IB Environmental Studies/Ecosystem Topic 2: The Ecosystem
Ecosystems are the biotic and abiotic factors in a specified
area that interact with one another. biotic factor - A living,
biological factor that may influence an organism or ecosystem,
such as producers-plants,consumers-animals etc abiotic factors –
A non-living or physical factor that may influence an organism
or ecosystem. For example, precipitation, wind, sunlight, soil,
temperature, pH, salinity, light, temperature - Understanding
the interaction of the biotic and abiotic factors in an
ecosystem can help us to see why particular human activities may
be a problem for human survival. - Example: The loss of ozone in
the stratosphere increases the quantity of UV radiation on the
surface of the planet. In the same way that humans experience
sunburn from too much sun exposure, so do plants. Excessive UV
may damage or destroy plant protein and DNA, killing the plant.
Trophic level - The position that an organism occupies in a food
chain, or a group of o