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Feedback loops: How nature gets its rhythms - Anje-Margriet Neutel

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TEDEd Animation

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While feedback loops are a bummer at band practice, they are essential in nature. What does nature’s feedback look like, and how does it build the resilience of our world? Anje-Margriet Neutel describes some common positive and negative feedback loops, examining how an ecosystem’s many loops come together to make its ‘trademark sound.’

The process of erosion on a landscape is an example of positive feedback. Can you describe a feedback loop that explains this process in more detail, starting with the feedback between plant, humus, and at least one more node in the network? Hint: you will have to add more than one negative link.

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TED-Ed Animations feature the words and ideas of educators brought to life by professional animators. Are you an educator or animator interested in creating a TED-Ed Animation? Nominate yourself here »

Meet The Creators

  • Educator Anje-Margriet Neutel, Antonio Bodini, Eric Berlow
  • Animator Brad Purnell
  • Composer Ross Allchurch
  • Narrator Addison Anderson

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