Carrying capacity is an ecological concept that is defined as the maximal population size that an ecosystem can support without being degraded in some fashion.  Once a population of organisms overshoots its carrying capacity, the ecosystem that supports the population becomes impaired, which in turn has negative consequences for the population that has grown too large.  […]

Every population of organisms in every ecosystem on this planet has a carrying capacity.  If they exceed it, their system will be degraded, creating negative feedback that will eventually cause a decline in the organism’s population size.  In this way the carrying capacity sets the limits to growth for all populations.”

Tom Wessels: The Myth of Progress

 

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