Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological community of interacting organisms together with the physical environment they inhabit, including all living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components. It represents a functional unit of ecology where energy flows and nutrients cycle between organisms and their environment. Ecosystems range in scale from a small pond to the entire Amazon rainforest and are the foundational units studied in ecology.
Components of an Ecosystem
| Component | Type | Examples | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trees, grass, algae | Biotic – Producers | Plants, phytoplankton | Produce food via photosynthesis |
| Herbivores, carnivores | Biotic – Consumers | Deer, lions, insects | Transfer energy through feeding |
| Bacteria, fungi | Biotic – Decomposers | Earthworms, moulds | Break down dead organic matter |
| Sunlight, temperature | Abiotic – Energy | Solar radiation, heat | Drive energy input |
| Water, soil, air | Abiotic – Matter | H₂O, minerals, O₂ | Provide nutrients and medium |
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Related Terms
Community (ecology)
An ecological community is an assemblage of populations of different species that live in the same area and interact with one another. Communities are characterised by their species composition, diversity, and the web of interactions such as predation, competition, and mutualism. The study of communities examines how these interactions shape the structure and stability of ecosystems over time.
Biome
A biome is a large-scale ecological region characterised by its distinctive climate, vegetation, and associated animal life. Biomes are defined primarily by temperature and precipitation patterns, which determine the types of plants that can survive there. Major terrestrial biomes include tropical rainforest, savanna, desert, temperate forest, taiga, and tundra, while aquatic biomes include freshwater and marine systems.
Food Web
A food web is a complex network of interconnected food chains within an ecosystem, showing all the feeding relationships among organisms and the multiple pathways through which energy and nutrients flow. Unlike a simple linear food chain, a food web more accurately represents real ecosystems where most organisms eat more than one type of food and are eaten by more than one predator. Food webs are used to model the cascading effects that result from changes in species populations, such as the removal of a keystone species.
Coined by British ecologist Arthur Tansley in 1935, from Greek oikos (house, dwelling place) + systema (organised whole). Tansley introduced the term to emphasise the inseparability of organisms and their physical environment.