MEDICAL BIOLOGY, HUMAN ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY AND PATHOLOGY - Ya.I. Fedoniuk 2010

BIOLOGY

CHAPTER 2. BIOGEOCENOTIC LEVEL OF ORGANIZATION OF LIFE AND HUMAN PLACE IN IT

2.1. BASICS OF HUMAN ECOLOGY

Ecological homeostasis, coadaptation

A certain dynamic balance—ecological Homeostasis—exists among all components of a biogeocenosis. An increase in the population size of any Organism species leads to a mass appearance of its consumers. For instance, a population explosion of rodents is accompanied by an increase in the number of predators (such as foxes) and the spread of diseases among the rodents. These factors reduce the rodent population. Subsequently, the number of predators declines as they begin to starve. Thus, the dynamic balance within the biogeocenosis self-regulates and restores.

The evolution of any species took place within a specific biogeocenosis. This led to mutual adaptation (coadaptation) of coexisting species. The coadaptation system is shaped under the control of natural Selection. Within a biogeocenosis, a species occupies a specific and exclusive place—an ecological niche. The term "ecological niche" refers not merely to a physical territory, but to an entire complex of abiotic and biotic environmental factors that meet the ecological requirements of a species and to which it has evolved a specific set of adaptations.



Last update: 08/08/2026

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