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A conceptual model describes the relationship between an environmental stressor (e.g., pollution) and the state of an ecosystem (e.g., health). The model predicts two possible stable states: a 'healthy' state and a 'degraded' state.
- When the ecosystem is in the 'healthy' state, it can absorb the stressor up to a critical threshold, or 'tipping point'.
- If the stressor increases beyond this first tipping point, the system rapidly collapses into the 'degraded' stable state.
- To recover the 'healthy' state, the stressor must be reduced to a level significantly lower than the first tipping point, crossing a second, lower tipping point.
Given this model, if a healthy ecosystem experiences a gradual increase in the stressor that pushes it just past the first tipping point, what is the most likely consequence?
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- When the ecosystem is in the 'healthy' state, it can absorb the stressor up to a critical threshold, or 'tipping point'.
- If the stressor increases beyond this first tipping point, the system rapidly collapses into the 'degraded' stable state.
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