• 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.

(contd.)
• 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.
1.1.Infer
Infer IfIfan
anecosystem
ecosystemhas
haslow
lowbiodiversity,
biodiversity,isisititmore
moreororless
lessstable
stablethan
thanan
an
ecosystem
ecosystemofofhigh
highbiodiversity?
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.

(contd.)
• 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.

2.2.Apply
ApplyConcepts
Concepts What
Whatisisone
oneexample
exampleofofaalocal
localnatural
naturalenvironmental
environmental
change? How did it impact ecosystem stability?
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.

3.3.Predict
Predict Sea
Seaotters,
otters,aakeystone
keystonespecies,
species,eat
eatsea
seaurchins,
urchins,which
whichininturn
turneat
eat
kelp. In the 1990s, sea otter populations off the coast of Alaska declined
kelp. In the 1990s, sea otter populations off the coast of Alaska declined
because
becauseorcas
orcasate
atelarge
largenumbers
numbersofofotters.
otters.What
Whateffect
effectdid
didthis
thishave
haveononthe
thesea
sea
otters’ ecosystem?
otters’ ecosystem?

(contd.)
• 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.
4.4.Contrast
ContrastWhat
Whatisisthe
thedifference
differencebetween
betweennonnative
nonnativespecies
speciesand
andinvasive
invasive
species?
species?

(contd.)
• 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.