Imagine that you are managing a large game ranch. You know from historical accounts that a species of deer used to live there, but they have been extirpated. After doing some research to determine what might be an appropriately sized founding population, you reintroduce them. You then watch the population increase for several generations, and graph the number of individuals (vertical axis) against the number of generations (horizontal axis). With no natural predators impacting the population, the graph will likely appear as ________.
A) a diagonal line, getting higher with each generation
B) an "S" that ends with a vertical line
C) an upside-down "U"
D) a "J," increasing with each generation

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Without natural predators, the population is likely to grow exponentially, resulting in a "J"-shaped curve on the graph.

Imagine That You Are Managing a Large Game Ranch