Question

Define an ecosystem. Explain it with a suitable example.

Answer 1

Hint: Ecosystems include everything that includes the biological and non-biological components in an area that interact and depend on each other for their successful survival on earth. The best example could be explained using any simple food chain.

Complete step-by-step solution:
An ecosystem is an area where an organism, physical environment, and interactions between and within them coexists. The term ecosystem was first coined by British botanist Roy Clapham and Sir Arthur Tansley in 1930. An ecosystem can be as small as a tree or a pond to as large as the entire biosphere of a planet.
For example, if we consider a pond as an ecosystem having fish and water lily as biological living components and climate (sun, temperature), water, and chemicals (oxygen and nutrients) as non-living components. This ecosystem has interaction within the living organisms and with that of the physical (non-living components) environment. That is the sunlight and carbon dioxide are used by plants in water to synthesize their food for nutrients, an example for interaction between organisms and the physical environment. Also, the small fishes feed on plants and larger fish feed on small fishes for their food requirement, are an example of interaction within the organisms. Thus, a pond with its organisms, physical environment, and its interaction is the simplest example of an ecosystem.

Additional Information:
1. Biotope (abiotic) refers to the physical environment in an ecosystem with specific physical characteristics like climate, humidity, pH, etc.
2. Biocoenosis (biotic) refers to a group of living organisms like bacteria, animals, and plants that are in constant interaction within themselves and with the physical environment.
3. Ecosystems are known as a balanced system as the balance of the different populations of an organism is maintained due to the interaction among the species and due to natural selection (interaction involving an organism and its physical environment).
4. The interaction in an ecosystem includes parasitism, mutualism, communalism, predation, etc.

Note: The ecosystem can be considered as a small region or a wide spread region without considering any boundaries. Ecotones is the transition zone or area between ecosystems, where the components of the two ecosystems meet and integrate. For example an area of marshland between the river bank and a river, or the area between a field and a forest, etc.