Ecosystem

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The word ecosystem is used to describe the combination of the animals and plants (the biotic) and non-living things, like environment and climate (the abiotic ), in a specific area. Another term for ecosystem is biotope.

Ecosystems are important because they deal with the relationships between all of the species that live in, or use, a physical area. Each species that lives in an area (for example deer), or uses it (migratory birds), has adapted, in some way, to that physical space.

Different communities, and sub-communities, of animals and plants can live in an ecosystem. One practical way to describe an ecosystem is to map the food networks (food chains and food webs). The physical locations in which the fewest species interact, as predators and prey, can be used to describe the boundary between ecosystems.

References

   * Biocoenosis. Retrieved November 25, 2006 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biocoenosis.

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