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Which community is likely to have the least resilience to an environmental change, and why?

User Railslide
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Final answer:

Communities heavily dependent on agriculture are likely to have the least resilience to environmental changes due to their reliance on stable climatic conditions, low biodiversity, and a limited capacity to recover from disturbances such as extreme weather events or shifts in climatic patterns.

Step-by-step explanation:

A community that is likely to have the least resilience to an environmental change is one that is highly dependent on agriculture. These communities are often the most vulnerable to climate change since they experience greater risks and environmental degradation due to their reliance on stable climatic conditions for crop production. Factors such as pollution and global warming heavily influence these agricultural communities, and since they have contributed the least to climate change, the irony and challenge are marked in their limited capacity to respond to these changes effectively.

Within these communities, the biodiversity is often lower, which contributes to a lower resilience. The interplay of species in an ecosystem can greatly affect its ability to recover from changes; thus, areas with low species richness and high dependency on specific ecological services are less likely to recover swiftly or maintain their functionality post disturbance. Additionally, sudden shifts, like those caused by extreme weather events associated with climate change, can disrupt the established balance, leading to potential substantial extinction of species unable to adapt or migrate accordingly.

High levels of resilience in an ecosystem normally infer a high diversity of species, as well as a robustness that allows for recovery and adaptation to new conditions after a disturbance. The interconnectivity of species and their adaptive responses contribute to this resilience. Conversely, the lack of such characteristics in agricultural communities signifies their low resilience to environmental changes.

User Junaed
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