Ecosystem Resilience
An ecosystem is a local environment with its complex community of organisms functioning together as a unit. An ecosystem can be damaged by natural disasters or by human activity. If the ecosystem has a limited variety of species, then destroying even one species of plant or animal can change the ecosystem forever. A resilient ecosystem, however, is able to restore itself to its original, pre-disturbance condition. Resilience in an ecosystem is possible when the ecosystem is populated by a large variety of species: if one species is eliminated by a disturbance, other species are able to take the place of that species, which allows the ecosystem to avoid long-term change.
Ecosystem resilience refers to the ability of an ecosystem to bounce back and restore itself to its original state after being disturbed, either by natural disasters or human activities. A resilient ecosystem is characterized by a diverse range of species that interact and function together as a unit. This diversity of species allows for redundancy and flexibility so that if one species is lost or eliminated, other species can step in and fulfill similar roles or functions.
The example of the coral reef illustrates ecosystem resilience. In this case, when pollution caused a species of fish to die out, which disrupted the balance of the coral reef ecosystem, other species of fish were able to compensate by eating the algae that the extinct fish used to eat. This prevented the algae from overgrowing and damaging the coral reef. The presence of a diverse range of fish species in the coral reef allowed for the ecosystem to recover and return to its original state.
- Resilience (noun): The ability to bounce back and recover quickly from a setback or disturbance.
2. Ecosystem (noun): A complex community of organisms that interact and function together as a unit in a specific environment.
3. Characterized (adjective): Described or defined by distinctive features or qualities.
4. Diverse (adjective): Having a wide variety or range; showing a great deal of variation.
5. Redundancy (noun): The state of having extra or duplicate parts, elements, or species that provide a backup or alternative in case of loss or elimination.
6. Flexibility (noun): The quality of being adaptable or able to change and adjust easily.
7. Eliminated (verb): Removed or eradicated completely; caused to disappear.
8. Compensation (noun): The act of making up for a loss or imbalance; providing an alternative or substitute.
9. Disrupted (verb): Interrupted or disturbed the normal functioning or balance of.
10. Overgrowing (verb): Growing excessively or beyond normal limits.
11. Damaging (adjective): Causing harm or injury; destructive.
12. Recover (verb): Return to a normal or original state after a setback or disturbance.
13. Presence (noun): Existence or occurrence in a particular place or environment.
14. Illustrates (verb): Provides an example or demonstrates a concept.
15. Vulnerable (adjective): Susceptible to harm, damage, or change; lacking protection or defense.
Transcript
Now listen to part of a lecture on this topic in an ecology class.
Okay, this happened a few years back. There was this healthy coral reef in the Pacific Ocean. You know how gorgeous coral reefs are with all the red, pink and orange. And it had a huge variety of species, um, of fish and plants, that it protected and provided with food. Then the sea water got polluted because the ships built a large amount of diesel fuel. The pollution caused a species of fish to die out. And this fish that died out used to eat a particular type of ocean plant called algae.
Now, of course, if there aren’t any fish to eat algae, the algae will grow out of control and there will be too much algae which is very bad for coral. But that did not happen to this coral reef. Know why it didn’t happen?
Because there were still many other species left that ate that same algae. So even though the algae increased at first, so did the population of the other fish species who ate the algae, because there was more algae for them to eat. The other species took over for the fish that died out and eventually the coral reef looked about the same as before.
Now think about what would’ve happened to this coral reef if there had not been a wide variety of different fish species.If that one species of fish that ate algae had died off, well, you could imagine soon the whole coral reef would’ve been covered in algae.
