When resource bases shrink and distribution becomes increasingly unequal, what is a likely outcome?

• A. Increased mortality or decreased reproduction, reducing population growth toward carrying capacity.
• B. Instant population growth.
• C. Resource abundance for all individuals.
• D. No effect on population dynamics.

Answer: (A)

When resources become scarcer and access to them is uneven, population growth tends to slow or reverse because individuals face more stress, competition, and poorer conditions. With less food, shelter, or other necessities, survival and reproduction drop, so mortality can rise or birth rates fall. The overall effect is a slowing of growth toward what the environment can sustain in the long term, known as the carrying capacity.

Instant population growth doesn’t fit because limited resources don’t magically produce more individuals. Resource abundance for all would contradict the shrinking resource base. And no effect ignores the clear impact that shortage and unequal distribution have on survival and reproduction.