Limiting factors refer to environmental or biological constraints that restrict the growth, distribution, abundance, or reproduction of organisms within a specific ecosystem. These factors can include physical limitations such as temperature, water availability, or nutrients, as well as biotic factors such as competition, predation, or disease. Understanding limiting factors is essential in ecology and conservation biology as they play a crucial role in shaping ecosystems and determining the carrying capacity for different species. Researchers study how limiting factors interact with each other and with other ecological processes to better understand and predict the dynamics of populations and communities in different habitats.