Write an essay on balance in an ecosystem
Answers
The Earth hosts a vast network of ecosystems, from tiny tide pools to broad deserts to polar ice shelves. An ecosystem is defined as the habitat in which animals, plants, and microorganisms interact with non-living factors such as landscapes and temperature. Balanced ecosystems maintain a flow of materials and energy. In a balanced ecosystem, an interdependence of each factor exists. Any waste materials can be used by living animals, plants and other organisms.
In a balanced ecosystem, the community of living (biotic) organisms interacts with non-living (abiotic) features in the environment. Abiotic features of ecosystems include precipitation, temperature, landscape, sunlight, soil or water chemistry, and moisture. The types of biotic factors in a balanced ecosystem include primary producers such as plants, primary consumers such as herbivores, secondary consumers such as carnivores, consumers such as omnivores that consume both plants and animals, and detritivores that eat decaying organic matter. Biotic factors rely upon abiotic factors to survive. Plants require certain temperature, moisture and soil chemistry to thrive. Animals rely on those plants for their food. Anything affecting any factor of an ecosystem can throw it off balance and force organisms to adapt or die off.