EXPLOITATION COMPETITION
Limits on the population of animals—in this case moose—are influenced by environmental factors. One such factor is exploitation competition in which all moose living on Isle Royale "share" the food, which is in limited supply. This is a density-dependent factor because it affects a larger proportion of the moose population as its density rises.

In this case, the moose on the island are involved in intraspecific competition, because individuals of the same species are competing with one another. The vegetarian moose are able to obtain only a limited share of the island's food resources, the most preferred being aspen and mountain ash trees.

If there is a high density of moose over a series of years, a limited number of them will be able to obtain adequate food resources to survive. Thus, the moose population oscillates over time as a result of exploitation competition.