Question

Biotic potential refers to
A) Natural increase of population under optimum conditions
B) Potential of organism in a biome
C) Number of organisms in a biome
D) Number of organism in a population

Answer 1

Nearly all organisms have the ability of producing new offspring and this process is known as reproduction. They can either reproduce sexually or asexually.

Complete answer:

Option A: Biotic potential can be defined as an organism’s physiological capacity to produce offspring under natural conditions. Therefore, this is the correct option.
Biotic potential is also known as reproductive potential of an organism under natural condition. Under the natural conditions, the reproductive capacity of organisms is very high, but due to the shortage of space, food and other resources not all organisms survive.
Option B:Potential of an organism in a biome can be related to its chances of survival in an environment and not biotic potential. Therefore, this is the incorrect option.
Option C: Number of organisms present in a biome is known as population and not biotic potential. Therefore, this is the incorrect option.
Option D: Number of organisms in a population means the number of organisms that are present in a given population at a given time. It does not mean biotic potential, therefore, this is the incorrect option.

Thus, the correct option is (A) Natural increase of population under optimum conditions.

Note: The factors that influence biotic potential are,

The amount of food and water supply.
Presence or absence of disease.
The rate of reproduction of an organism.
Presence or absence of predators.
Availability of space for living.