Editing Ecology and Population Dynamics (section)

=== Exponential vs. Logistic Growth ===
If a population has unlimited resources, it will grow exponentially, rapidly doubling in size. However, in the real world, resources are finite. 

As a population grows, it eventually encounters environmental resistance—factors like food scarcity, space limitations, disease, and predation. This causes the growth rate to slow down and eventually stabilize at the environment's '''carrying capacity'''. This stabilization results in a logistic growth curve (often described as an S-shaped curve).

[[File:Logistic_Growth_Curve.jpg|thumb|right|Diagram illustrating a logistic growth curve, where population size levels off as it reaches the carrying capacity.]]

The carrying capacity is not a static number; it fluctuates based on environmental changes, such as seasonal droughts or the introduction of a new competitor.