What is the term for the range between the critical minimum and maximum limits of environmental factors affecting an organism?

The term that describes the range between the critical minimum and maximum limits of environmental factors affecting an organism is known as the range of tolerance. This concept encompasses the various environmental conditions—such as temperature, pH, and salinity—that an organism can withstand while still being able to survive, grow, and reproduce.

Within this range, organisms can thrive optimally, but if the environmental factors fall below or exceed these critical thresholds, the organism may experience stress or may not survive. This understanding is crucial in ecology, as it helps in predicting how organisms will respond to changes in their environments, such as habitat modification and climate change.

While other terms like biotic potential, carrying capacity, and optimum range relate to different aspects of population dynamics and ecological limits, they do not specifically describe the range of environmental conditions that an organism can tolerate. Biotic potential refers to the maximum reproductive capacity of an organism under optimal conditions, carrying capacity is the maximum population size that an environment can sustain, and the optimum range indicates the ideal conditions for growth, which are typically found within the broader range of tolerance.