B16.1 The importance of communities

An ecosystem is made up of a community of organisms interacting with the non-living or abiotic elements of their environment. The interactions of the living things make up the biotic elements of the ecosystem. All speices live in ecosystems composed of complex communities of animals, plants, and other organisms that are dependent on each other and that are adapted to their particular conditions. The sun is the source of energy that is transferred through ecosystems within the chemical bonds that make up the organisms. Materials - including carbon, nitrogen, and water - are constantly being recycled through the living world in a process where microorganisms play a major part.

Within any community the different animals and plants are often…