In this example, 5 raccoons is an example of carrying capacity. The carrying capacity is the maximum number of individuals of a particular species that an environment can support sustainably given the available resources such as food, water, and space.
Three raccoons currently live in a 100 square yard area of the forest. Five raccoons are the maximum number of raccoons that can live in that area. If five more raccoons move into this area, there will not be enough food, space, water, and other resources to support them all. Some raccoons will die or be forced to leave the area. As a result, the population size goes back down. In this example, 5 raccoons is an example of_____________.
carrying capacity
population spacing
limiting factor
population size
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