Ecological imbalance: What is, causes, consequences and examples

Before being able to understand ecological imbalance, we must know What are biodiversity and ecological balance.

What is biodiversity or biological diversity

Biodiversity is defined as the diversity of species that live in a given space. There are several aspects that affect biodiversity, but we can nam of species).

Species do not live alone in their environment, but establish many and very diverse relationships with both species (biotic factors) and with the natural environment (abiotic factors). They can be trophic relationships, symbiosis or dinerism, competitive, space occupation, etc. In any case, the skewers are constituted as a profuse network of relationships between all these elements. These relationships, in addition, always tend to be cyclic: thus, we find the water cycle, the nitrogen cycle, etc. Many times dual relationships are studied, such as predatory-prison relationships. But let’s not forget that these are always framed in a broader cycle.

What is ecological balance

Well, this is where we find the ecological balance, which we can define as the balance resulting from the regulation of the different cycles and networks in the ecosystem. Each of the elements of the ecosystem is influenced by several factors, which are more or less lax. In our predatory-prison relationships, predators regulate the population of dams, and these in turn regulate both the population of predators and the amount of plant biomass.

So that it occurs The ecological imbalance Two important factors must be given: on the one hand a disturbance external to the environmenteither of natural origin (for example a burial) or anthropic (pollution, exploitation of resources, etc). On the other hand, that disturbance must Overcome ecosystem regulation capacitywhich will depend directly on the resilience or adaptation capacity that the affected elements have towards the external agent.

Looking at the example of predatory-prison relationships, human beings can introduce a new factor in the equation: hunting. If we hunt, two possible scenarios can be raised: the first one is that the population of predators of our hypothetical ecosystem can regenerate on its own. This is perfectly possible, since species always reproduce above the levels that an ecosystem can maintain. Thus, simply the “holes” we leave will be filled by new individuals. The balance is maintained.

In a second scenario, we would be hunting above what the population of predators is able to assume: for many new individuals that are generated, the population decreases. By decreasing the population of predators, the amount of dams would exponentially increase, which in turn would cause significant damage to the plant cover. The vegetation cover is, in many cases, responsible for soil clamping. Without vegetation, erosion is given, with the corresponding impoverishment of the soil, which will no longer be able to support life as it was until then. A clear ecological imbalance and a serious environmental problem have been generated.

Although the causes are potentially as multiple as factors have to affect the ecosystem, we will explore some significant examples of Causes of ecological imbalance:

• Overexploitation of resources: Hunting, water extraction, mineral extraction, soil overexploitation … In this case we are “stealing” important elements that regulate the cycles. Here you can learn more about the overexploitation of natural resources: causes and consequences.
• Organic matter pollution: A paradigmatic example is eutrophication, in which too much organic matter is provided, for example detergents, to a water raft. As a consequence, bacteria grow exponentially, making a huge consumption of oxygen present in water. Other species, such as fish, amphibians or nematodes, die from this radical oxygen decrease. Finally, bacteria also die, leaving a deeply contaminated water raft.
• Inorganic pollutants: For example, it is the case of spills to the waters. When a critical level is exceeded, the different “purification” strategies of the organisms fail, and biodiversity is affected.
• Territory Management: This point, often forgotten, is of vital importance. To have healthy populations, it is necessary that not only the absence of external agents, but also some populations and ecosystems well connected to each other.

As we have seen, the imbalance problem is that it can affect all components of the ecosystem; Therefore, the consequences of ecological imbalance They depend on factors and gravity. They should always be studied from a holistic point of view.

We remind you some of the consequences already explained: erosion, desertification, eutrophication, deregulation of populations …

These are some singles Examples of ecological imbalance.

• Population deregulation.
• Serious contamination.
• Fragmentation of the territory.
• Natural disasters.

In this other post of ecology, you can know several examples of natural disasters.

He Ecological imbalance must be avoided by appropriate policies and plans for the preservation of the environmentsince by influencing so many factors it is difficult for us to act well individually.

You can expand this information in this other article about what environmental management is. In addition, we recommend knowing some ideas to contribute your grain of sand with this other post on how to take care of the environment.

If you want to read more articles similar to Ecological imbalance: What is, causes, consequences and exampleswe recommend that you enter our category of other ecology.