balance of nature
Ecosystem's steady state
Balance of nature is the idea that ecosystems maintain stability through interdependent relationships among species—predators control prey populations, plants support herbivores, decomposers recycle nutrients.
The phrase often appears in arguments for conservation: Removing wolves disrupted the balance of nature in Yellowstone.
Ecologists now view it as oversimplified, since natural systems are dynamic rather than static.
- ecosystemInterconnected organisms and surroundings
- harmonyAgreement or musical blend
- equilibriumState of balance
- predatorOrganism that consumes others
- apex predatorUnpreyed-upon dominant hunter
prey · food chain · food web · web of life · biodiversity · keystone species · symbiosis · cycle · web · homeostasis · carrying capacity · ecological niche · wilderness · interdependence · habitat · ecology · species · delicate
balance of natureenvironmental degradation
Decline of natural surroundings
mass extinction · ecosystem collapse · ecological disruption · habitat destruction · ecocide
balance of naturehabitat destruction
Eliminating natural living spaces
ecological footprint · geoengineering · industrialization · deforestation · pollution
balance, nature, balances, balanced, balancing, balancer, imbalance, unbalanced, counterbalance