Limiting Factors & Their Effects on Carrying Capacity

A biotic limiting factor could be basically anything living that prevents something else from doing its "job" or living its life. An example of a biotic limiting factor is a cow. A cow is a living thing. Lets say there are 20 cows in a very small area. The 20 cows are eating all the grass in that area. Not being able to get to any other areas, the cows eat all the grass in that area. All the grass is gone and cannot be grown back unless they replant it. The cows are a limiting factor to the grass.

An example of an abiotic limiting factor would be a drought. A drought is non-living, but it causes problems for a lot of biotic factors. For example, if a rabbit is living near a creek and there is a drought, the rabbit loses its main source of water. When the rabbit loses its main source of water there is a good chance that the rabbit will either have to find a new water source or die. The drought is a limiting factor to the rabbit.