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Understanding Ecosystems: Components and Interactions

May 24, 2025

Abiotic and Biotic Factors in Ecosystems

Differences Between Abiotic and Biotic Factors

  • Abiotic factors: Non-living elements in an ecosystem.
  • Biotic factors: Living components of an ecosystem.

Examples

  • Abiotic factors: Sunlight, temperature, wind.
  • Biotic factors: Plants, animals, bacteria.

Impact of Abiotic Factors

  • Abiotic factors can influence the growth, survival, and reproduction of living organisms.
    • Example: Sunlight affects photosynthesis in plants.

Levels of Organization in Ecosystems

Individual, Population, Community, Ecosystem

Individual (Species)

  • A single organism that is a part of a species.

Population

  • A group of individuals of the same species living in the same area.

Community

  • Different populations of species living together in a specific area.

Ecosystem

  • Composed of both living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components interacting as a system.

Basic Needs of Living Things

Five Basic Needs

  1. Water
  2. Food
  3. Shelter
  4. Air
  5. Favorable temperature

Importance of Water

  • Essential for all biochemical reactions in living organisms.

Dependence on Energy

  • Living things require energy (often from the sun) to perform life processes.

Interactions Among Living Things

Types of Interactions

  • Competition: Occurs when organisms vie for the same resources such as food or space.

Predator-Prey Relationship

  • One organism (predator) hunts and eats another organism (prey).
    • Example: Lions (predator) and zebras (prey).

Producers and Photosynthesis

Producers

  • Organisms that can make their own food, typically through photosynthesis.
    • Example: Plants.

Photosynthesis

  • Process by which producers convert sunlight into chemical energy.
  • Critical for supplying energy to the ecosystem.

Consumers and Types

Definition of Consumers

  • Organisms that cannot make their own food and must consume other organisms.

Types of Consumers

  • Herbivores: Eat plants (e.g., cows, rabbits).
  • Carnivores: Eat other animals (e.g., lions, hawks).
  • Omnivores: Eat both plants and animals (e.g., bears, humans).

Detritivores vs. Decomposers

  • Detritivores: Consume detritus (dead organic matter), breaking it down into smaller pieces.
  • Decomposers: Break down dead organisms and waste, recycling nutrients back into the ecosystem.

Food Chains and Food Webs

Food Chains

  • Linear sequence of organisms through which nutrients and energy pass as one organism eats another.

Simple Food Chain Order

  1. Producer →
  2. Primary Consumer →
  3. Secondary Consumer →
  4. Tertiary Consumer

Food Webs

  • A complex network of interconnected food chains.

Importance of Food Webs

  • More accurate representation of energy flow and ecosystem dynamics compared to a simple food chain.