper
2. what type of growth pattern is shown? exponential or logistic
3. does your graph reach carrying capacity? if so, at what population size what carrying capacity reached?

deer population in a forest
year deer population
0 25
2 80
4 150
6 262
8 300
10 295
12 304

Explanation:

• Question 2:
• For exponential growth, the population would keep increasing at an ever - increasing rate (a J - shaped curve). For logistic growth, the population first grows rapidly and then levels off (an S - shaped curve). Looking at the data: from year 0 to 8, the population increases from 25 to 300 (a relatively fast increase). But from year 8 to 10, the population decreases from 300 to 295, and then from year 10 to 12, it only increases slightly to 304. This indicates that the population is approaching a limit (carrying capacity), which is characteristic of logistic growth.
• Question 3:
• Carrying capacity is the maximum number of individuals of a species that an environment can support. The population seems to be stabilizing around 300. After year 8 (population = 300), the changes in population (from 300 to 295 to 304) are small fluctuations around the value of 300.

Answer:

1. Logistic
2. Yes, the carrying capacity is reached at a population size of approximately 300.