Answer
The growth curve indicate that as the time increases, r changes along with the increase in the population size, which finally tapers off at near to the carrying capacity of the ecosystem (or environment).
Work Step by Step
Initial part of the graph shows that the growth is exponential because of the presence of abundance of water, food, and space. The population size grows rapidly and “r” (per capita growth rate) remains constant.
In the second phase of the graph, it can be observed that the r declines. The spread of a disease and the increasing competition declines the population growth. In the last phase, the growth stops and reaches the carrying capacity where r becomes zero and the population reaches a maximum value. The resources at this point tend to exhaust, which further results in the decline of the organism.
