Exam 2: The Natural Environment and the Human Economy: an Ecological Perspective

If an ecosystem is characterized by wide-ranging interrelationships among a large number of species, then

Human welfare depends directly on the sustainability of diverse ecosystems, which are responsible for the flow of ecosystem services.

The first law of thermodynamics concerns the conservation of energy and implies that although energy can be transformed from one form into another, energy loss is always greater than energy gained.

Thermodynamics asserts that all real processes are irreversible, and as such complete energy recycling is impossible.

With observation, one can predict an ecosystem's tipping point, which is the minimum critical threshold before the loss of ecosystem functions.