Question

The role of biotic components in the functioning of any one ecosystem y

Answer 1

In an ecosystem, biotic factors include all the living parts of the ecosystem. A healthy woodland ecosystem contains producers like grasses and trees, as well as consumers ranging from mice and rabbits to hawks and bears. The biotic components of an ecosystem also encompass decomposers like fungus and bacteria. A healthy aquatic ecosystem includes producers like algae and phytoplankton, consumers like zooplankton and fish, and decomposers like bacteria. Specific biotic categories include:

Plants: Most ecosystems depend on plants to perform photosynthesis, making food from water and carbon dioxide in the ecosystem. In ponds, lakes and the ocean, many of the plants are grasses, algae or tiny phytoplankton floating on or near the surface. Also in this category are the chemosynthetic bacteria that live at deep ocean vents, which form the base of that food chain.

Animals: First-order consumers like mice, rabbits and seed-eating birds as well as zooplankton, snails, mussels, sea urchins, ducks and black sharks eat the plants and algae. Predators like coyotes, bobcats, bears, killer whales and tiger sharks eat first-order consumers. Omnivores like bears and rotifers (nearly microscopic aquatic animals) eat both plants and animals.

Fungi: Fungi like mushrooms and slime molds feed off the bodies of living hosts or break down the remains of once-living organisms. Fungi serve an important role in the ecosystem as decomposers.

Protists: Protists generally are one-celled microscopic organisms, and they are sometimes overlooked in the ecosystem. Plant-like protists use photosynthesis, so they are producers. Animal-like protists such as paramecia and amoebas eat bacteria and smaller protists, so they form part of the food chain. Fungus-like protists often serve as decomposers in the ecosystem.

Bacteria: In deep-sea vents, chemosynthetic bacteria fill the role of producers in the food chain. Bacteria act as decomposers, breaking down dead organisms to release nutrients. Bacteria also serve as food for other organisms