Q46 - Estimating Carrying Capacity from Population Growth Rate
The following data were collected by a researcher over seven successive years from a population of a fish in a pond. He calculated population growth rate (r) for each year using this formula r = ln(Nt+1) - ln(Nt) Note: N= the population size, K= the carrying capacity. Year / Number of Fish / Population growth rate (r) 2002 / 2 / 2.77 2003 / 32 / 1.02 2004 / 89 / -0.75 2005 / 42 / 0.39 2006 / 62 / 0.15 2007 / 72 / -0.15 2008 / 62 / -
Using the information and data, determine which of the statements are true or which are false.
A. The fish population grows exponentially as r is bigger than 1 in all years.
B. When fecundity is less than mortality we can assume N < K, which means that the population is growing.
C. The fraction of the resources that were used by the fish in each year can be calculated by N/K.
D. The pond carrying capacity (K) is between 62 and 72.
Question reproduced from IBO 2018, Theoretical Paper 2, licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 - attributed to the International Biology Olympiad. Open the full exam PDF · Community solutions (unofficial)