• The vast majority of natural ecosystems experience regular
environmental change, or disturbances.
• Most ecologists describe ecosystem stability as the ability
of an ecosystem to maintain its structure and function over
long periods of time and despite disturbances.
• Ecosystem structure includes physical and geological
structures of the landscape, the number and diversity of
species present, the population sizes of those species, and
the ways in which these populations interact.
• Ecosystem function refers to processes such as water and
nutrient cycling and biomass productivity that the
ecosystem provides.
Resistance and Resilience
• There are two main components to ecosystem
stability: resistance and resilience.
• An ecosystem displays resistance if keeps its
structure and continues normal functions even
when environmental conditions change.
• An ecosystem displays resilience if, following a
disturbance, it eventually regains its normal
structure and function.
• Ecosystems that show a high degree of stability may
have different combinations of resistance and resilience.
• Research has shown that species diversity is often the key
to both ecosystem resistance and resilience.
• An ecosystem rich in biodiversity will likely be more
stable than one whose biodiversity is low.
1. Infer If an ecosystem has low biodiversity, is it more or less stable than an
ecosystem of high biodiversity?
• Communities respond to environmental change in ways that
reflect the responses of the species and populations in the
community.
• Species respond to environmental change in ways that
enable them to maintain homeostasis.
• Populations respond in ways that reflect the success or
failure of members of the population to survive and
reproduce.
• Changing environmental conditions can cause
the decline of local biodiversity. If this happens,
an ecosystem’s resistance and/or resilience may
decline. The end result is that the ecosystem
loses stability.
• Ecosystems that are less stable may not be able to
respond to a normal environmental disturbance, which
may damage ecosystem structure, ecosystem
function, or both.
• Fires, heavy storms, and natural climate
change can cause major changes in local
populations of plants and animals.
• A decline in natural biodiversity can make an
ecosystem less stable.
2. Apply Concepts What is one example of a local natural environmental
change? How did it impact ecosystem stability?
• Humans affect ecosystem stability in many ways,
including habitat loss, introduction of nonnative
species, release of pollution into food webs, and
contribution to climate change.
• Ecosystems are frequently destroyed for agricultural
activity and urban development. Clearing patches of
habitat can split ecosystems into pieces, a process
called habitat fragmentation.
(contd.)
• Remaining pieces of habitat become habitat
“islands” surrounded by a different habitat. The
smaller a habitat island is, the fewer species can live
there, and the smaller their populations can be.
• A keystone species is one that has a strong and/or wide-
reaching impact on a community’s stability. If a keystone
species declines in number, the ecosystem becomes
much less stable.
3. Predict Sea otters, a keystone species, eat sea urchins, which in turn eat kelp. In the
1990s, sea otter populations off the coast of Alaska declined because orcas ate large
numbers of otters. What effect did this have on the sea otters’ ecosystem?
• Humans sometimes introduce organisms into a new habitat,
where it can become invasive and threaten biodiversity and
ecosystem structure.
• An invasive species is a nonnative species that spreads
widely in a community. Nonnative species become invasive if
their new surroundings lack natural population checks such
as predators or competitors.
• Invasive species usually cause local native biodiversity to
decline and therefore affect ecosystem stability.
4. Contrast What is the difference between nonnative species and invasive
species?
• Many pollutants, including pesticides and acid rain, impact
plant and animal populations. These changes, in turn, threaten
biodiversity.
• Organisms are adapted to their environments and have specific
tolerance ranges to conditions such as temperature. If
conditions change beyond an organism’s tolerance, the
organism must move to another location or face extinction.
• Increases in Earth’s average temperatures could affect
ecosystem structures and functions.
• Scientists are not yet sure how predicted changes in global climate within
the next several decades will affect ecosystem stability worldwide.
Group activity: Research and report. Use the guide
questions below as you and your group do your
report.
1. What environmental changes can you name?
2. How might one of these environmental changes affect a
species?
3. How might the same environmental change affect a
different species?
4. Which environmental changes are most likely to lead to the
extinction of a population of a species? Which are least
likely?
