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Re: I will no longer respond to barks from the kennel.



Jay Hanson <jhanson@ilhawaii.net> wrote:
>
> Ecologists define "carrying capacity" as the population of a
> given species that be supported indefinitely in a defined
> habitat without permanently damaging the ecosystem

Incorrect, as I pointed out.  Carrying capacity is the asymptotic value of
the population model's defining equation.    Most models will show a "hump"
under certain boundary conditions, where population increases then declines
before reaching the asymptote.  The decline results from an inserted
competition term; some models add other terms, which may include estimates
as to "ecosystem damage".  However, the definition remains unchanged.  

Some nonlinear population models may have no asymptote at all.  In this
case, the concept of carrying capacity is not well-defined, and other terms
must be used.  Bruce Scott may have some information here.

I don't know why Hanson takes the correction so personally.  I'm not even
challenging his assumption that overpopulation _can_ damage an ecosystem;
I'm simply addressing the imprecise use of the term.

--
Mike Asher
masher@tusc.net

"A Freudian slip is when you say one thing but mean your mother."
   - anonymous 





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