|
Focus on Feedback
It’s now time for some strategic adjustments to the diagram to make it more useful. One good strategy for doing this is to make sure the diagram focuses on feedback loops, since these are important in determining system behavior. Use the “Key Concepts Explained” and “Key Concept Examples” buttons above to access information about feedback loops.
Kendra initially thought her diagram already contained some feedback loops, but a close inspection revealed that the apparent “loops” in her diagram weren’t really loops at all, because there was no way to march around them without going against the direction of at least one of the arrows. Kendra was stumped until her teacher asked her the following leading question:
“You’ve shown that many things affect coral reef health, but does coral reef health affect any of those things?”
Kendra thought about her recent family vacation to the Florida Keys. She remembered that one of the reasons they picked the Keys as a vacation destination was because of the beautiful (i.e., reasonably healthy) coral reefs and associated snorkeling opportunities there. In other words, coral reef health affected tourist visits.
She also remembered falling in love with the beauty of the reef and having fun learning a bit about reef ecology and conservation while there. For example, she remembered that the boat captain “anchored” the boat at the snorkeling site by clipping it to an existing buoy (“mooring”) on the surface, rather than tossing an anchor overboard. When she asked him why, he said all diving/snorkeling boats visiting the reef were obligated to use moorings when available to reduce anchor damage to the reef. She also remembered him telling her family how slowly coral colonies grow and therefore how important it was to avoid damaging the coral while snorkeling.
With these insights, she was able to revise her diagram to focus on three important feedback loops:
|
