Ecosystem control, Biology

Assignment Help:

Ecosystem Control

Another important aspect of ecosystem functioning that is how it maintains its ecological balance. By now, it must be obvious to you that an ecosystem is a dynamic system, wherein a lot of events take place. For example, animals eat and in turn are eaten, moisture and nutrients flow in and out of the system, and weathers change. In spite of all these happenings the ecosystems persist and recover from the slight disturbances. This capacity of an ecosystem to self-regulate or self-maintain is called homeostasis. Isn't this ability of ecosystems to recover from certain perturbations remarkable? Let us take a simple example to see that how is this balance maintained in spite of the fight disturbances in the ecosystem.

Consider a grassland, when there is a drought, do not grow well. The mice that eat the grass become malnourished. When this happens, their birth rate decreases. And also the hungry mice retreat to their burrows and sleep. By doing so, they need less food and are less exposed to predators, so their death rates decrease. Their behaviour protects their own population balance as well as that of the grasses which are not being consumed while the mice hibernate. Such a mechanism is known as feedback regulation and is very important to maintain the ecological balance. It is the prime regulatory mechanism for the ecosystem as a whole. You may know that there are several kinds of organisms comprising an ecosystem. So all the organisms in an ecosystem are part of several different feedback loops. A feedback loop may be defined as relationship in which a change in some original rate, alters the rate of direction of further change. In the above example, we had deliberately taken a very small group of living beings that has primarily the mice and the plants.


Related Discussions:- Ecosystem control

Explain isomer, Isomer : Existence of different  compounds having  same ...

Isomer : Existence of different  compounds having  same  molecular form but different structural forms.

Muscle, In a word, what process provides the energy for muscle contraction

In a word, what process provides the energy for muscle contraction

What are the benefits of soil testing, What are the benefits of Soil testin...

What are the benefits of Soil testing Soil testing is done to assess the nutrient supplying capacity of the soil. The data obtained as a result of  testing is useful for recom

Poly-functional enzymes, Bi-and Poly-Functional Enzymes These enzymes a...

Bi-and Poly-Functional Enzymes These enzymes are generated by genes obtained by fusion of the coding regions of two or more genes encoding various enzymes. In simple words, the

Physical layout - neonatal care unit, PHYSICAL LAYOUT In this section ...

PHYSICAL LAYOUT In this section we shall focus on location floor plan, ventilation, lighting environmental temperature and humidity, acoustic characteristic, communication sy

Water of estuaries, Water of Estuaries The water of estuaries is turbi...

Water of Estuaries The water of estuaries is turbid because of the great number of particulates in suspension in the water. The turbidity is minimum near the mouth and increas

Ovary is half-inferior in which flower, Ovary is half-inferior in the flowe...

Ovary is half-inferior in the flowers of : 1. Guava 2. Plum 3. Brinjal 4. Cucumber Plum is the flower in which ovary is half - inferior

Effects on aquatic organisms - water pollution, Effects on Aquatic Organism...

Effects on Aquatic Organisms - Water Pollution Toxic water pollutants such as metals, pesticides, insecticides and chemicals affect aquatic species directly whereas the non-t

Vital dye staining, Vital Dye Staining In this type of method, a piec...

Vital Dye Staining In this type of method, a piece of agar or cellophane soaked in the solution of a vital dye (Neutral Red, Nile Blue Sulphate, and Bismarck Brown etc.) is a

Write Your Message!

Captcha
Free Assignment Quote

Assured A++ Grade

Get guaranteed satisfaction & time on delivery in every assignment order you paid with us! We ensure premium quality solution document along with free turntin report!

All rights reserved! Copyrights ©2019-2020 ExpertsMind IT Educational Pvt Ltd