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Ecosystems

Ecosystems. ‘A World of Interactions’. What is an Ecosystem?. An ecosystem includes all the different organisms living in a certain area, along with their physical environment.

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Ecosystems

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  1. Ecosystems ‘A World of Interactions’

  2. What is an Ecosystem? • An ecosystem includes all the different organisms living in a certain area, along with their physical environment. • Ecosystems do not have clear boundaries. Things move from one ecosystem to another. They are composed of both biotoc and abiotic factors.

  3. An ecosystem…

  4. Biotic factors • Biotic factors are the living parts of an ecosystem. • (Ex: the plants, the animals, and the microorganisms)

  5. Biotic factors…

  6. Abiotic factors • Abiotic factors are the nonliving parts of an ecosystem. They are the geographical, hydrological and climatological parameters. • (Ex: water, air, soil, temperature, light, and natural disasters)

  7. Abiotic factors…

  8. Structure of an ecosystem • Climate is the overriding factor that determines the nature of an ecosystem. (what type it will be) • Two other important terms that are associated to ecosystems are: habitat and niche.

  9. Niche • A niche is a way of life of an organism. It is its total role in the community. An organism’s niche can be thought of as its “profession” or “how it makes its living”. • Ex: • The niche of a deer is to feed on grass, to become food for wolves, to provide food for black flies and mosquitoes, to fertilize the soil with its wastes and so on…

  10. Habitat • An organism’s niche determines its habitat. • Habitat refers to the actual place an organism lives. An organism’s habitat may be thought of as its “address”.

  11. How Do Species Interact With Each Other? • There are 5 main types of species interactions. They include: predation, competition, parasitism, mutualism, and commensalism.

  12. Predation • In predation, one organism eats and kills the other organism. The organism that is eaten is called the prey, and the one that does the eating is called the predator. • Predators limit the population size of their prey. Also, they tend to feed on old and weak individuals who are more likely to die anyway.

  13. Predation… This red-tailed hawk (predator) has captured a snake (prey) for dinner. Yum!

  14. Competition • Competition is a relationship between species in which they attempt to use the same resource. Species can compete for: food, sunlight, territory, pollinators, mates etc…

  15. Competition… Here, two reindeer compete for a mate.

  16. Parasitism • Parasites are organisms that live in or on another organism without killing it right away. • The organism the parasite takes its nourishment from is known as the host. The relationship between parasite and host is called parasitism. Only one organism benefits.

  17. Parasitism… The deer tick (parasite) feeds off the blood of a human (host), which can lead to the human getting lyme disease

  18. Mutualism • Mutualism is a cooperative partnership between two species. Both species benefit.

  19. Mutualism… The butterfly benefits from the flowers nectar, the flower in turn benefits from having its pollen dispersed.

  20. Commensalism • Commensalism is a relationship in which one species benefits and the other is neither harmed nor helped. • It is the rarest type of species interaction.

  21. Commensalism… Burdock uses its ‘velcro’ to attach to animals as they pass, this helps to spread its seeds. The plant benefits while the animal is neither helped or harmed.

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