UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

The term carrying capacity describes the maximum population size that an environment can sustain over time. It assumes a balance between resource availability and population demands. If population exceeds this level,resources are degraded and sustainability is threatened. Hence carrying capacity is the most appropriate term for the situation in the question.

Option A:
Biotic potential refers to the maximum reproductive capacity of a population under ideal conditions. It does not consider resource limitations or environmental constraints. Therefore it cannot represent the sustainable maximum that the environment can support.

Option B:
Carrying capacity is defined as the largest population that an environment can maintain without long term degradation. It directly links population level with resource availability and ecosystem resilience. This makes it the correct concept for describing the sustainable limit mentioned in the stem.

Option C:
Demographic dividend describes the economic advantage derived from a larger working age population relative to dependants. It is an economic and demographic concept,rather than an ecological one. Thus it does not denote the resource based population limit described in the question.

Option D:
Population density simply indicates the number of individuals per unit area. High density may or may not exceed the environment’s sustainable limit. Therefore population density alone does not capture the idea of a maximum sustainable population.