What Shapes an Ecosystem?
Together, biotic and abiotic factors determine the survival and growth of an organism and the productivity of the ecosystem in which the organism lives. Community interactions, such as competition, predation, and various forms of symbiosis, can powerfully affect an ecosystem. Ecosystems are constantly changing in response to natural and human disturbances. As an ecosystem changes, older inhabitants gradually die out and new organisms move in, causing further changes in the community. Section 4-3: Land Biomes The world’s major land biomes include tropical rain forest, tropical dry forest, tropical savanna, temperate grassland, desert, temperate woodland and shrubland, temperate forest, northwestern coniferous forest, boreal forest, and tundra. Each of these biomes is defined by a unique set of abiotic factors particularly climate and has a characteristic ecological community. Section 4-4: Aquatic Ecosystems Aquatic ecosystems are determined primarily by the depth, flow, temperature, and
