10.2. BALANCED AND IMBLANCED ECOSYSTEMS

All parts of an ecosystem must work together to reach a balance that allows each of the members of the system to thrive. In a BALANCED ECOSYSTEM, for instance, predators keep the population of rabbits from growing too large because when there are too many rabbits they eat too many plants. If rabbits ate too many plants, the plants would not be able to grow back fast enough and other animals that need the plants would not have enough to eat. ECOSYSTEMS can become IMBALANCED when something disrupts their normal workings. Many factors can lead to this situation:

• Natural disruptions: wildfires, flooding or volcanic eruptions.
• Human disruptions:
  • Invasive species: (zebra mussel, tiger mosquito, red palm weevil...)
  • Extensive crops (reduction of biodiversity)
  • Forest fires (long recovery time)
  • Pollution:
    • Oil spills damage marine and coastal ecosystems.
    • Trophic networks are specially affected by rubbish (mostly plastic and its chemical additives; bioaccumulation).
    • Air pollutants affect the health of the living things.

YouTube: WillDiv “Por qué BOO casi destruye Monstruos S.A | Biología de Disney”