Which term refers to a period when the population does not increase because resources cap growth?

• A. Birth rate
• B. Death rate
• C. Carrying capacity
• D. Plateau

Answer: (D)

The period when a population stops growing because resources limit further increase is a plateau. As a population approaches the environment’s carrying capacity—the maximum number the resources can sustain—competition for food, space, and other necessities grows. This tends to slow births and/or raise deaths, so net growth becomes near zero and the population size levels off for a time. A plateau describes that leveling-off phase itself.

Birth rate and death rate are measures of how fast a population changes, not the period of no growth. Carrying capacity is the maximum sustainable population given the available resources, which explains why the plateau occurs, but it’s the limit rather than the period of no growth.