Which term describes a factor that limits population growth or distribution in an environment?

• A. Food Web
• B. Limiting Factor
• C. Hydrostatic Pressure
• D. Heterotroph

Answer: (B)

A limiting factor is anything in the environment that restricts how large a population can grow or where it can live. It can be a resource like food, space, or oxygen, or a condition like temperature, salinity, or predation pressure. When a limiting factor becomes scarce or pronounced, population growth slows and distributions shrink, guiding the population toward the environment’s carrying capacity. For example, limited food availability can cap fish numbers in a reef, while suitable habitat space limits how many can occupy an area. The other terms describe different ideas: a food web is the network of who eats whom, hydrostatic pressure is the force exerted by fluids, and a heterotroph is an organism that must consume organic matter.