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A hydrothermal vent is an ecosystem on the ocean floor. (The scale bar is 1 m.) Ecosystem ecology is the "study of the interactions between organisms and their environment as an integrated system". [2]: 458 The size of ecosystems can range up to ten orders of magnitude, from the surface layers of rocks to the surface of the planet. [4]: 6
A structural diagram of the open ocean plankton ecosystem model of Fasham, Ducklow & McKelvie (1990). [1]An ecosystem model is an abstract, usually mathematical, representation of an ecological system (ranging in scale from an individual population, to an ecological community, or even an entire biome), which is studied to better understand the real system.
Flowing of energy and cycling of matter at the ecosystem level are often examined in ecosystem ecology, but, as a whole, this science is defined more by subject matter than by scale. Ecosystem ecology approaches organisms and abiotic pools of energy and nutrients as an integrated system which distinguishes it from associated sciences such as ...
Ecosystems are complex adaptive systems where the interaction of life processes form self-organizing patterns across different scales of time and space. [69] Ecosystems are broadly categorized as terrestrial, freshwater, atmospheric, or marine. Differences stem from the nature of the unique physical environments that shapes the biodiversity ...
Diversity may be measured at different scales. These are some common indices used by ecologists: Alpha diversity refers to diversity within a particular area, community or ecosystem, and is measured by counting the number of taxa within the ecosystem (usually species) [14]
An example of ecological diversity on a global scale would be the variation in ecosystems, such as deserts, forests, grasslands, wetlands and oceans. Ecological diversity is the largest scale of biodiversity, and within each ecosystem, there is a great deal of both species and genetic diversity. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Ecosystem: Groups of organisms in conjunction with the physical environment. Biome: Continental scale (climatically and geographically contiguous areas with similar climatic conditions) grouping of ecosystems. Biosphere or Ecosphere: All life on Earth or all life plus the physical (abiotic) environment [3]
Food webs largely define ecosystems, and the trophic levels define the position of organisms within the webs. But these trophic levels are not always simple integers, because organisms often feed at more than one trophic level. [14] [15] For example, some carnivores also eat plants, and some plants are carnivores. A large carnivore may eat both ...