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Is the Human Population Too Large?
Chapter 15, Problem 8

Populations that rely on stored resources are likely to overshoot the carrying capacity of the environment and consequently experience a(n)                   . a. demographic momentum; b. cultural carrying capacity; c. decrease in death rates; d. population crash; e. exponential growth

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1
Identify the key concept: Carrying capacity refers to the maximum number of individuals an environment can support sustainably. When a population overshoots this limit, it consumes resources faster than they can be replenished.
Understand the consequences of overshooting carrying capacity: When a population exceeds the carrying capacity, it initially may continue to grow due to the stored resources, but this is unsustainable in the long term.
Analyze the options given: Consider each option and how it relates to the concept of overshooting carrying capacity and its consequences.
Link the correct option to the scenario: A population crash typically occurs after a population overshoots its carrying capacity, due to the depletion of resources and subsequent inability to support the oversized population.
Eliminate other options: Options such as demographic momentum, cultural carrying capacity, decrease in death rates, and exponential growth do not directly describe the immediate consequence of overshooting carrying capacity, which is a sharp decline in population size, or a population crash.

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Key Concepts

Here are the essential concepts you must grasp in order to answer the question correctly.

Carrying Capacity

Carrying capacity refers to the maximum number of individuals of a species that an environment can sustainably support without degrading the habitat. It is influenced by factors such as resource availability, environmental conditions, and interactions with other species. When a population exceeds its carrying capacity, it can lead to resource depletion and negative impacts on the ecosystem.
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Population Overshoot

Population overshoot occurs when a population temporarily exceeds the carrying capacity of its environment, often due to an abundance of resources or favorable conditions. This can lead to a rapid increase in population size, but it is typically followed by a decline as resources become scarce, resulting in increased competition and mortality rates.
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Population Crash

A population crash is a dramatic decline in the size of a population, often following an overshoot of the carrying capacity. This decline can result from resource depletion, increased mortality, and decreased reproduction rates. Population crashes can have significant ecological consequences, affecting not only the species involved but also the broader ecosystem.
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Related Practice
Textbook Question
According to the graph shown here, the carrying capacity for fruit flies in the environment of the culture bottle is                   . a. 0 flies; b. 100 flies; c. 150 flies; d. between 100 and 150 flies; e. impossible to determine

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Textbook Question
All of the following are density-dependent factors that can influence population size except                   . a. weather; b. food supply; c. waste concentration in the environment; d. infectious disease; e. supply of suitable habitat for survival

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Textbook Question
In contrast to nonhuman populations, human population growth rates have begun to decline due to                   . a. voluntarily increasing death rates; b. voluntarily decreasing birth rates; c. involuntary increases in death rates; d. involuntary decreases in birth rates; e. density-dependent factors
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Textbook Question

The current carrying capacity of Earth for the human population may have been inflated by                  . a. demographic momentum; b. the tendency for women to want to control family size; c. an artificially low number of density-independent factors; d. our use of fossil fuels; e. recent population crashes

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Textbook Question
Demographic momentum refers to the tendency for                   . a. low population growth rates to continue to decline; b. high population growth rates to continue to increase; c. populations to continue to grow in number even when growth rates reach zero; d. populations to continue to grow in number even when women are reducing the number of children they bear; e. women to continue to have children even though they no longer wish to
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