Factors That Affect Population Growth

Population growth is limited by several factors, which may be biotic and/or abiotic, for example: the physical characteristics of a certain specie and the ability of the habitat they live to support them. These examples are able to affect the size of this specific population.

The size of a certain population of bears depends on how much their habitat
can provide them - food, water, shelter, etc - and  the degree of predation
for example .

Biotic Potential

Biotic potential is the maximum reproductive capacity of a population if the resources are unlimited, therefore we can conclude that the biotic potential of organisms is limited by environmental restrictions. Normally, biotic potential is never reached.
Other factors that determine a species' biotic potential are:

• the number of offspring per reproductive cycle;
• The number of offspring that can survive long enough until they can reproduce;
• the age of reproductive maturity (female humans, for example, are restricted with the menopause);
• the life span of an individual.

Carrying Capacity

Carrying Capacity is the maximum size of a population that their habitat can support, providing food, water, shelter, and other necessities available in the environment. There are two types of factors that can affect the Carrying Capacity of a habitat:  Density-dependent factors ( biotic factors, which its impact increases as the sized of the population increases; for example: diseases, predation, and infections) and Density-independent factors (abiotic factors that affects a population's size regardless of its density, for example: harsh weather, drought, food supplies and etc).

A pond is a habitat for several types of species. It provides most of it is necessary for the populations living it to grow,
however, this pond also provide limitation for populations growth, predation for example.

Graphs

Biologists use graphs to represent the growth of a population during a certain amount of time. This enable them to figure the biotic potential and carrying potential of a certain population.