i want a good, simple explanation of what overpopulation really is. it should get to the point in a few words or sentences.
2007-02-11 15:39:14 · 5 answers · asked by asds 3 in Environment
Overpopulation means that there are more individuals than the ecosystem can support in terms of resources, living space, waste removal, and so on.
2007-02-11 15:45:43 · answer #1 · answered by ecolink 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Overpopulation is the condition of any organism's numbers exceeding the carrying capacity of its ecological niche. In common parlance, the term usually refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth.
Overpopulation is not simply a function of the size or density of the population, but rather the number of individuals compared to the resources (for example, food production or water resources) needed for survival or well-being. Overpopulation can be determined using the ratio of population to available resources. If a given environment has a population of ten, but there is food or drinking water enough for only nine, then that environment is overpopulated; if the population is 100 individuals but there is food, shelter or water enough for 200, then it is not. Overpopulation can result from increases in births, a decline in mortality rates due to medical advances, or from an unsustainable use and depletion of resources. It is possible for very sparsely-populated areas to be "overpopulated", as the area in question may have very meager or non-existent capability to sustain human life (e.g. the middle of the Sahara desert or Antarctica).
2007-02-11 21:04:45 · answer #2 · answered by grierGRIER h 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Overpopulation is the condition of any organism's numbers exceeding the carrying capacity of its ecological niche. In common parlance, the term usually refers to the relationship between the human population and its environment, the Earth.
2007-02-11 17:46:34 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Read "The Population Bomb" by Dr (PhD) Nathan Erlich. According to him, life on earth was doomed by 1990.... There is no answer to your question, only not very educated opinion.
2007-02-12 02:13:33 · answer #4 · answered by Gunny T 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
more of a certain organism than can be sustained
for a long period of time by a given environmental
situation.
2007-02-11 15:52:21 · answer #5 · answered by farmer 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋