Carrying capacity is defined as the maximum number of individuals of a species that the environment can sustain indefinitely given

• A. Disease pressure
• B. Seasonal fluctuations
• C. Predation risk
• D. Resource limits

Answer: (B)

The main idea is that carrying capacity is the maximum population an environment can support over the long term based on what resources can provide. It hinges on resource limits—food, water, shelter, space, and other necessities—that determine how much energy and material the population can draw from the environment. As a population grows toward that limit, resources become scarce, which slows growth and prevents indefinite increase. Seasonal fluctuations can change how much resource is available at different times, so populations may rise and fall around the ceiling, but the long-term maximum is set by those resource limits. Disease pressure or predation can lower numbers, or push them below the ceiling, yet they don’t define the sustainable limit on their own.