Download The Ecosystem

The Ecosystem and
Biome
An Overview
Biome
• a large region characterized by a specific type of
climate and certain types of plant and animal
communities.
• 2 types:
• Aquatic
• Terrestrial
• Examples?
Biome con’t
• The CLIMATE determines what types of living
organisms (biotic factors) can survive and thrive in that
region of the Earth.
• Other factors: elevation, vegetation, animals, amount of water,
type of water (salt or fresh), etc.
• The same Biome can exist in various parts of the Earth
Ecosystem
• A community of interdependent organisms and
the interactions with the physical environment in
which they live.
• It can also be defined as the abiotic and biotic
factors and the interactions between them.
• There are many ecosystems within a Biome.
Community
• All the LIVING organisms that live in an area
and interact.
• Unlike ecosystem, the community is only the
LIVING (biotic) organisms.
Population
• All the members of a species that live in one
place at one time.
• SPECIES: a group or organisms of a single type
that are capable of producing fertile offspring in
the natural environment.
Individual (organism)
• Simplest level of organization in an ecosystem.
• Not about interactions.
What is a Niche???
• the relational position of a species or population in an
ecosystem.
• Different species occupy different niches within a single
ecosystem.
Niche
• The description of a niche may include descriptions of the
organism's life history, habitat, and place in the food chain.
• According to the competitive exclusion principle, no two
species can occupy the same niche in the same environment for
a long time
• Why not?
Abiotic and Biotic factors
• Biotic Factor: A living, biological factor
that may influence an organism or a
system.
• Example?
• Abiotic factor: A non-living, physical
factor that may influence an organism or a
system
• Examples?
Which factors are biotic?
• Rabbits
• Cacti
• Daylight hours
• Precipitation
• Moss
• Soil composition
• Bacteria
Limiting factors
• An abiotic factor that limits a populations size if
there is too much or too little of it. Even if there
is the right amount of other factors.
• Examples to consider:
Sunlight
Precipitation
Salinity
Nutrients in the soil
Trophic levels
• Ecosystems are often broken up and described
according to feeding relationships.
Trophic level:
• The position of an organism in a food chain
• A group of organisms that occupy the same place
in a food chain.
Cycling of matter, flow of energy