In ecology, resilience refers to:

• A. The rate of primary production.
• B. The maximum species richness.
• C. The total biomass in an area.
• D. The ability of an ecosystem to recover after disturbance.

Answer: (C)

Resilience in ecology is about how well an ecosystem can absorb a disturbance, reorganize, and return to its usual functions and structure after being disrupted. It’s focused on recovery and the ability to keep essential processes—like nutrient cycling, energy flow, and habitat provision—intact or restored, even if the system was temporarily pushed away from its normal state. This differs from measures of current state such as how much biomass is present, how fast producers are converting energy, or how many species exist at the moment. For example, after a fire or flood, a resilient ecosystem regrows and reestablishes its functioning and interactions over time, rather than just showing current biomass, production rate, or species count.