Ecological Redundancy
Organizations should identify which roles are truly unique versus which have functional substitutes.
At the ecosystem level, redundancy manifests as functional redundancy - multiple species performing similar ecological roles. Multiple pollinator species visit flowers; multiple scavenger species consume carcasses; multiple earthworm species process leaf litter. This biodiversity-based redundancy provides ecosystem resilience: if one species declines, others with similar functions can partially compensate. However, keystone species like wolves have unique roles not replicated by other species.
Business Application of Ecological Redundancy
Ecological redundancy illustrates that individual components often lack redundancy (wolves are irreplaceable), but systems exhibit redundancy at functional group levels (multiple scavengers). Organizations should identify which roles are truly unique versus which have functional substitutes.