| Laurel Aitken said: When we reach our carrying capacity (K) the world population (or I'll say metapopulation) we will have an stable N (population number). Rifgt now we have had big lamdas and big r (population growth rate)... but there really isn't any reason why our populations wouldn't behave like all other poplations.
Carrying capacity graph:
|
the logistical population model relies on having a relatively small system where you can ignore many factors. just like the exponential model, over time it will fail becasue it ignores variables. keeping in mind that the logistical model was derived from the exponential model because it didnt provide adequate predictions over time. we have to do the same thing for the logistical model if we want to mode the entire planet over a length of time thats more than a few years.
we know that environmental degradation is happening and when we factor it into the equation carrying capacity is no longer a constant through time, its also a rate which will probably look somewhat like -e^x, making carrying capacity look something like K-e^t on your graph
im not an ecologist but it seems pretty evident that as environmental degredation occurs, the environment can sustain less people, not the assumed constant amount, unless we can stop environmental degredation our population will continually decrease along with the carrying capacity.
and after a little bit of research i found that, yes carrying capacity must be augmented for many systems
