Limiting+Factor

**__What is a Limiting factor?__** Limiting factors are factors in the environment that create a limit to the growth of an organism and its community. Even if only one of the organism’s growth factors is limited, the growth of that organism and its population will be affected. An example of limiting factors taking place may be small producers in a forest. The limiting factor to these producers is sunlight because the high trees block the light from the small plants close to the ground. Even if all the other factors to photosynthesis are not limited, this small amount of sunlight will decrease the growth of the producers.[1] Other possible examples of limiting factors may include rainfall, temperature, space, predators and available food. The different seasons and changing temperatures can cause some populations to decrease. An example of this is when insect species breed in the warm spring, but are often killed when the winter frost comes.[2]  __**What Would Happen Without Limiting Factors?**__  Without these limiting factors, species would likely overpopulate and consume too much of the prey in their environment, breaking apart the food chain or web. An example that shows this extreme overpopulation is that without any limiting factors, two simple house flies would develop five trillion new descendants within one year.[2] Without limiting factors, the environment's food chains would not correctly function.  __**Why Are Limiting Factors Important?**__ A limiting factor is an environmental factor that prevents a population from increasing.[2] Limiting factors are very important in an environment because they prevent a population from overpopulating. Overpopulation may occur if there was an unlimited amount of food, space, and right type of weather. When this happens, organisms will probably immigrate and leave the population. Also, the death rate and the birth rate would go up.

[4] **__ What Are Some Examples of a Limited Population? __** Some examples of a limited population is when there is not enough food to support a population like a bunch of monkeys in a forest. Let's say the monkey population had a huge increase because of a birthrate. Now there are a large amount of monkeys and a scarce amount of resources. The monkeys will not get the nutrients their bodies need to grow and they will die. Another example is when a population is experiencing changes in the weather like a bunch of polar bears. Let's say that the polar bears environment is getting too warm for them to adjust to. The polar bears decide to move to a more suitable habitat while others may die because of the drastic change.[3]


**__Why does this happen? __** This happens because limited factors keep the population from overpopulating. Each organism has certain resources it needs to survive. Sometimes, that organism doesn't always get those important resources because they are limited. There was either to much competition or there wasn't even any of those resources there! This will cause that organism to die which is just a natural thing to do. This cycle will continue so that that population will not over populate.     <span style="color: rgb(206,3,3);">__**Where can this happen?**__  Every population has limiting factors. Therefore, this can happen everywhere there is a population. There is more than a billion populations on our Earth so there must be trillions of certain limiting factors for each population. For example, a polar bear needs a very cold environment(one of their certain limiting factors) and a giraffe needs warm weather(one of their certain limiting factors) and these are in very different parts of the world. Limiting factors can be found everywhere.

<span style="color: rgb(225,5,5);">__<span style="color: rgb(255,0,44);">When can this happen? __
Limiting factors have been around since the beginning! They have to be because ever since there was a population, because every population needs limiting factors. Even third-level consumers (who generally have very few predators) have limiting factors such as lack of energy from food, poor weather conditions and more. The cycle will continue with all species for as long as there are populations.

<span style="color: rgb(235,30,10);">** [3]**

The link below is an interesting clip of a predator chasing down its prey and helping to limit the population of that species. http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4037764442896221695 <span style="color: rgb(235,5,5);">

<span style="color: rgb(235,5,5);">**__AFTER ALL__**
To narrow it down, limiting factors are factors in the enviroment that create a limit of growth of an organism and its community. If we didn't have limiting factors than all of the the populations would over populate. It would also break up the food web, by having the organisms consume to much of their prey. Limiting factors are important because when the population over populates, the organisms will like likely immigrate and emigrate. Also the birth rate will go up while the death rate goes up too! This happens because sometimes, the organism might not always get those important resources because they are limited. There is a limited supply with a growing demand. Therefore some will die, which is a natural cycle that will repeat forever. This can happen anywhere there is a population. It can happen at anytime, because it has since the beginning, and this will continue forever.

Source: > 3. New Hampshire Public Television 268 Mast Road, Durham, 2008. h[|ttp://www.nhptv.org/NATUREWORKS/nwep12a.htm] 4.<span style="color: rgb(119,105,105);"> <span style="color: rgb(11,10,10);"> Haiti: The Water of Life. Grassroots International. 8 January 2009. http://grassrootsonline.org/files/slideshow/h05sryhill.jpg
 * 1) <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(78,70,63); font-family: Verdana;">Ashworth, William, and Charles E. Little. "limiting factor." //Encyclopedia of Environmental Studies//, New Edition. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2001. //Science Online//. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE40&SID=5&iPin= envrnstud1841&SingleRecord=True (accessed December 16, 2008).
 * 2) <span style="font-size: 10pt; color: rgb(78,70,63); font-family: Verdana;">Padilla, Michael. __<span style="color: rgb(9,6,6);"><span style="color: rgb(7,7,8);">  Science Explorer__. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Prentice-Hall Inc, 2000

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