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The two primary factors that determine a population's size are the availability of food, and the prevalence of predators.

In the abscence of predators, a population will grow until the food it consumes becomes equal to the food that is provided by the ambient ecosystem, available to the relevant population through the food chain. After that, the population cannot grow more unless the ecosytem suddenly is capable of providing more food.

Predators regulate populations as a result of the connection between predators and prey in ecosystems. If there is an increase in the size of the prey population, more food will be available to the predators, so their population will also grow. The increased predator population will put downward pressure on the prey population as the predators feed upon them. If the prey population suffers substantial decreases, the predator population will also suffer knock-on decreases as there will be less food available to them.

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