5. Homeostasis:
It is also known as a biological equilibrium.
This is also referred as a balance of nature.
6.
7. An ecosystem maintains a biological equilibrium
between the different components and is referred
as a homeostasis.
The balance is maintained by the number of factors.
These include the carrying capacity of the
environment and the capacity for recycling of the
Waste.
8. The effect of density on the reproductive potential
deals with the self regulation.
The one component of ecosystem keeps a check
on the population of the other component and this
system is referred as a feedback system.
9. Optimization and Evolution:
Optimization is a mathematical technique that
economists and engineers use to resolve Problems
of allocation of scarce resources so that maximum
utility is obtained.
It consists in determining within a set of constraints
which of many possible strategies maximizes or
optimizes a given function.
10. It has often been pointed out ( e.g. parker & smith
1990 ) that it is not necessary to assume that
organisms are optimal for optimality theory to be
relevant.
It can be valuble in providing a null hypothesis in
investigations view point optimality has grown up
as a major paradigm in biology closely associated
with evolution theory and Is the source of a major
debate.
11.
12. It Seems logical to suppose that the most likely
candidates for near optimal design as a result of
evolutionary processes are those which share the
following features evidence of evolutionary
convergence, a relatively simple form function
relationship, evidence of steep gradients in the
‘ adaptive landscape ‘ and of increasing fitness over
evolutionary time.
13. The term ‘ functional form ‘ is used throughout this
work to mean a form which performs a clear
functional role with sufficient success that the
organism to which it belongs reproduces enough
for a viable species.
( i.e. one that persists over evolutionary time. )
