Communities

• An ecosystem is the interaction of a community of living organisms (biotic) with the non-living (abiotic) parts of their environment
• Tu survive and reproduce, organisms require a supply of materials from their surroundings and from the other living organisms there
• Plants in a community or habitat often compete witch each other for light and space, and for water and mineral ions from the soil
• Animals often compete witch each other for food, mates and territory
• 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 stable community is one where all the species and environmental factors are in balance so that population sizes remain fairly constant