What term refers to the highest possible birth rate and lowest possible death rate of a species under ideal conditions?

The term that refers to the highest possible birth rate and the lowest possible death rate of a species under ideal conditions is biotic potential. This concept encompasses the maximum reproductive capacity of an organism, indicating how many offspring it can potentially produce when environmental resources are abundant and there are minimal constraints such as disease, predators, or competition.

Biotic potential can vary significantly among different species and is often influenced by factors such as gestation period, number of offspring per reproductive event, and frequency of reproduction. Understanding biotic potential is crucial when studying population dynamics because it helps to establish a theoretical framework for how populations can grow when unchecked by environmental factors.

In contrast, the other terms have different meanings. Carrying capacity, for example, refers to the maximum number of individuals of a species that an environment can sustainably support. Population density measures the number of individuals per unit area or volume, and mortality rate quantifies the number of deaths in a population over a specific period. These terms reflect various aspects of population ecology but do not describe the concept of maximum potential reproduction under ideal circumstances like biotic potential does.