Ecosystem Dynamics and Carrying Capacity
Aligned to HS-LS2 — Next Generation Science Standards.
What this lesson teaches
Populations grow until limited by resources (carrying capacity). Energy flows and matter cycles through ecosystems, and disturbances ripple through them.
Worked example
Rabbits multiply until food or predators limit them; their population levels off at the environment's carrying capacity.
Practice questions
- What is carrying capacity?
- Predict the effect of a drought on a food web.
- How does energy move through an ecosystem?
Watch the lesson
Every lesson comes with a video taught in English and Spanish — the same video the QR code in the printed workbook opens.
▶ Watch this lessonEn español
Dinámica de ecosistemas y capacidad de carga
Las poblaciones crecen hasta que los recursos las limitan (capacidad de carga). La energía fluye y la materia se recicla a través de los ecosistemas, y las perturbaciones se propagan por ellos.
Ejemplo: Los conejos se multiplican hasta que el alimento o los depredadores los limitan; su población se estabiliza en la capacidad de carga del ambiente.
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