It survives only within a certain prescribed range of environmental conditions. It maintains its integrity in the face of a hostile environment. H. Its structure and function are finely adjusted to operate under the environmental conditions to which it is normally subjected. It cannot cope with severe deviations from the usual conditions. These result in permanent damage or death.
Energy flows and materials cycle through living communities.
A. Energy from the sun flows through plants, animals, fungi, and microbes and is eventually lost to space as heat energy. B. Materials continually cycle between the living and nonliving components of the biosphere. Biological science can help solve problems like deforestation, loss of natural resources, excessive human reproduction, malnutrition, and diseases. We live amidst a revolution in biology with the advent of genetic manipulation and new levels of knowledge about how organisms and ecosystems function.