Levels of Organisation in an Ecosystem

• Key Terms in Ecology:

  • 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
• Key Terms in Ecology:

  • 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
• Key Terms in Ecology:

  • A habitat is the place where an organism lives
  • eg. badgers, deer, oak trees and ants are all species that would live in a woodland habitat
• Key Terms in Ecology:

  • 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:

  
• Levels of organisation in an ecosystem: