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The Aral Sea is an example of a collapsed ecosystem. [1] (image source: NASA) An ecosystem, short for ecological system, is defined as a collection of interacting organisms within a biophysical environment. [2]: 458 Ecosystems are never static, and are continually subject to both stabilizing and destabilizing processes. [3]
Logging, dredging, conversion of land to ranching or agriculture, mowing, and mining are examples of anthropogenic disturbance.Human activities have introduced disturbances into ecosystems worldwide on a large scale, resulting in widespread range expansion and rapid evolution of disturbance-adapted species. [7]
They provide ecosystem services such as coastal protection and food. But 70–90% of today's warm-water coral reefs will disappear even if warming is kept to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F). [33]: 179 For example, Caribbean coral reefs – which are biodiversity hotspots – will be lost within the century if global warming continues at the current rate. [34]
The European settlement period serves as a poignant example of how human activities can drastically impact natural ecosystems. In more recent times, overexploitation has resulted in the gradual emergence of the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development , which has built on other concepts, such as sustainable yield , [ 11 ] eco ...
An ideal examples of r-selected groups are algae. Based on the contradictory characteristics of both of these examples, areas of occasional disturbance allow both r and K species to benefit by residing in the same area. The ecological effect on species relationships is therefore supported by the intermediate disturbance hypothesis.
Examples of animal overpopulation caused by introduction of a foreign species abound. In the Argentine Patagonia , for example, European species such as the trout and the deer were introduced into the local streams and forests, respectively, and quickly became a plague, competing with and sometimes driving away the local species of fish and ...
This work is especially important on the limited ecosystems of islands, where there are less likely to be replacement species for specific niches. With species diversity and available habitat decreasing rapidly worldwide, identifying the systems that are most crucial to the ecosystem will be the crux of conservation work.
It can be measured by the ecological footprint, a resource accounting approach which compares human demand on ecosystems with the amount of planet matter ecosystems can renew. Estimates by the Global Footprint Network indicate that humanity's current demand is 70% [ 27 ] higher than the regeneration rate of all of the planet's ecosystems combined.