Ecosystem

Coral reefs are a highly productive marine ecosystem.[1]
Rainforest ecosystems are rich in biodiversity. This is the Gambia River in Senegal

An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a large community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) in a particular area.[2] The living and physical components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows.[3] Ecosystems are of any size, but usually they are in specific places.

Each ecosystem has its own community. An aquarium community, for example, can have small fish and other organisms. A desert community may have cacti, small snakes, and scorpions. A pond community can have frogs, insects, snakes, and plants, and a forest community may have rabbits, foxes and pine trees. The species in a community are divided into populations according to the particular habitats and ecological niches in the ecosystem.

An ecosystem
An example of an ecosystem
  1. Hatcher, Bruce Gordon (1990). "Coral reef primary productivity: a hierarchy of pattern and process". Trends in Ecology and Evolution. 5 (5): 149–155. doi:10.1016/0169-5347(90)90221-X. PMID 21232343.
  2. Molles, Manuel C. 1999. Ecology: concepts and applications. Boston: WCB/McGraw-HIll. ISBN 0-07-042716-X
  3. Odum E.P. 1971. Fundamentals of ecology. 3rd ed, New York: Saunders. ISBN 0534420664

Developed by StudentB