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... or deemed satisfactory to society." Another definition was developed by Karr (1987), "...the capability of supporting and maintaining a balanced, integrated, adaptive community of organisms having species composition, diversity, and functional organization comparable to that of the natural habitat of a region." What these definitions have in common is that all three philosophers believed it was an important aspect of ecological integrity that ecosystems should maintain themselves when facing external stresses. NATURAL ECOSYSTEMS: THEIR OVERALL VALUE An ecosystem's members have symbiotic relationships in that the members participate with each other which are beneficial to each member participating. For example, a beehive is an ecosystem where the same process takes place time and time again as bees reproduce and die. In order for them to do so, they must obtain energy, and they do so by feeding off of flowers, and in return the bee's pollen brushes up against the ...