Hysteresis - Alternative Stable States

What is another name for threshold of change?

• Alternative Stable State

• Tipping Point

• Basin of Attraction

• Hysteresis

What element of an ecosystem describes the amount of disturbance a system can absorb before it shifts into an alternative stable state?

• Scale

• Hysteresis

• Resilience

• Eutrophication

Alternative stable states exist in systems other than ecosystems

• True

• False

The capacity of an ecosystem to recover from a disturbance or withstand ongoing pressures

• Ecosystem resilience

• Hysteresis

• Ecosystem phase change

• Ecosystem transformation

When the return pathway to ecosystem recovery differs from the original pathway of degradation

• Ecosystem resilience

• Hysteresis

• Ecosystem phase change

• Ecosystem transformation

If an ecosystem has high resilience, it will

• usually recover quickly from a small disturbance to the same stable state

• tip over the threshold into an alternative stable state

• also have high hysteresis

• readily undergo a phase shift when disturbed

Disturbances which can push a coral dominated reef ecosystem into an algae dominated ecosystem include:

• excessive grazing by herbivores

• lack of nutrients in the water

• increased fishing pressure

• increase in ocean pH

Management strategies to protect coral dominated ecosystems include

• establishing a negative feedback loop

• reducing nutrient run off into the water

• increased fishing pressure

• increase in ocean pollution