What Is Limiting Factor In Biology

Quantifying Environmental Limiting Factors On Tree Cover Using Geospatial Data

• * E-mail:

  Affiliation Department of Geography and Geographic Information Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Champaign, Illinois, United States of America

• Affiliation Department of Innovation, Environmental and Energy Sciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands

• Affiliation Department of Forest Management, College of Forestry and Conservation, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, United States of America

• Affiliation NASA Ames Research Center, Mountain View, California, United States of America

• Affiliation Center for Spatial Technologies and Remote Sensing , Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California Davis, Davis, California, United States of America

The Metabolism Of Carbohydrates

The role of mitochondria in oxidative phosphorylation has already been mentioned and their role in the metabolism of carbohydrates through the presence in their substance of enzymes concerned with the Krebs cycle and the cytochrome system has been indicated. We should now consider the problem of carbohydrate metabolism and the role that mitochondria and other parts of the cytoplasm play in it.

Carbohydrate metabolism is extremely important for cell synthesis and is the main source of energy for cell activities. Before attempting to localize the various activities of carbohydrate metabolism in the actual parts of the cell, we should consider briefly what the metabolism of carbohydrates involves. There are two types of metabolism, anaerobic and aerobic. The anaerobic route is demonstrated very well by muscle, and most of the information on this type of metabolism of carbohydrates has been obtained by studies of this tissue.

The result of anaerobic metabolism is the production of lactic acid and the liberation of a good deal of CO2. However, although we think in terms of anaerobic metabolism for muscle, we have to realize that muscle itself has a first-class blood supply that appears to be increased by various physiological mechanisms when muscle is forced to do work and that muscle in the process of contraction uses a rather surprisingly large amount of oxygen.

This reaction is exergonic .

J. Exptl. Biol.20Ciba Foundation Symp.

Composting: Biology Principles And Limiting Factors

BioCycle looks back to the writings of Dr. Clarence Golueke to review the science and fundamentals of composting.

Nora Goldstein

BioCycle October 2018

Dr. Clarence Golueke, internationally recognized researcher and communicator on the science of composting.

Basic Principles

Carbon/Nitrogen Basics

CarbonCarbon is used by microbes as a source of energy through metabolic oxidation and as the most important, i.e., abundant component in the synthesis of the cell wall and other cellular structures, and of the protoplasm. It is the oxidation of carbon to carbon dioxide that accounts for the greatest part of the loss of mass and generation of heat that are so characteristic of composting.An important point that often is overlooked regarding the carbon in the substrate is the ability of the desired microbes to utilize it, i.e., its availability to the bacteria. The usual requirement for ability is the presence of enzymatic systems capable of breaking up target molecules and thereby rendering their carbon accessible to microbial utilization. The systems either may originate in the active microbes or may be supplied by other microbes. This requirement is true not only with carbon but also with all other essential nutrients. Some molecules are more resistant to microbial attack than others.

As a biological process, composting has all the advantages and limitations of a biological process, quipped Dr. Golueke.

Environmental Factors

Feedstock Conditioning

You May Like: Geometry Dash Demon Key Hack

Blackman’s Limiting Factors Law

• A plant physiologist Blackman studied the limiting factors in the photosynthetic system of plants. He said that biological factors are affected by a number of factors, but the amount in which they affect the whole process is different. Take the example of photosynthesis. Plants require adequate amounts of water, sunlight, chloroplast temperature, carbon dioxide and chlorophyll to perform photosynthesis. The scarcity of any of these components will affect the photosynthesis process.
• Any physiological process affected by more than one factor is governed by the law of the limiting factor.
• The relative magnitude of the factors is more important than the absolute magnitude.
• A factor which is present in higher amounts may be a limiting factor compared to that present in smaller amounts. Indeed, the requirement of the factor present in higher quantities is more important.
• When the rate of the process becomes constant due to a limiting factor, it can be regulated by regulating only the amount of the limiting factor. For example, a leaf that can use 5 mg of CO2 per hour in photosynthesis is exposed to a certain light intensity. If only 1 mg of CO2 enters the leaf in one hour, the rate of photosynthesis is limited due to the CO2 factor. As the concentration of CO2 increases, the rate of photosynthesis also increases. Any further increase in the concentration of CO2 will not affect the rate of photosynthesis. It will only increase if the light intensity increases.

Is This Question About Limiting Factors Answerable

This is from a Singapore-Cambridge GCE O-level Biology exam . The exam board maintains that the question is “correct and accurate”but isn’t there a typo in option C?

Here’s my argument:

• Merely increasing the light intensity at either Points 1 or 2 speeds up photosynthesis, but varying the light intensity at Points 3 and 4 doesn’t.

  Therefore, light intensity is limiting photosynthesis at only Points 1 & 2.

• At Point 3, merely doubling the $\ce$ concentration speeds up photosynthesis on the other hand, the graph shows no evidence that varying the $\ce$ concentrations at Points 1, 2 or 4 speeds up photosynthesis.

  Therefore, $\ce$ concentration is limiting photosynthesis conclusively at only Point 3.

As this is a data-inference question, all the four answer choices are invalid deductions.

Excluding Point 4 from Option C will render this question finally answerable.

• 1$\begingroup$With your logic wouldn’t that also mean that point 3 requires assuming that decreasing the carbon dioxide concentration would decrease photosynthesis rate? In statistics when you want to test if one parameter affects another it’s sufficient to test a high and a low point.$\endgroup$Aug 24 ’20 at 15:30
• 1Aug 24 ’20 at 23:24

I think your thinking is fine, but you’re being a bit pedantic about it. I don’t think there is any typo.

The purpose of the question is for you to understand that there are two limiting factors here: light and CO2.

You May Like: Eoc Fsa Warm Ups Algebra 1 Answers

Impacts Of Unmeasured Factors

Unmeasured factors are identified as deviations between the predicted maximum tree cover and the actual tree cover for a site . A deviation that indicates the presence of an unmeasured limiting factor is defined here as a greater than 10% difference between predicted Bmax,measured and actual tree cover. We calculated the mean and standard deviation of this deviation. To estimate what fraction of the landscape appears to be limited by one of the measured factors, we identified all sites that had a percent deviation of less than or equal to 10%. All other sites were considered limited by an unmeasured factor.

Unlock This Answer Now

Start your 48-hour free trial to unlock this answer and thousands more. Enjoy eNotes ad-free and cancel anytime.

Already a member? Log in here.

The main limiting factor that affects photosynthetic activity in the Arctic region is the amount of available solar energy. Because the poles receive indirect sunlight and because of the high albedo of ice, much of the sunlight is reflected back into space. Sunlight provides the energy for photosynthesis to occur. Another limiting factor is the availability of water. Because the soil is frozen, it is extremely difficult for plants to absorb enough moisture to carry out photosynthesis. There is not a great deal of biodiversity or species richness in the Arctic. Only specially adapted plants can survive, like lichens, moss and in summer, during the short growing season, some wildflowers. Plants are also limited by temperature which can affect their delicate leaves and stems. These are all reasons that photosynthetic activity is limited to specialized plant species in the arctic tundra.

Also Check: Who Is Paris Jackson’s Biological Father

Factors That Affect Density

Pressure

Imagine if we take a glass of water from the earth to space it evaporates as soon as possible because of the absence of pressure. Here, What happens to its density? It decreases because the volume has enormously increased. This was an example. Even if we decrease the temperature by a little amount, the density decreases, and in the same way, if we increase the pressure, then the density increases. There should exist no confusion because it takes place only with water .

1. Explain How Density Independent Factors Differ.

Answer: Density independent factors vary based on the population, but they always affect the population similarly irrespective of its size. There are several common density independent factors, such as natural disasters, temperature, including the oxygen level in the atmosphere. All these factors apply to all the individuals in a population, irrespective of the density.

2. Differentiate Between Density Dependent Limiting Factors and Density Independent Factors.

Answer: Density independent factors may affect a population no matter its density amount. Density dependent factors can only affect the population when it reaches a certain density. The disease may be an example of some density dependent factors. Diseases spread through the dense populations due to the individuals living in close proximity to one other.

3. What are Shape Drag and Surface Drag?

4. Give Any Limiting Factors That Depend on the Population Density.

Multiple Versus Single Variable Predictions Of Limiting Factor

As mean temperature is a commonly used bioclimatic variable in univariate models to constrain plant responses , we calculated the difference between the limiting factors predicted by the mean temperature surface alone to the limiting factors derived from the multiple variables approach. The system-wide mean and standard deviation of the differences were calculated.

Read Also: Eoc Fsa Warm Ups Algebra 1 Answers

Limiting Factors And Impacts Of Climate Change For Endangered Australian Orchids

This project is assessing the role of multiple factors limiting endangered orchids.

Our multidisciplinary team is developing and applying novel and innovative approaches for the assessment of key limiting factors for Australian orchids: pollinator abundance and mycorrhizal fungal availability. Underpinned by survey distribution data for all three elements, we will apply environmental and surface climate models to predict potential distributions of the interacting species in order to guide in situ and ex situ conservation strategies. We will also explore the implications of our predictions under a range of climate change scenarios. The methods developed will be applicable to endangered plants, and their interactions, more generally.

The project is funded by an ARC Linkage grant .

Candidate Covariates And Model Structure

We reviewed previous multivariate studies to harvest factors that could contribute to the population dynamics of delta smelt. Multivariate autoregressive models indicated substantial support for a relation between abundance of delta smelt and one of 19 covariates: summer water temperature . A Bayesian change-point analysis found that two of 19 covariates, water clarity and the volume of water exported from the Delta in winter, were associated with an autumn abundance index of delta smelt . A state-space life-cycle model suggested that the delta smelt abundance index is affected by density dependence, temperature from April through June and in July, prey density from April through June and July through August, abundance of predators from April through June and September through December, Secchi depth in January and February, and adult entrainment . Five covariates met selection criteria employed by Miller et al. : stock, entrainment, water temperature, prey densities, and predation from April through June. Rose et al. developed a bioenergetics model that partitioned the Delta into 11 geographic regions. They assumed delta smelt dispersed in response to salinity, and they did not include predation in their model. They concluded that five factors affected abundance of delta smelt: salinity, water temperature , zooplankton, hydrodynamics , and number of eggs per spawning age-1 adult .

TTQ

Recommended Reading: Exponential Growth And Decay Common Core Algebra 1 Homework Answers

In The Gizmo What Conditions Is The Light Intensity A Limiting Factor

in the gizmo what conditions is the light intensity a limiting factor

The limiting factor was CO2 because when it was decreased or increased, it was still able to increase the oxygen production. I know that CO2 is the limiting factor because it always increases oxygen production.. Challenge: In each of the situations below, use the Gizmo to find the limiting factor.

Remote Sensing Derived Tree Cover

In Greenberg et al. , we described a technique by which we were able to accurately map individual trees using hyperspatial imagery . This technique allowed for accurate tree presence/absence and per-tree crown area to be calculated, with a cross-correlation between modeled tree presence/absence and photointerpreted tree presence/absence of 0.8773. The technique was developed with an IKONOS flightline collected on 19 July 2002. IKONOS collects multispectral data with 4m spatial resolution, and panchromatic data with 1m spatial resolution. The imagery was pan-sharpened to create a 4-band image with 1m pixels. Estimated pre-tree crown areas were summarized at 30m resolution to produce a surface of percent tree cover . This scale was chosen to best match the scale of the environmental surfaces, which were derived from a 30m DEM. These data represent the biological response variable to be used in this analysis.

Also Check: Geometry Lesson 1.7 Answers

Criticism Of The Law Of Limiting Factors

While explaining the principle of limiting factors, Blackman presented abrupt breaks in the rate of photosynthesis due to the low intensity of light. According to his colleagues, the rate of photosynthesis does not decrease suddenly, but gradually, each time a factor is limiting.

In fact, not all chloroplasts are under similar environmental conditions. The most exposed receive more light and CO2 than the deepest. If these factors are limiting, photosynthesis will only be affected in certain chloroplasts. As a result, the rate of photosynthesis will gradually decrease.

Limiting Factors In Ecosystem

Definition of Limiting Factor

The limiting factor in biology refers to any of the factors in an environment capable of limiting a process, such as growth, abundance, or distribution of a population of organisms in an ecosystem. Some examples of limiting factors are biotic, like food, mates, and competition with other organisms for resources.

Others are abiotic, like space, temperature level, altitude, and amount of sunlight readily available in an environment. Limiting factors are generally expressed as the absence of a particular resource.

For example, if there are inadequate prey animals in a forest to feed a big population of predators, then food becomes a limiting factor. Similarly, if there is not enough space in a pond for a large number of fish, then space becomes a limiting factor.

There can be many different limiting factors at work in a single environment, and the exact same limiting factor can affect the populations of both plant and animal species. Ultimately, limiting factors figure out a habitats carrying capacity, which is the maximum size of the population it can support.

Kinds of limiting Factor

Density Dependent Factors

Density Independent Factors

Density independent factors will generally eliminate all members of a population, despite the population size.

Physical and Biological Limiting Factors

Predator-Prey Relationships

Biotic and Abiotic Relationships

Environmental Conditions

Human Limiting Factors

Also Check: What Is Figure Ground Perception Psychology

Who Proposed The Law Of Limiting Factor

Blackman proposed the law of limiting factor. According to this law,

When a chemical process is affected by more than one factor, its rate will be determined by the factor which is nearest to its minimal value: It is the factor which directly affects the process if its quantity is changed.

• The rate of photosynthesis is affected mainly by the concentration of CO2 light intensity and temperature.
• As the light intensity is increased, the rate of photosynthesis increases proportionately until some other factor like CO2 or temperature may become limiting.
• Similarly, if the concentration of CO2 is increased the rate of photosynthesis increases until light may become a limiting factor.

Was this answer helpful?

Why Is Disease A Density

Hi Carly T.,

This is a good question!

The key to understanding why disease is density dependent while most natural disasters are not is to understand the relationship between risk of death and proximity to other individuals.

In the case of disease, the risk of getting the disease and eventually dying is dependent on how close together the individuals are. If they are very close together , then the disease will have an easier time moving from one individual to another and causing more to die. If the individuals are not close together, then the disease does not move as easily, and fewer of the individuals will end up dying. This is in contrast to most natural disasters, where the density of the individuals does not really matter, since the natural disaster effects all individuals equally, no matter how close together they are.

I hope that this makes things clearer. Please reach out if you are still confused. I can give some more examples that might make this more clear.

Dylan

Recommended Reading: Does Elton John Have Biological Children

Physical And Biological Limiting Factors

Limiting factors can also be split into further categories. Physical factors or abiotic factors include temperature, water availability, oxygen, salinity, light, food and nutrients biological factors or biotic factors, involve interactions between organisms such as predation, competition, parasitism and herbivory.

Volumetric Mass Transfer Coefficient

CO2 is supplied to photosynthetic microalgae cells to grow however, it is usually regarded as a rate-limiting factor as the cultivation scale increases . The CO2 transfer rate is expressed as the overall volumetric mass transfer coefficient . According to Kadic and Heindel , there are a few methods to measure the kLa, which are static gassing out, sulfite methods, and dynamic gassing out. The static gassing out is measured based on the dissolved oxygen during microalgae cultivation, where N2 gas is first introduced to the PBR system to create an inert environment before sparging with compressed air or CO2-enriched air. On the other hand, the sulfite method is measured based on chemical reaction of sulfite ( SO

D.M. NEEDHAM, in, 1973

Also Check: Exponential Growth And Decay Common Core Algebra 1 Homework Answers