A newly mated queen ant establishes a nest in an unoccupied patch of suitable habitat. Assuming that no disasters strike the nest, which type of equation is likely to best describe its population growth? (see book section: Population Growth Models)

logistic

quadratic

exponential

linear

circular

Logistic

Explanation:

As the newly mated queen inhabit the new habitat, the population of the ants would increase slowly first followed by a rapid increase in the population size. Once the population size reaches the carrying capacity, it is leveled off.

Carrying capacity is the maximum number of the individuals of a population that can be supported indefinitely by a habitat. Once the population reaches the carrying capacity, one or other required resources become limited which in turn does not allow the exponential growth of the population.

This type of population growth wherein the exponential increase is followed by leveling out the population as the carrying capacity is reached, is called logistic population growth.