Ecosystem: All interacting parts of a biological community
and its environment; a group of living organisms that, along
with their abiotic environment, form a self-regulating system
through which energy and materials are transferred.
Biotic: living
Abiotic: non-living
Populations
Populations are organisms that belong to the same species
that live in the same ecosystem
Carrying Capacity
-largest population of a species that an ecosystem can support
Factors that affect an ecosystem
Biotic:
 disease
 reproductive rates
 predator/prey (population size in trophic level above or
below)
 competition*
 availability of mates
 population density**
Abiotic:
 space
 temperature
 oxygen
 sunlight
 water
*Intraspecific Competition: competition within a species
(wolves vs. wolves)
Interspecific Competition: competition between species
(wolves vs. coyotes)
**density dependent factors – listed above
density independent factors – fire, drought, flood, volcano,
earthquake, hurricane