In: Biology
If a population of invasive fish can be described by the logistic equation, what effect would increasing the fish’s food availability have on K? Would K increase or decrease?
Logistics growth model curve obtained when a population is grown in a medium having the nutrients availability constant. The growth model is obtained and sigmoid shape. It has log phase, log or exponential phase and the constant/stationary phase. It is assumed that the nutrient availability is restricted in a medium. So when a population is grown, after the reproduction; it becomes constant due to restricted nutrient availability. That constant phase of the population is called as carrying capacity (refers as K).
The carrying capacity of a population depends on various factors like the natural hazards, nutrient availability, water resources, thermodynamics, competition, etc.
For different types of nutrients quantity and availability the carrying capacity will also be a difference. Double action maybe of larger size in the nutrient rich medium, hence having greater carrying capacity (K increases), and K decreases when amountof nnutrient of a medium decreases.