Carrying capacity is a key concept in ecology. A body of theory, based on the logistic equation, has extended predictions of carrying capacity to spatially distributed, dispersing populations. However, this theory has only recently been tested empirically. The experimental results disagree with some theoretical predictions of when they are extended to a population dispersing randomly in a two-patch system. However, they are consistent with a mechanistic model of consumption on an exploitable resource (consumer–resource model). We argue that carrying capacity, defined as the total equilibrium population, is not a fundamental property of ecological systems, at least in the context of spatial heterogeneity. Instead, it is an emergent property that depends on the population’s intrinsic growth and dispersal rates.

承载能力是生态学中的关键概念。基于逻辑方程的理论体系将对承载能力的预测扩展到了空间分布，分散的种群。但是，该理论直到最近才经过经验检验。实验结果与某些理论预测不一致，后者何时将其扩展到两补丁系统中随机分布的种群。但是，它们与可利用资源上的消费的机械模型（消费者-资源模型）一致。我们认为，至少在空间异质性的背景下，承载能力（定义为总均衡种群）不是生态系统的基本属性。取而代之的是，这是一种新兴的财产，取决于人口的内在增长和分散率。