PREPARED BY:

JONEM D. SANTUYO, R.N.

 EXPONENTIAL &
LOGISTIC GROWTH

How populations grow when

they have unlimited resources
(and how resource limits
change that pattern).
 Key points:
• In exponential growth, a population's per
capita (per individual) growth rate stays the
same regardless of population size, making
the population grow faster and faster as it
gets larger.
• In nature, populations may grow
exponentially for some period, but they will
ultimately be limited by resource availability.
 Key points:
• In logistic growth, a population's per capita
growth rate gets smaller and smaller as
population size approaches a maximum
imposed by limited resources in the
environment, known as the carrying
capacity (K).
• Exponential growth produces a J-shaped
curve, while logistic growth produces an S-
shaped curve.
• In theory, any kind of organism could take
over the Earth just by reproducing. For
instance, imagine that we started with a
single pair of male and female rabbits. If
these rabbits and their descendants
reproduced at top speed ("like bunnies") for
7 years, without any deaths, we would have
enough rabbits. And that's not even so
impressive – if we used E. coli bacteria
instead, we could start with just one
bacterium and have enough bacteria to
cover the Earth with a 1-foot layer in just 36
hours!
 MODELING POPULATION
GROWTH RATES
dN / dT = Rn

In this equation, dN/dT is the growth rate of the

population in a given instant, N is population size, T is
time, and r is the per capita rate of increase –that is,
how quickly the population grows per individual
already in the population.
• If we assume no movement of individuals into or out
of the population, r is just a function of birth and
death rates.
 Specific
• When the per capita rate of increase (r)
takes the same positive value regardless of
the population size, then we get exponential
growth.

• When the per capita rate of increase (r)

decreases as the population increases
towards a maximum limit, then we get
logistic growth.
 EXPONENTIAL
GROWTH
In exponential growth, the
population’s growth rate increases
over time, in proportion to the size
of the population

dN = r max N
dT
Let’s take a look at how this works.
Bacteria reproduce by binary fission
(splitting in half), and the time between
divisions is about an hour for many
bacterial species. To see how this
exponential growth, let's start by placing
1000 bacteria in a flask with an unlimited
supply of nutrients.
• After 1 hour: Each bacterium will divide, yielding
2000 bacteria (an increase of 1000 bacteria).

• After 2 hours: Each of the 2000 bacteria will divide,

producing 4000 (an increase of 2000 bacteria).

• After 3 hours: Each of the 4000 bacteria will divide,

producing 8000 (an increase of 4000 bacteria).
• after 1 day (24 cycles
of division), our
bacterial population
would have grown
from 1000 to over 16
billion! When
population size, N, is
plotted over time, a
J-shaped growth
curve is made.
 LOGISTIC GROWTH

Exponential growth is not a very

sustainable state of affairs, since
it depends on infinite amounts
of resources (which tend not to
exist in the real world).
• Exponential growth may happen for a
while, if there are few individuals and
many resources. But when the number
of individuals gets large enough,
resources start to get used up, slowing
the growth rate. Eventually, the growth
rate will plateau, or level off, making
an S-shaped curve. The population size
at which it levels off, which represents
the maximum population size a
particular environment can support, is
called the carrying capacity, or K
dN = r max (K−N) N
dT K
• We can mathematically model logistic
growth by modifying our equation for
exponential growth, using an r (per capita
growth rate) that depends on population
size (N) and how close it is to carrying
capacity (K). Assuming that the population
has a base growth rate of r max when it is
very small, we can use this equation.
dN = r max (K−N) N
dT K
• At any given point in time during a
population's growth, the expression K - N tells
us how many more individuals can be
added to the population before it hits
carrying capacity. (K - N)/K, then, is the
fraction of the carrying capacity that has
not yet been “used up.” The more carrying
capacity that has been used up, the more
the (K - N)/K term will reduce the growth
rate.
WHAT FACTORS DETERMINE
CARRYING CAPACITY?
Basically, any kind of resource important to a
species’ survival can act as a limit. For plants,
the water, sunlight, nutrients, and the space to
grow are some key resources. For animals,
important resources include food, water,
shelter, and nesting space. Limited quantities
of these resources results in competition
between members of the same population, or
intraspecific competition (intra- = within; -
specific = species).
 EXAMPLES OF
LOGISTIC GROWTH
• Yeast, a microscopic
fungus used to make
bread and alcoholic
beverages, can produce
a classic S-shaped curve
when grown in a test
tube. In the graph shown
below, yeast growth levels
off as the population hits
the limit of the available
nutrients.
 EXAMPLES OF
LOGISTIC GROWTH
• In the early part of the 20th
century, seals were actively
hunted under a
government program that
viewed them as harmful
predators, greatly reducing
their numbers. Since this
program was shut down,
seal populations have
rebounded in a roughly
logistic pattern.
 Summary
• Exponential growth takes place when a
population's per capita growth rate stays
the same, regardless of population size,
making the population grow faster and
faster as it gets larger. It's represented by the
equation:
dN = r max N
dT
• Exponential growth produces a J-shaped
curve.
 Summary
• Logistic growth takes place when a
population's per capita growth rate
decreases as population size approaches a
maximum imposed by limited resources, the
carrying capacity(K). It's represented by the
equation:
dN = r max (K−N) N
dT K
• Logistic growth produces an S-shaped
curve.
THANK YOU!