Ecosystem (2024)

An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form a bubble of life.

Ecosystems

contain biotic or living, parts, as well as abiotic factors, or nonliving parts.

Biotic factors

include

plants

,

animals

, and other

organisms

. A

biotic factors

include rocks, temperature, and humidity.

Every factor in an

ecosystem

depends on every other factor, either directly or indirectly. A change in the

temperature

of an

ecosystem

will often affect what

plants

will grow there, for instance.

Animals

that depend on

plants

for food and shelter will have to adapt to the changes, move to another

ecosystem

, or perish.

Ecosystems

can be very large or very small. Tide pools, the ponds left by the ocean as the tide goes out, are complete, tiny

ecosystems

.

Tide

pools

contain seaweed, a kind of algae, which uses photosynthesis to create

food

. Herbivores such as abalone eat the

seaweed

. Carnivores such as sea stars eat other

animals

in the

tide

pool

, such as clams or mussels.

Tide

pools

depend on the changing level of

ocean

water. Some

organisms

, such as

seaweed

, thrive in an aquatic environment, when the

tide

is in and the pool is full. Other

organisms

, such as hermit crabs, cannot live underwater and depend on the shallow pools left by low

tides

. In this way, the biotic parts of the

ecosystem

depend on a

biotic factors

.

The whole surface of Earth is a series of connected

ecosystems

.

Ecosystems

are often connected in a larger biome.

Biomes

are large sections of land, sea, or atmosphere. Forests,

ponds

, reefs, and tundra are all types of

biomes

, for example. They're organized very generally, based on the types of

plants

and

animals

that live in them. Within each

forest

, each

pond

, each

reef

, or each section of

tundra

, you'll find many different

ecosystems

.

The

biome

of the Sahara Desert, for instance, includes a wide variety of

ecosystems

. The arid climate and hot

weather

characterize the

biome

. Within the Sahara are oasis

ecosystems

, which have date palm trees, freshwater, and

animals

such as crocodiles. The Sahara also has dune

ecosystems

, with the changing

landscape

determined by the wind.

Organisms

in these

ecosystems

, such as snakes or scorpions, must be able to survive in sand

dunes

for long periods of time. The Sahara even includes a marine environment, where the Atlantic

Ocean

creates cool fogs on the Northwest African coast. Shrubs and

animals

that feed on small trees, such as goats, live in this Sahara

ecosystem

.

Even similar-sounding

biomes

could have completely different

ecosystems

. The

biome

of the

Sahara Desert, for instance, is very different from the

biome

of the Gobi

Desert

in Mongolia and China. The Gobi is a cold

desert

, with frequent snowfall and freezing

temperatures

. Unlike the Sahara, the Gobi has

ecosystems

based not in

sand

, but kilometers of bare

rock

. Some grasses are able to grow in the cold, dry

climate

. As a result, these Gobi

ecosystems

have grazing animals such as gazelles and even takhi, an endangered species of wild horse.

Even the cold

desert

ecosystems

of the Gobi are distinct from the freezing

desert

ecosystems

of Antarctica. Antarcticas thick ice sheet covers a continent made almost entirely of dry, bare

rock

. Only a few mosses grow in this

desert

ecosystem

, supporting only a few birds, such as skuas.

Threats to Ecosystems

For thou

sands

of years, people have interacted with

ecosystems

. Many cultures developed around nearby

ecosystems

. Many Native American tribes of North Americas Great Plains developed a complex lifestyle based on the native

plants

and

animals

of plains

ecosystems

, for instance. Bison, a large

grazing

animal

native to the

Great

Plains

, became the most important

biotic factor

in many

Plains

Indians

cultures

, such as the Lakota or Kiowa.

Bison

are sometimes mistakenly called buffalo. These tribes used buffalo hides for

shelter

and clothing, buffalo meat for

food

, and buffalo horn for tools. The tallgrass prairie of the

Great

Plains

supported

bison

herds, which tribes followed throughout the year.

As human populations have grown, however, people have overtaken many

ecosystems

. The

tall

grass

prairie

of the

Great

Plains

, for instance, became farmland. As the

ecosystem

shrunk, fewer

bison

could

survive

. Today, a few

herds

survive

in protected

ecosystems

such as Yellowstone National Park.

In the tropical rain

forest

ecosystems

surrounding the Amazon River in South America, a similar situation is taking place. The Amazon rain

forest

includes hundreds of

ecosystems

, including canopies, understories, and

forest

floors. These

ecosystems

support vast food webs.

Canopies are

ecosystems

at the top of the rainforest, where tall, thin trees such as figs grow in search of sunlight. Canopy

ecosystems

also include other

plants

, called epiphytes, which grow directly on branches. Understory

ecosystems

exist under the

canopy

. They are darker and more humid than canopies.

Animals

such as monkeys live in

understory

ecosystems

, eating fruits from trees as well as smaller

animals

like beetles.

Forest

floor

ecosystems

support a wide variety of flowers, which are fed on by insects like butterflies. Butterflies, in turn, provide

food

for

animals

such as spiders in

forest

floor

ecosystems

.

Human activity threatens all these rain

forest

ecosystems

in the Amazon. Thou

sands

of acres of land are cleared for

farmland

, housing, and industry. Countries of the Amazon rain

forest

, such as Brazil, Venezuela, and Ecuador, are underdeveloped. Cutting down trees to make room for crops such as soy and corn benefits many poor farmers. These resources give them a reliable source of income and

food

. Children may be able to attend school, and families are able to afford better health care.

However, the destruction of rain

forest

ecosystems

has its costs. Many modern medicines have been developed from rain

forest

plants

. Curare, a muscle relaxant, and quinine, used to treat malaria, are just two of these

medicines

. Many scientists worry that destroying the rain

forest

ecosystem

may prevent more

medicines

from being developed.

The rain

forest

ecosystems

also make poor

farmland

. Unlike the rich soils of the

Great

Plains

, where people destroyed the

tall

grass

prairie

ecosystem

, Amazon rain

forest

soil

is thin and has few nutrients. Only a few seasons of

crops

may grow before all the

nutrients

are absorbed. The farmer or agribusiness must move on to the next patch of land, leaving an empty

ecosystem

behind.

Rebounding Ecosystems

Ecosystems

can recover from

destruction

, however. The delicate coral reef

ecosystems

in the South Pacific are at risk due to rising

ocean

temperatures

and decreased salinity. Corals bleach, or lose their bright colors, in water that is too warm. They die in water that isnt salty enough. Without the

reef

structure, the

ecosystem

collapses.

Organisms

such as

algae

,

plants

such as seagrass, and

animals

such as fish,

snakes

, and shrimp disappear.

Most

coral

reef

ecosystems

will bounce back from collapse. As

ocean

temperature

cools and retains more salt, the brightly colored corals return. Slowly, they build

reefs

.

Algae

,

plants

, and

animals

also return.

Individual people,

cultures

, and governments are working to preserve

ecosystems

that are important to them. The

government

of Ecuador, for instance, recognizes

ecosystem

rights in the countrys constitution. The so-called Rights of Nature says Nature or Pachamama [Earth], where life is reproduced and exists, has the right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution. Every person, people, community or nationality, will be able to demand the recognitions of rights for nature before the public bodies. Ecuador is home not only to rain

forest

ecosystems

, but also

river

ecosystems

and the remarkable

ecosystems

on the Galapagos Islands.