Ecosystem, Ecological Niche

Ecosystem

• A Community of living organisms (plants, animals and microbes) together with the non-living components (soil, rock, water, air) of the environment, interacting together as a system.

They influence each other

habitat ecosystem

• area an organism lives in (and is adapted to).

• An environment with all living organisms as well as non living components

• Also includes the interactions different organisms have with one another and with the non-living components of the ecosystem

Example forest ecosystem• List examples of living and non-living components

of a forest ecosystem.living Non-livingMooseDeerFoxmouseTreesPlantsInsectsWorms Mushrooms….

RocksSoilSandRainCaveAir Sun light

Activity II• Which interactions between the different

components of the ecosystems can you think of?

Interactions between components of forest ecosystem

– Mouse eats plants, plant seeds and mushrooms– Fox eats mouse– Moose and deer eat plants and tree bark– Plants and trees use the energy of the sun– Worms and mushrooms decompose dead plants

and animals– everything living needs rain– Rain washes out minerals from soil– Soil influences plant growth

Ecological Nicheby night

by day

Both share the same habitat and the same food source, but each has their own ecological niche due to different hunting behaviour.

Ecological niche

• Role and space that a species occupies in an ecosystem.

Includes what it does, what it eats, who eats it where it lives, what resources it consumes, what waste it produces …

• Ecological niche by daily rhythm hunting by day vs. by night

Warbler species use different parts of the tree for nesting and feeding

Each has its own ecological niche

• Ecological niche by habitat warblers use different parts of the tree as their habitat.

• Ecological niche by diet sundew catches insects to be able to grow on poor soils.

scavenger Wood pecker picks insects out of bark

Bats hunt by night