Communities & Ecosystems
- A community is a group of populations living and interacting with each other in a common habitat
- An ecosystem is a community (the living, biotic part) and the physical environment (the non-living, abiotic part) it interacts with
Levels of organisation in an ecosystem
Worked example
Give an example of how a community interacts with its physical environment to create a unique ecosystem.
Answer
An example of an ecological community is a coral reef ecosystem. The coral reef ecosystem consists of various populations of living organisms such as coral polyps, fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae, and other marine creatures that interact with each other and their non-living environment.
These organisms form a complex community that is adapted to the specific conditions of the coral reef ecosystem, including the temperature, light, water chemistry, and physical structure of the reef. Coral reefs require specific abiotic factors such as warm water temperatures, clear and shallow water, and high levels of sunlight to survive.
The interactions among the different species in the community help to maintain the health and stability of the ecosystem. For example, the corals provide a habitat for fish and other organisms, while the fish help to keep the reef healthy and clean by grazing on algae that grows on the corals and by removing dead or decaying matter. In these ways, the coral reef community and its physical environment are intricately connected and interact with each other to create a diverse and productive ecosystem.
