Question

A population of deer is living in a forest that has reached its carrying capacity — the maximum number of individuals the environment can support. A major natural disaster (such as a wildfire, flood, volcanic eruption, or hurricane) suddenly strikes the area.

Which of the following describes how the natural disaster might affect the carrying capacity of the environment?


The carrying capacity decreases because food, water, and shelter are destroyed.

The carrying capacity increases because the disaster removes predators.

The carrying capacity stays the same because natural disasters do not affect resources.

The carrying capacity temporarily decreases but may rise again as the ecosystem recovers.

The carrying capacity increases because the deer population becomes smaller.

Answer 1

"The carrying capacity temporarily decreases but may rise again as the ecosystem recovers."

Explanation: a major disaster usually destroys food, water sources, and shelter, so the environment can support fewer deer immediately (lower K). Over time succession and habitat recovery can restore resources and raise the carrying capacity again, though recovery may be slow or incomplete and in some cases the new carrying capacity could be permanently lower (or rarely altered in other ways). Note that carrying capacity is set by resource availability, not simply by current population size.