Carrying Capacities of Populations

Carrying Capacity

The importance of Carrying Capacity is significant in that it represents an ecosystems maximum ability to sustain its populations indefinitely. Exceeding the carrying capacity of an ecosystem by any one species will cause that species population to crash. Should the keystone species reach the tipping point whereby its population exceeds the carrying capacity of its ecosystem, then a reasonable assumption could be drawn that other inhabitant species within the ecosystem could become unstable as well with other species becoming over populated, and still others heading for extinction within the ecosystem.

Let us assume that the starfish exceeds the carrying capacity of its ecosystem having reduced the sea urchin population to the point the starfish would no longer have a viable food source to survive, yet not eliminate the sea urchin population to complete extinction. The sea urchin being a R-Selected species could take advantage of the lack of a predatory species and begin to repopulate in significant numbers, enough to overtake the ecosystem thereby consuming the kelp beds until the ecosystem again reaches its carrying capacity of the sea urchin. An assumption could be made that the kelp beds would by this time whould have reached the carrying capacity of the ecosystem to sustain the kelp as well, until the result is an underwater desert incapable of sustaining any life as it once was able. In following this hypothesis, it is again reasonable to assume that some other R-Selected species would begin to take over the ecosystem, which could further degrade the ecosystem.

In answering the question of r-strategist, or k-strategist is concerned, I myself can see the short-term advantages of the r-strategy. However, the keyword here is short term, as it is only temporary. By taking advantage of its environment, the r-strategist would soon find itself tipping the balance of its own ecosystem until it finds it own environment unsustainable. On the other hand, the k-strategist relies on stability. The k-strategist lives in a stable renewable environment whereby all inhabitant species are in balance.

The primary question that remains unanswered is whether or not human beings have the intelligence to control their r-strategist aggression beyond the carrying capacity of the earth? With human populations around the world exceeding the carrying capacity of their individual ecosystems, it is reasonable to assume that as each ecosystem begins to fail, and its populations begin to crash, this in turn will affect all other related ecosystems until the mother earth itself crashes to the point human life becomes unsustainable.