Both abiotic and biotic factors determine both where an organism can live and how much a population can grow. A limiting factor is a factor that restricts the size of a population from reaching its full potential
The amount of food & water in a habitat is an example of a limiting factor. Other factors include geographical space, predation, climate, competition (for prey, food, mates) etc. An example of a limiting factor is sunlight in the rainforest, where growth is limited to all plants in the understory unless more light becomes available. Or perhaps in a deciduous forest, there are not enough rabbits to support the growth of more foxes. All species within an ecosystem will experience some kind of limiting factors to prevent continuous and exponential growth. (Even humans) Environmental changes (i.e drought, famine, human destruction) results in decreased rates of physiological processes, lowering the potential for survival, growth, or reproduction. Species will undergo Acclimatization to adjust to the new limiting factors through changing their behavior or physiology.