Download What is an Ecosystem?

Biology 20- Unit 1: Ecology
Part 1- What is an Ecosytem?
ECOLOGY
• Ecology – the study of the interactions
between organisms and their biotic and
abiotic environment.
Biotic vs. Abiotic
• Biotic = the biological or living components.
• Abiotic = the non-living components.
Biodiversity
• Biodiversity refers to the number of species in
an ecosystem.
• The greater the number of species
(biodiversity) the healthier the ecosystem.
Equilibrium
• In order for a system to function properly, each
component of Earth’s environment must be in a state
of equilibrium or balance.
• Earth is an example of a system in dynamic
equilibrium.
• Dynamic equilibrium – is a system in which changes
are continuously occurring but the components can
adjust to the changes without disturbing the entire
system.
Order Activity
• At your table (without looking in your
textbook) rearrange the words to what you
think is the correct order of organization:
Population, Ecosystem, Biosphere, Ecotone
Community, Organism, Biome
Levels of Organization in the Biosphere
Biosphere
Biome
Ecosystem
Community
Population
Organism
Ecotones
Biosphere
• Whole living layer around the globe.
http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch8en/conc8en/envisys.html
The Biosphere
•
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Earth has three basic structural zones:
the lithosphere (land)
the hydrosphere (water)
the atmosphere (air)
• Together, these three zones make up the biosphere.
• The biosphere – is the narrow zone around Earth
that harbours life.
The Biosphere
Biome
• A biome is a region that is characterized by
the dominant plant and animal life and the
prevailing climate conditions.
Ecosystem
• A biotic community plus the abiotic
features.
Ecosystems
• The world is full of many diverse and dynamic
ecosystems each with unique soil, vegetation
and animals. Humans have varying
perspectives on how we are to interact with
Earth’s ecosystems.
Barrier Reefs
BBC article-
BBC youtube-
Natural vs. Artificial
Ecosystems
• Artificial ecosystem – is an area that is planned or
maintained by humans.
Ex. Parks, farms and managed forests.
• Natural ecosystem – is an area where the living
community is free to interact with the physical and
chemical environment.
Ex. Lakes, rivers, forests and deserts.
Ecotones
• Ecosystems rarely have sharp boundaries, and
organisms can move back and forth from one
ecosystem to another.
• An ecotone is the transition area between
ecosystems.
• Because ecotones often contain species from
both bordering ecosystems they tend to have
greater biodiversity.
Ecotones
Ecotone
Community
• Several populations living together.
Population
• A group of
individuals of the
same species
living together.
Organism
• Entire living things
(organisms).
• Usually made of
systems.
• May be a single cell.
• Living.
Your response
• Research one endangered or at risk ecosystem
that you don’t know very much about yet.
Tell us about:
1. The