Question

A forest has a stable population of approximately 100 great horned owls. The owls nest in hollow trees, eat small animals, and have no predators. One year, a large new housing development is built, destroying half of the forest. How will this impact the carrying capacity of the forest and the owl population within the forest?
  A. The carrying capacity will increase and the owl population will increase.
  B. The carrying capacity will decrease and the owl population will decrease.
  C. The carrying capacity will increase and the owl population will decrease.
  D. The carrying capacity will decrease and the owl population will increase.

Answer 1

The answer is B. The carrying capacity will decrease, forcing the population to decrease as well.

Answer 2

The correct answer is B. The carrying capacity will decrease and the owl population will decrease.

Explanation:

In ecology, the carrying capacity refers to the number of organisms an ecosystem or area can sustain because it provides water, shelter, food, etc. This carrying capacity decreases due to the destruction of habitat or natural disasters that reduces the resources or habitable area.

This implies, in the case presented, the carrying capacity of the forest will decrease because the resources on in for owls are reduced to half due to housing development. Besides this, it is expected the owl population decreases because with less food, water, and other resources such as trees to nest ess owls will survive and reproduce. Thus, in this case, "the carrying capacity will decrease and the owl population will decrease".