• There are several key terms that we use when referring to the various different components of an ecosystem and their levels of organisation:
  • A population?is defined as a group of organisms of the?same species?living in the?same place?at the?same time
  • A community?includes?all?of the?populations?living in the?same area?at the?same time
    • Within a community, each species depends on other species for food, shelter, pollination, seed dispersal etc
    • If one species is removed it can affect the?whole community
    • This is called?interdependence

     

  • A habitat?is the place where an?organism lives
    • E.g. badgers, deer, oak trees and ants are all species that would live in a woodland habitat

     

  • An ecosystem?is defined as all the?biotic factors?and all the?abiotic factors?that interact within an area at one time
    • Biotic factors includes all the?living?components such as plants and animals
    • Abiotic factors includes all the?non-living?components such as light intensity, mineral ions, water availability
    • Ecosystems can?vary greatly in size and scale
      • A small ecosystem might be a garden pond
      • A large ecosystem might be the whole of Antarctica

       

     

   

Levels of organisation in an ecosystem

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