Biotic potential
Biotic Potential
Biotic potential (/baɪˈɒtɪk pəˈtɛnʃəl/) is a term used in Population ecology to describe the maximum reproductive capacity of a population under optimum environmental conditions.
Etymology
The term "biotic potential" is derived from the Greek word "bios" meaning "life" and the Latin word "potentia" meaning "power". It was first used in the context of Population ecology to describe the inherent reproductive capacity of an organism.
Definition
Biotic potential is the ability of a population of living species to increase under ideal environmental conditions – sufficient food supply, no predators, and a lack of disease. It is often expressed as a proportional or percentage increase per year, and is used in calculations of Population growth.
Related Terms
- Carrying capacity: The maximum population size that the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water, and other necessities available in the environment.
- Environmental resistance: The factors that limit the growth of a population in an ecosystem.
- Population growth: An increase in the number of individuals in a population.
- Population ecology: The study of how population size and age distribution change over time and space.
Factors Influencing Biotic Potential
Several factors can influence the biotic potential of a species, including:
- Reproductive rate: The number of offspring an individual can produce in a given time period.
- Survivorship: The percentage of an individual's offspring that survive to reproductive age.
- Age of reproductive maturity: The age at which an individual can begin producing offspring.
See Also
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Biotic potential
- Wikipedia's article - Biotic potential
This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.
Languages: - East Asian
中文,
日本,
한국어,
South Asian
हिन्दी,
Urdu,
বাংলা,
తెలుగు,
தமிழ்,
ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian
Indonesian,
Vietnamese,
Thai,
မြန်မာဘာသာ,
European
español,
Deutsch,
français,
русский,
português do Brasil,
Italian,
polski