Question

Orchids are flowering plants that depend on bees for pollination. A population of orchids in a rainforest has reached its carrying capacity. The size of the rainforest's bee population is a limiting factor of the orchid population. What will happen to the orchids' carrying capacity if the rainforest's bee population decreases? A. The carrying capacity will not change because it is a constant property of a species. B. The carrying capacity will not change because it is a constant property of an ecosystem. C. The carrying capacity will decrease because the level of the limiting factor decreases. D. The carrying capacity will increase because the level of the limiting factor decreases.

Answer 1

Ans.

The carrying capacity of a biological population in is defined as the maximum size of population or number of individuals of that species that can be sustained indefinitely by an environment, given the water, habitat, food and other resources.

Decrease in available resources lead to decrease in carrying capacity of an environment for a population. The rainforest's bee population is a limiting factor for orchid population, decrease in bee population will lead to decrease in orchid population.

Hence, the carrying capacity will decrease due to decrease in limiting factor as the number of orchids that can be sustained by the environment would decreases.

Thus, the correct answer is 'option). C.'