Answer: Intrinsic growth rate.
- A Intrinsic growth rate
- B a carrying capacity level
- C only the death rate
- D the immigration
Correct answer: A. Intrinsic growth rate
Explanation: "r" is the intrinsic rate of natural increase.
Exponential growth produces an ever-steepening J-curve with no limit, an unrealistic long-term model; logistic growth produces an S-curve that levels off at the carrying capacity K, as growth rate (K−N)/K shrinks to zero once resources are fully used.
Concept context
How organisms interact with abiotic factors and respond to stress, plus population attributes, growth models, and interspecific interactions such as predation, competition, and mutualism.