Earth:Balance of nature

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The balance of nature (also known as ecological balance) is a theory that proposes that ecological systems are usually in a stable equilibrium or homeostasis, which is to say that a small change (the size of a particular population, for example) will be corrected by some negative feedback that will bring the parameter back to its original "point of balance" with the rest of the system. The balance is sometimes depicted as easily disturbed and delicate, while other times it is inversely portrayed as powerful enough to correct any imbalances by itself.[1] The theory may apply where populations depend on each other, for example in predator-prey systems, or relationships between herbivores and their food source.[2] It is also sometimes applied to the relationship between the Earth's ecosystem, the composition of the atmosphere, and the world's weather.[3]

The Gaia hypothesis is a controversial hypothesis which suggests that living beings interact with Earth to form a complex system which self-regulates to maintain the balance of nature.[4][5]

The theory that nature is permanently in balance has been largely discredited by scientists working in ecology, as it has been found that chaotic changes in population levels are common. During the later half of the twentieth century the theory was superseded by catastrophe theory and chaos theory.[6] Nevertheless, the idea maintains popularity amongst the general public.[7][8]

History of the theory

Herodotus commented on the wonderful relationship between predator and prey species

The concept that nature maintains its condition is of ancient provenance; Herodotus commented on the wonderful relationship between predator and prey species, which remained in a steady proportion to one another, with predators never excessively consuming their prey populations.[9] The "balance of nature" concept once ruled ecological research, as well as once governing the management of natural resources. This led to a doctrine popular among some conservationists that nature was best left to its own devices, and that human intervention into it was by definition unacceptable.[10] The validity of a "balance of nature" was already questioned in the early 1900s, but the general abandonment of the theory by scientists working in ecology only happened in the last quarter of that century when studies showed that it did not match what could be observed among plant and animal populations.[8][11]

Predator-prey interactions

Predator-prey populations tend to show chaotic behavior within limits, where the sizes of populations change in a way that may appear random, but is in fact obeying deterministic laws based only on the relationship between a population and its food source illustrated by the Lotka–Volterra equation. An experimental example of this was shown in an eight-year study on small Baltic Sea creatures such as plankton, which were isolated from the rest of the ocean. Each member of the food web was shown to take turns multiplying and declining, even though the scientists kept the outside conditions constant. An article in the journal Nature stated: "Advanced mathematical techniques proved the indisputable presence of chaos in this food web ... short-term prediction is possible, but long-term prediction is not."[12]

Human intervention

Although some conservationist organizations argue that human activity is incompatible with a balanced ecosystem, there are numerous examples in history showing that several modern day habitats originate from human activity: some of Latin America's rain forests owe their existence to humans planting and transplanting them, while the abundance of grazing animals in the Serengeti plain of Africa is thought by some ecologists to be partly due to human-set fires that created savanna habitats.[10]

One of the best-known and often misunderstood examples of ecosystem balance being enhanced by human activity is the Australian Aboriginal practice of "fire-stick farming". This uses low-intensity fire when there is sufficient humidity to limit its action, to reduce the quantity of ground-level combustible material, to lessen the intensity and devastation of forest fires caused by lightning at the end of the dry season. Several plant species are adapted to fire, some even requiring its extreme heat to germinate their seeds.[13]

Continued popularity of the theory

Despite being discredited among ecologists, the theory is widely held to be true by the general public, conservationists and environmentalists,[5] with one author calling it an "enduring myth".[8] Environmental and conservation organizations such as the WWF, Sierra Club and Canadian Wildlife Federation continue to promote the theory,[14][15][16] as do animal rights organizations such as PETA.[17]

At least in Midwestern America, the "balance of nature" idea was shown to be widely held by both science majors and the general student population.[7] In a study at the University of Patras, educational sciences students were asked to reason about the future of ecosystems which suffered human-driven disturbances. Subjects agreed that it was very likely for the ecosystems to fully recover their initial state, referring to either a 'recovery process' which restores the initial 'balance', or specific 'recovery mechanisms' as an ecosystem's inherent characteristic.[18] In a 2017 study, Ampatzidis and Ergazaki discuss the learning objectives and design criteria that a learning environment for non-biology major students should meet to support them challenge the "balance of nature" idea.[19]

In popular culture

The balance of nature (referred to as "the circle of life") is a major theme of the 1994 film, The Lion King. In one scene, the character Mufasa describes to his son Simba how everything exists in a state of delicate balance.[1][9]

The character Agent Smith, in the 1999 film The Matrix, describes humanity as a virus, claiming that humans fail to reach an equilibrium with their surrounding environment; unlike other mammals.[20]

The titular character of the 2014 film Godzilla fights other sea monsters known as "MUTOs" in a bid to restore the balance of nature.[21]

In the 2018 film, Avengers: Infinity War, the villain Thanos' home planet Titan has been destroyed by the overexploitation of resources, leading him to seek the restoration of balance to the universe by eliminating half of all living beings.[22]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Root, Tik (2019-07-26). "The 'balance of nature' is an enduring concept. But it's wrong." (in en). https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/balance-of-nature-explained/. 
  2. ↑ Van Valen, Leigh (1973). "Pattern and the Balance of Nature". Evolutionary Theory 1: 31–44. https://www.mn.uio.no/cees/english/services/van-valen/evolutionary-theory/volume-1/vol-1-no-1-pages-31-49-l-van-valen-pattern-and-the-balance-of-nature.pdf. 
  3. ↑ Kureethadam, Joshtrom (2014). "Impacts of Climate Change" (in en). Creation in Crisis: Science, Ethics, Theology. New York: Orbis Books. ISBN 978-1-60833-520-6. https://books.google.co.uk/books?vid=9781608335206. 
  4. ↑ Briske, David D.; Illius, Andrew W.; Anderies, J. Marty (2017), Briske, David D., ed., "Nonequilibrium Ecology and Resilience Theory" (in en), Rangeland Systems: Processes, Management and Challenges, Springer Series on Environmental Management (Springer International Publishing): pp. 197–227, doi:10.1007/978-3-319-46709-2_6, ISBN 978-3-319-46709-2 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Simberloff, Daniel (2014-10-07). "The "Balance of Nature"—Evolution of a Panchreston" (in en). PLOS Biology 12 (10): e1001963. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001963. ISSN 1545-7885. PMID 25290954. 
  6. ↑ Wu, Jianguo; Loucks, Orie L. (1995). "From Balance of Nature to Hierarchical Patch Dynamics: A Paradigm Shift in Ecology". The Quarterly Review of Biology 70 (4): 439–466. doi:10.1086/419172. ISSN 0033-5770. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Zimmerman, Corinne (October 2007). "Ambiguous, circular and polysemous: students' definitions of the "balance of nature" metaphor". Public Understanding of Science 16 (4): 393–406. doi:10.1177/0963662505063022. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Kricher, John (2009). The Balance of Nature: Ecology's Enduring Myth. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691138985. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Jacobs, Tom (2018-08-25). "Belief in 'Balance of Nature' Hard to Shake" (in en). https://psmag.com/environment/belief-in-balance-of-nature-hard-to-shake-4785. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Stevens, William K. (31 July 1990). "New Eye on Nature: The Real Constant Is Eternal Turmoil". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/1990/07/31/science/new-eye-on-nature-the-real-constant-is-eternal-turmoil.html. Retrieved 19 June 2011. 
  11. ↑ Heneghan, Liam (9 October 2012). "Out of Kilter: Old ideas of balance and harmony need to be put aside if we are to save a natural world in constant flux". https://aeon.co/essays/nature-is-out-of-balance-but-it-s-still-worth-saving. Retrieved 16 January 2018. 
  12. ↑ The Ottawa Citizen (13 February 2008). "Study of ocean life shows a "chaotic" balance of nature". CanWest MediaWorks Publications Inc.. Archived from the original on 24 June 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100624123222/http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=96ce2ce4-0435-4905-b9d9-6be65efe773a&k=40047. Retrieved 20 June 2011. 
  13. ↑ Bliege Bird, R.; Bird, D. W.; Codding, B. F.; Parker, C. H.; Jones, J. H. (2008-09-30). "The "fire stick farming" hypothesis: Australian Aboriginal foraging strategies, biodiversity, and anthropogenic fire mosaics". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 105 (39): 14796–14801. doi:10.1073/pnas.0804757105. ISSN 0027-8424. PMID 18809925. Bibcode: 2008PNAS..10514796B. 
  14. ↑ "Ecological Balance". https://wwf.panda.org/knowledge_hub/teacher_resources/webfieldtrips/ecological_balance/. 
  15. ↑ McVey, Vicki (1993) (in en). The Sierra Club Kid's Guide to Planet Care & Repair. Sierra Club Books for Children. ISBN 978-0871565679. https://archive.org/details/sierraclubkidsgu00mcve. 
  16. ↑ "Restore Balance to Your Backyard Habitat". https://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/DIY/habitat-projects/map-your-backyard/restore-balance-to-your-backyard-habitat.html. 
  17. ↑ "Hunting" (in en-US). 2010-06-24. https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-in-entertainment/cruel-sports/hunting/. "If left unaltered by humans, the delicate balance of nature’s ecosystems ensures the survival of most species. Natural predators help maintain this balance by killing only the sickest and weakest individuals." 
  18. ↑ Ergazaki, Marida; Ampatzidis, Georgios (2012-06-01). "Students' Reasoning about the Future of Disturbed or Protected Ecosystems & the Idea of the 'Balance of Nature'" (in en). Research in Science Education 42 (3): 511–530. doi:10.1007/s11165-011-9208-7. ISSN 0157-244X. Bibcode: 2012RScEd..42..511E. 
  19. ↑ Ampatzidis, Georgios; Ergazaki, Marida (2017-10-01). "Toward an "Anti-Balance of Nature" Learning Environment for Non-Biology Major Students: Learning Objectives and Design Criteria" (in en). Natural Sciences Education 46 (1): 170016. doi:10.4195/nse2017.07.0016. ISSN 1059-9053. 
  20. ↑ Lavery, David (2001-01-01). "FROM CINESPACE TO CYBER SPACE: Zionists and Agents, Realista and Gamers in The Matrix and eXistenz". Journal of Popular Film and Television 28 (4): 150–157. doi:10.1080/01956050109602836. ISSN 0195-6051. 
  21. ↑ Murray, Robin L.; Heumann, Joseph K. (2016) (in English). Monstrous Nature: Environment and Horror on the Big Screen. Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press. pp. xii. ISBN 978-0803294929. https://muse.jhu.edu/book/47643. 
  22. ↑ Sharma, Ankita (2019-11-30). "The Apocalypse: Justifying The Modern Villain?". International Journal of Linguistics and Literature 8 (6): 9–14. http://iaset.us/download/archives/22-10-2019-1571740349-8-%20%20IJLL-2.%20IJLL%20-%20The%20Apocalypse%20Justifying%20the%20Modern%20Villain.pdf. 



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