Consider a hypothetical population of rabbits experiencing logistic growth. If the carrying capacity of their environment is 1000 individuals and the current population is 500, what would you expect to happen to the population?
- The population will decline rapidly due to resource depletion.
- The population will continue to grow exponentially without constraints.
- The population will experience a sudden crash followed by a rapid rebound.
- The population growth will slow down and eventually stabilize near the carrying capacity.
Answer: The population growth will slow down and eventually stabilize near the carrying capacity.
In logistic growth, the growth rate decreases as the population approaches the carrying capacity.