Ecosystem Classification and Relationships

• Ecology


  The study of the interactions of organisms with their physical environment and with other organisms
• Ecosystem


  An ecological system which includes the organisms in an area (biotic factors), their physical environment (abiotic factors), and the interactions of these factors
• Biome


  Regions of the world with similar climate, animals and plants
• Ecosystem


  Smaller units where communities that are almost distinct interact
• Dominant species


  The species that an ecosystem is often named after
• Ecosystems named for a species

  • Mangrove swamp
  • Mountain ash forest
  • Spinifex grassland
  • Coral reefs
• The dominant species of an ecosystem is often a plant
• The major ecosystems in Australia
• The ground cover features of major Australian ecosystems
• Community


  A group of populations of different species living in close enough proximity, in an ecosystem, to interact
• Relationships and interactions between living things

  • Affect the biodiversity of a region, some being harmful to it and others, beneficial
• Competition


  Occurs when individuals compete for a resource that limits their survival and reproduction. If a resource is not limited, then competition will not happen
• Collaboration


  The working together of members of the same species that benefits all
• Intraspecific interactions


  Relationships between members of the same species
• Interspecific interactions


  Occurs between members of different species
• Interspecific competition


  • Different sea anemone species compete for food sources
• Predation


  One organism, the predator, kills another organism, the prey, or consumes part of it for its food
• The predator–prey relationship affects the size of both populations over time
• Disease


  The interaction between a disease-causing organism and the host can also affect the biodiversity of an ecosystem
• Myxomatosis virus

  • Deliberately used in Australia to reduce the rabbit population to allow native animal populations to increase
• Chlamydia


  • Can cause disease in koalas, affecting the reproductive tract and reducing their ability to produce offspring
• Symbiosis


  The general term for a relationship in which individuals of two or more species live together, benefitting at least one of the species
• Parasitism


  One species, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host
• Mutualism


  Both species in the relationship benefit and neither is harmed
• Commensalism


  One species benefits and the other neither benefits nor is harmed
• Parasitism


  • The life cycle of the dog heartworm
  • Parasitic heartworms viewed by light microscope
• Mutualism


  • Pygmy possums collecting nectar from eucalypt blossom while acting as pollinators
• Commensalism


  • Barnacles attached to humpback whales skin, benefiting from transportation to nutrient rich waters
  • Cattle egret and zebra
• Biosphere 


  can be classified into major life zones known as biomes
• Biomes can then be further classified into ecosystems, smaller units where communities that are almost distinct interact.
• Biomes -> ecosystems 


  An ecosystem is classified as a community and its environment, and the interactions between them. A community is the sum of all living organisms in a habitat. The environment is the abiotic and biotic components of the ecosystem.
• Terrestrial 


  Are land based ecosystems. The distribution of terrestrial ecosystems such as tundras, deserts, open forests and temperate grasslands is mainly the result of climatic variation
• Aquatic 


  Are marine based ecosystems. They include both freshwater and saltwater environments. They make up the largest part of the biosphere, covering 71% of the Earth's surface. Examples of this include moving waters of the ocean, bays, estuaries, creeks, streams, and rivers, and the still waters of lakes, ponds and swamps.