| Biomes are
much more than just mixtures of plants and animals. The life cycles
of their life forms are inter-related in many ways, and the web of
relationships that they form is flexible enough to absorb such stresses as
variations in weather conditions, fires, and diseases.
The flexibility that maintains the
health its plants and animals is called the balance of the ecosystem.
In order for biomes to continue, this balance must be maintained. If
circumstances disturb the balance of the life forms in their biomes,
serious consequences may follow. A new balance will be found
eventually, but some of the species in the original biome will no longer
be found there.
As an example, consider the
forest biome with its meadows, shrubs, and deer. Mountain lions hunt
the deer and keep their numbers low enough to prevent them from
over-grazing the vegetation. If people reduce the mountain lion
population, the deer population will rise and vegetation use will
increase. Vegetation may be overgrazed, and deer will die of
starvation. If this situation continues for years, the balance will
be destroyed and a new balance will create a different biome, one which
may no longer support deer.
These links lead to information how balance is
maintained in biomes and populations.
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