Download Science: Ecosystems

Science: Ecosystems
Ecosystems have both biotic and abiotic parts:
* the biotic parts are the living parts of an ecosystem
* the abiotic parts are the nonliving parts of an ecosystem
ex. climate, water, soil, nutrients, light, and air
* the biotic parts of ecosystems help shape the environment and
interact
with each other
* the abiotic parts of an ecosystem help determine what lives in it
The populations of a community interact, using one another for
food and
shelter. They change the environment in ways that enable other
organisms to live in it.
The habitat supplies everything the organism needs-heat, light,
water, food, and shelter.
* two populations with similar needs can share a habitat (for
example, hawks and owls may live in the same area of a forest)
* two populations can't, however, share the same niche.
The niche includes everything the organism needs and
everything it does, such as how it gets food and where it
finds shelter. It includes how it interacts with all of the biotic
and abiotic parts of the ecosystem.
* organisms can have broad niches or narrow ones.
- organisms with broad niches are able to live in a
variety of places and eat many different foods. Flies,
raccoons, mice, and humans have broad niches.
- organisms with narrow niches usually live in one
particular habitat. They eat only one food or a few foods
and can live in only a small range of conditions. The giant
pandas of China have a narrow niche.
Some ecosystems are very diverse, while others have just a
few species.
* why are some ecosystems more diverse than others?
- climate and location are two of the most
important factors. In general, ecosystems closer to the
equator have more species and so are more diverse.
Ecosystems closer to Earth's poles have fewer species and
so are less diverse.