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Over all long term average, even frequently disturbed ecosystems van show
some degree of stability
Ecosystem stability may be related to how complex the food web is.Theory:
-Connections may overall impact an ecosystem if a single species or only one
part of the system disappears or is disrupted
-Such changes counteracted by changes elsewhere in the system
Ex. Adaptions to cold weather
-System returns to equilibrium
General rule
Species and whole ecosystems may evolve and die out, but new species and
ecosystems will replace them
Changes in an ecosystem are like falling dominoes- changes in one part of a system
triggers one part of the system that then affects another part which in turn affects
another
Chaos theory- suggests that ecosystems may be sensitive to very small changes,
and that the initial state of an ecosystem is crucial to its later development
-scientists still do not fully understand how ecosystems work and further
study is being done in the field
- presently species are becoming extinct at the fastest rate since the period
of dinosaurs
Why?