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 Density Dependent vs Density Independent Population growth is carefully being watched and studied by every nation in the world. This is because any changes in the number of inhabitants can have a very huge effect on a country’s economy as well as on the environment. Several factors are utilized to see if the Earth can sustain its population growth despite the extinction of several species and the overpopulation of some. There are two factors that are important in determining how a certain population grows or decline; density dependent factors and density independent factors. For example, a huge population can deplete an area’s natural resources and food supply. This will cause a shortage of these necessary elements making the area unable to provide for its population and will eventually cause the reduction of the area’s population due to hunger, thirst, and exposure to the elements when shelter is not available. Natural disasters like floods, fires, storms, droughts, extreme temperatures, and the disturbance and disintegration of the natural habitat of organisms can cause a decrease in their population no matter how large or small it is. Bush fires can cause damage to the habitat of several animal species. Some may die directly due to the fire, but others who will survive it will also die because of food and water inadequacy as well as the absence of shelter for them. Density independent factors act on their own and do not change according to its density unlike density dependent factors which vary according to the population density which depends on its gain rates and loss rates. Both density dependence and density independence may occur together in the process of determining and analyzing population growth. Density dependence may be tested through analyzing the relationship between the growth rate and density of a certain population. Summary: 1.Density dependent factors are those that regulate the growth of a population depending on its density while density independent factors are those that regulate population growth without depending on its density. 2.Examples of density dependent factors are food, shelter, predation, competition, and diseases while examples of density independent factors are natural calamities like floods, fires, tornados, droughts, extreme temperatures, and the disturbance of the habitat of living organisms. 3.Density dependent factors usually operate in large populations while density independent factors operate in both large and small populations. 4.Density independent factors act on their own while density dependent factors depend upon the gain and loss rates.
Custom Search In population ecology, limiting factors are factors in the environment that control various aspects of a population. Some limiting factors come into play depending on the density of the population, and others are unrelated to the population density. The latter are referred to as density-independent factors. Density dependent limiting factors are related to living organisms while density-independent limiting factors are related to the environment. Density dependent limiting factors cause the per capita (per individual) growth rate of a population to change as the population gets larger. Limiting factors that are density dependent usually cause the per capita growth rate to decrease, acting as a negative feedback loop to control the size of the population. The maximum number of individuals that can live in an area based on the density dependent limiting factors is called the carrying capacity. Individuals in a population are always competing for limited resources like food, mates, shelter, and water. As the population size increases, the competition becomes more intense causing some individuals to die over time, not mate, etc. This feedback makes a correction by reducing the population size to a level that can be supported by the environment. Areas with high populations attract predators that kill and eat individuals, helping to keep the population under control. By feeding on these individuals, predators may end up increasing their own numbers, resulting in natural cyclical changes in populations. Diseases and parasites have more opportunities to spread and infect individuals in larger populations, such as through contaminated water supplies. Also, waste can accumulate quickly in large populations and this leads to death from disease and parasites and can also impair reproduction, reducing the size of the population. Limiting factors that fall into this category affect the per capita growth rate independent of the population density. These factors don’t make continual corrections to keep the population size under control because the strength of their effectiveness is not rooted in the number of individuals present. Density independent limiting factors cause abrupt and erratic shifts in population size. Small populations are particularly at risk of being wiped out by density independent limiting factors. The category of density independent limiting factors includes fires, natural disasters (earthquakes, floods, tornados), and the effects of pollution. The chances of dying from any of these limiting factors don’t depend on how many individuals are in the population. In addition, individuals may not die directly from the limiting factor but from the effects of it such as from the loss of habitat or a primary food source resulting from a flash flood. Density independent limiting factors also cause population sizes to increase. For example, the water from a flash flood increases the growth of vegetation, thereby providing more food for primary consumers in the ecosystem. References
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What is the difference between density-dependent limiting factors and a density independent limiting factor?
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