Components of an

Ecosystem

prepared by : Nadia & Bryan

Ecosystem
All the living and non-living things that interact in a
particular area make up an ecosystem
A prairie is just one of the many different
ecosystems found on Earth
Other ecosystems include: mountain streams, deep
oceans, swamps and dense forests.

Biotic Factors
An organism interacts with and responds to both
the living and nonliving things in its environment
The living parts of an ecosystem are called biotic
factors
Examples: grass, plants, hawks, ferrets, eagles,
worms, fungi, and bacteria.

1. Producer
Producers are autotrophs and consists
mainly of plants which synthesise organic
substances or food from nutrients and
sunlight.
Producers directly or indirectly produce
food for almost their organisms.

2. Consumers
Organisms that cannot photosynthesize must aquire
enrgy and most of their nutrients by feeding on other
organisms. Therefore, they are called consumers.
a)Primary consumers = herbivores which obtain
their energy and nutrients by eating producers
b)Secondary consumers = carnivores which eat
primary consumers
c)Tertiary consumers = carnivores that prey on
secondary consumers

3. Decomposers
Bacteria and fungi
They obtain energy from non-living organic
material. They carry out decomposition, the
breakdown of the remains of dead organisms
Breakdown of the remains of dead organisms
including animal waste products into simpler
inorganic substances to be used by plants.

Abiotic Factors
The nonliving parts of an ecosystem.
Remember TWOSS
Temperature
Water
Oxygen
Sunlight
Soil

Temperature
The temperatures of an area determine if an organism
can live there.
Ex: Warm areas you might see palm trees, but not in
very cold areas.
Some animals respond to very hot or very cold
temperatures by altering their environment.
Ex: Fox adapts to these abiotic factors by thick growing
a thick, white-colored coat in the winter.

Water
All living things need water to carry out their
life processes.

Plants and algae use water, along with

sunlight and carbon dioxide, to make food
in the process of photosynthesis.

Oxygen
Most living things require oxygen to carry
out their life processes.
Some organisms obtain oxygen from the air,
which is about 20% oxygen.
Fish and other water organisms obtain
dissolved oxygen from the water around
them.

Sunlight
Necessary for photosynthesis.

Important for plants, algae and other living things.

Places that receive little to no sunlight-like caveshave only a few organisms that can live their.

Soil
A mixture of rock fragments, nutrients, air, water
and the decaying remains of living things.
Types of soil influence the kinds of plants that can
grow there.
Microscopic organisms such as bacteria live in soil
and break down the remains of other living things.

Individual, Population,
Community, Ecosystem