Irruptive growth, sometimes called Malthusian growth, is a growth pattern over time, defined by population explosions and subsequent sharp population crashes, or diebacks. It is an extension of the Malthusian growth model, specifically the growth pattern that causes a Malthusian catastrophe, and can occur when populations overshoot their carrying capacity, a phenomenon typically associated with r-strategists. Populations which exhibit irruptive growth do not stabilize around their carrying capacity, a feature of logistic growth. Irruptive growth occurs when a species reproduces more rapidly than the environment is capable of supporting with the available resources. Irruptive growth is studied in population ecology.
Read more about Irruptive Growth: K-Strategist and R-Strategist Species, Malthusian Growth, Irruptive Growth in Mammal Populations
Famous quotes containing the word growth:
“From infancy, a growing girl creates a tapestry of ever-deepening and ever- enlarging relationships, with her self at the center. . . . The feminine personality comes to define itself within relationship and connection, where growth includes greater and greater complexities of interaction.”
—Jeanne Elium (20th century)