Density-dependent factors include

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BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

First, restating the core question helps set the stage: Density-dependent factors include which of the following? 
Option 1: 'only abiotic factors' — This is misleading. Density dependence typically involves biotic interactions whose effects scale with population density (like disease transmission, competition for resources, and predation). Abiotic factors can influence populations, but they are not inherently density-dependent. So this option is incorrect. 
Option 2: 'unemployment, hunger and malnutrition' — These terms describe social or economic conditions rather than ecological factors that change with population density. They are not standard examples of density-dependent ecological factors, making this choice inaccurate. 
Option 3: 'disease, competition, and predation' — This option aligns with classic ecology: as population density increases, transmission of disease can rise, competition for limited resources intensifies, and the impact of predators can be more pronounced through increased encounter rates. This is a correct characterization of density-dependent factors. 
Option 4: 'food or nutrient limitation, pollutants in the environment, and climate extremes, including seasonal cycles such as monsoons' — While these are important environmental pressures on populations, they do not inherently depend on population density. Pollutants and climate extremes can affect populations regardless of density, and while food limitation can be density-dependent, the inclusion of pollutants and climate extremes makes this set not exclusively density-dependent. Therefore, this option is incorrect. 
Putting it together, the option that matches the concept of density-dependent factors is the one listing disease, competition, and predation, since each factor’s impact tends to scale with how crowded the population is.

Density-dependent factors include

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