Ecosystem



Ecosystem 2816
Photo by: Vlad61

An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a collection of communities of organisms and the environment in which they live. Ecosystems can vary greatly in size. Some examples of small ecosystems are tidal pools, a home garden, or the stomach of an individual cow. Larger ecosystems might encompass lakes, agricultural fields, or stands of forests. Landscape-scale ecosystems encompass larger regions, and may include different terrestrial (land) and aquatic (water) communities. Ultimately, all of Earth's life and its physical environment could be considered to represent an entire ecosystem, known as the biosphere.

Ecologists often invent boundaries for ecosystems, depending on the particular needs of their work. (Ecologists are scientists who study the relationships of organisms with their living and nonliving environments.) For example, depending on the specific interests of an ecologist, an ecosystem might be defined as the shoreline vegetation around a lake, or the entire lake itself, or the lake plus all the land around it. Because all of these units consist of organisms and their environment, they can properly be considered to be ecosystems.

The raw materials of an ecosystem

All ecosystems have a few basic characteristics in common. They use energy (usually provided by sunlight) to build complex chemical compounds out of simple materials. At the level of plants, for example, carbon dioxide and water vapor are combined with the energy of sunlight to produce complex carbohydrates, such as starches (this process is known as photosynthesis). As plants (producers) are consumed by other organisms, more complex substances are manufactured in their bodies, and energy is passed upward through the food web.

The flow of energy in an ecosystem occurs in only one direction: it is always consumed by higher levels of organisms in a food web. As a result, each level of a food web contains less energy than the levels below it. By contrast, nutrients can flow in any direction in an ecosystem. When plants and animals die, the compounds of which they are formed are decomposed by microorganisms (decomposers), returned to the environment, and are recycled for use again by other organisms.

One of the greatest challenges facing humans and their civilization is to develop an understanding of the fundamentals of ecosystem organization, how they function and how they are structured. This knowledge

A freshwater ecosystem. (Reproduced by permission of The Gale Group.)
A freshwater ecosystem. (Reproduced by permission of
The Gale Group
.)

is absolutely necessary if humans are to design systems that allow for the continued use of the products and services of ecosystems. Humans are sustained by ecosystems, and no alternative to this relationship exists.

[ See also Biosphere ; Gaia hypothesis ]



Also read article about Ecosystem from Wikipedia

User Contributions:

1
ANTOINETTE MARIE GOMEZ
i like this picture b/c im in sixth grade and i have science and this is somethin thats can help me in the class that is sorta not my best interest
2
animal lover
i am in 5th grade we are now learning about ecosystems and i think this might help us. we are now at the very begginnig and we have to draw a picture of an ecosystem. HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT!?!
3
sonia
umm grade 7 love it soo easy and soo cool! handy in big projects
4
alex
ha, im in 9th grade and im using this illustration to represent my fresh water ecosystem in my honors bio class project. good job
5
Gabriella
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6
rhea
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7
ceegee franco
ITS NICE! i learned something from the picture I'm in 6th grade and i love science! this is really helpful.
=) T.Y
8
india
ha im in the 8th grade and we have to draw and ecosystem and im using this picture.
9
jena
im in 7th grade and this comes in handy for my homework
10
soleil
hi!im in 6th grade and we are supposed to do a ecosystem project and this answered all of my questions!!!THANKS!
11
nechaila natasha dabasol
im now in grade 6th graduating next year..im here in philippines.....ecosystem here in this column has a great explanation!!keep it up!!
12
agbi albert
AM IN THE UNIVERSITY AND WE HAVE BEEN ASKED TO WRITE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN ECOLOGY AND ECOSYSTEM.PLEASE HELP ME
13
Amariah
i forgot my science book at school and i'm trying to find some information but thanks anyway!
14
reyanna nunley
i'm in 5th grade and i'm learning about ecosystems.this helps me learn alot more about it.it's so COOL!
15
mysteriousperson
hey im in 7th grade and its really hand thanks alot.
16
Cristal
I'm in the 7th grade & Science is easy!! But what is the food chain in the picture above?? Please help me!! My homework is due tomorrow! ) :
17
katie
wow its perfect for my ecosystem project its really hard though!
18
darcy
i love cause i am in the 6th grade and we have to write a definishon and photo
what is the common term of economy system for water ecosystem.
20
Synester gates
ha i'm in 10th grade and this a good example for the fresh water ecosystem and this help to find my 25 producers and 25 consumers now i'm almost done my h/w
21
Amy
I love this! This helped me with my ecosysytem project and I got an A!>
I love this! This helped me with my Science project and I got an A!. Next time that I have a Science project I am going here again.! YOU ROCK!
Does anyone know where I can find an example of a project over levels of classification?
Hi my teacher has asked to get a riddle on ecosystems. Please could you help me on this?
Your help will be highly appreciated Thanks
25
Lizbeth
thats cool im doing a science packet you have to do an example picture and many definitions
26
ODESSA
HA ,IM 10TH GRADE USING AND COLLECTING ANY OF THAT ecosystem in my honor science class>
Please my teacher had asked me a question on this topic, so you will help me and make an example and some definition for me. Thanks I'm cool and say bye.
28
Sairin
well. it is astonishing. I'm sure the pupils will like this topic.
29
pradee nataraj
i am sure every science student will like this topic
30
johnny
hello i'm in 6th grade. my teacher ask me about this so i study the ecosystem... this is intermediate
31
Rizxa Andarza
Wow it is so nice. I really like it. Keep your good ideas.
32
marianicamirafuentes
it helps our projects,activities,outputs,and research in science 1
33
Breuna Jennings
Hey!!!I'm so lucky i came to this website cause this paper was due tomorrow in my 4a class so thank you so much!!!
34
sara
hi im in 7th grade what grade is this for cause I see some grade 5 and grade 6 and some grade 7!
35
kenzie Tanubrata
include the content on biotic and a biotic factors in an ecosystem and how they influence the distribution of organisms
36
Suzaan
I am in 7th grade. I really like this site! Thank you so much! :)
Good ecosystem and some more example and i really like the example from the freshwater ecosystem
38
Janiah Poole
i love this cause i am in 8th grade and this is informative
39
April
hey im in 9th grade i love this its easy for to use
40
Tikeya
I like it I am in 12th grade and it insets me to do better in school
41
Kevin Winston Jones
OMG THANK YOU SO MUCH I AM PASSING MY CLASSES THANK YOU SO MUCH
42
zohaib
thanks i learnt much!i got much information my h.w is finished by this ill share this bi-biography to my school thanks a lot
43
Makayla
In 6th grade we are learning alot of geography and ecosystems
44
Pakhi Tyagi
Hi! I'm in 8th grade and this helped me a lot as i had to make a PPT on the ecosystems
Thanks
45
Sheila
This is a great way to learn the ecosystem this for sure will help u Caz it helped me

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