ECOLOGICAL STABILITY, RESISTANCE & RESILIENCE, HOMEOSTASIS, r & k SELECTION

BY JAFFER YOUSUF

Measure of how easily an ecosystem is affected by a disturbance and how quickly it retains its original condition after the disturbance Why is this important? - maintains community structure - predict effects of disturbances - provides solutions to common problems

Ecosystem Stability

 Stability ~ tendency of a system to remain near an 'equilibrium' condition or to return to it after a disturbance

Imply ideas of -constancy -persistence -inertia, elasticity & amplitude

Practical Stability
Harte & Levy (1975) Disturbed ecosystems do not return to precisely their previous states Increasing the number of trophic levels has no effect on stability Damage to the decomposers or to the organic or inorganic nutrient pools ~ instability

Two types - Cyclical Stability - Trajectory Stability

Ecosystems have a stable no. of spp over time, although spp turn over will change specific spp Balanced ecosystem will return quicker and with fewer evolutionary changes in its organisms

 After a major disruption, ecosystems have to change drastically to adjust to the new conditions Sometimes disruption can destroy an entire ecosystem ~ new ecosystem e.g. Ecological Succession Climax communities ~ diverse,different spp, and can survive severe disturbances

CHARECTERS OF A STABLE ECOSYSTEM

Complex food webs Generalist species Complex species interactions High primary productivity Low to moderate climate variation High species diversity

 Lower Biodiversity = Less Stable

 Higher Biodiversity = High Stable

EFFECTS ON COMMUNITY STABILTY Averaging Effect

Negative Covariance Effect

Insurance Effect Resistance to Invasion

DISTURBANCE AND STABILTY

Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis, states that

the highest levels of diversity are supported at intermediate levels of disturbance (frequency or intensity)

Elements Of Ecosystem Stability

RESISTANCE

RESILIENCE

Resistance - the ability of the ecosystem to continue to function without change when stressed by disturbance
Resilience - the ability of the ecosystem to recover after disturbance (Odum, 1989; Seybold et al, 1999)

PERTURBATIONS IN AN ECOSYSTEM Physical Temperature, humidity, light, rainfall etc Chemical

pH, O2 tensions, nutrients and salts Biological prey, predators, parasites

 A high resistant ecosystem is one which is displaced slightly after imbalances A high resilient ecosystem is one that is able to recover fast after imbalances (Harrison, 1979; Harrison and Fekete, 1980)

Factors that Influence Resistance & Resilience

Ecological memory or condition Soil stability and erosion Microbial subsystem Presence, type & abundance of invasive species Severity and frequency of disturbance Inappropriate livestock grazing, conditions conducive to high severity fires

HOMEOSTATSIS
Greek words; Homeo means unchanging and Stasis means standing It refers to tendency of biological systems to resist change and to maintain in a state of equilibrium In homeostatic condition all aspects of ecosystem function are in balance Balance between production, consumption, decomposition and all living spp within ecosystem

HOMEOSTASIS CONTROLLED BY

POSITIVE FEEDBACK NEAGTIVE FEEDBACK

LARGE NO. OF PHYTOPLANKTONS

INCREASED POPULATION OF ZOOPLANKTON ( EXCESS OF FOOD AVAILABLE) REDUCTION IN PHYTOPLANKTON POPULATION OF ZOOPLANKTON DECREASES POPULATION OF PHYTOPANKTON STARTS INCRESING DUE TO LESS CONSUMPTION

Lovelock entire mass of living matter on Earth (or any planet with life) functions as a vast homeostatic superorganism that actively modifies its planetary environment to produce the environmental conditions necessary for its own survival

Gaia hypothesis ~ James

What will happen if an ecosystem loses its homeostasis?

It loses it's balance and spirals out of control until it collapses

r and k selection

Population growth
Populations grows, shrinks, or remain stable, depending on rates of birth, death, immigration, and emigration
Growth rate, r

crude birth rate + immigration rate

crude death rate+ emigration rate

Population growth curves show change in population size over time.

Exponential growth can not continue forever

The exponential growth of many real populations begins to level off as the density approaches the carrying capacity(K) of the environment
Carrying capacity of a population is the maximum density of a population that the environment can support over a sustained period without damage to the environment

SURVIVORSHIP CURVE

 In some environments, organisms exist near their asymptotic density (K) for much of the year
These organisms are subject to K-selection

In other habitats, the same organisms may rarely approach the asymptotic density but instead remain on the rising portion of the curve for most of the year
These organisms are subjected to r-selection

r selected species

Unstable environment High fecundity Small body size Early maturity Short generation time Dispersed offspring

 Found in disturbed, variable or unpredictable environment Productivity high

grow rapidly
Good colonizers

Life span short; mortality high

Mode of life- wide range of feed

 Species that are r-selected ~ less interspecific competition Hence, evolve no mechanisms for strong competitive ability

Algae, bacteria, rodents, annual plants, sardine, squid, krill and most insects
They reproduce and disperse rapidly when conditions are favorable or when a disturbance opens up a new habitat or niche for invasion, as in the early stages of ecological succession

K selected species

Stable environment Large body size Long life expectency High parental care Fewer off spring

 Species highly demanding , well adapted Productivity since adapted- low

Prolificity low long period of sexual maturity, broods limited Mode of life- feed on small part of food chain Population density- no of descendents depend on environmental potential

Species that are K-selected exist under both intra- and interspecific competition Organisms are pushed to use their resources more efficiently late reproduction long generation time few offspring e.g.Primates Sharks Turtle Whale

CONTINIUM

LOGISTIC LAW
dN/ dt = rN (K N) K If N is far below K, the growth realization factor will be close to 1, and the population will show exponential growth. But as N begins to approach K, the growth realization factor approaches zero, and the rate of population growth drops to zero

 r and K are ends of a continuum, while most organisms are in between

r selection: Unpredictable environments. K selection: Predictable environments

r vs k

THANK YOU