Biotope and Biocenosis: Ecosystem Structure, Adaptations and Energy Flow

Physical spacing of the biotope: several living components (biotic components) interact with the biotope factors and environmental factors (abiotic factors) in a MDIO MDIO where living organisms are displaced and the ecosystem in which they live exchanges energy, matter and water, which can remain constant. Water forms when water is in the surface of the ls Earth's crust. Environmental and environmental factors set the chemical and physical conditions of the biotope. These conditions characterize the biotope, and the condition factors of the biocenosis are important environmental factors:

• Light: light conditions the distribution of photosynthetic organisms. Species are suited to various intensities of light, from the dark poles and abyssal zones to the upper layer of the sea.
• Water: tropical living organisms need a lot of water. Its limited scarcity determines adaptations for survival and extraction, for example succulent plants, which can store water in arid areas.
• Temperature: may condition the survival of organisms. Some living organisms have adapted to the low temperatures of the glaciers.
• Salinity: an important factor in large aquatic ecosystems. Species can tolerate oscillations of salt concentration, while others are adapted to the salt water concentration.
• pH: this factor reflects the acidity or alkalinity of the medium, and depends on the composition of the soil and the substances dissolved in water solution. Each species presents an interval within which it can develop.

Together, the biocenosis is the set of living organisms that inhabit an ecosystem. Each ecosystem's biocenosis is determined by the characteristics of the biotope in which it is integrated, and is formed by populations of different species. The whole population of individuals of the same species living in one place is called a population. Each population occupies one habitat, the physical place where the population lives and meets the conditions it needs to live, and has a determined ecological niche, which is the function the species performs in the ecosystem. Populations living in the same habitat often occupy different ecological niches in order to take advantage of available resources. In an ecosystem, populations coexist in balance, adapted to the characteristics of the biotope.

To understand the balance of a population, we must take into account the following variables:

• Population density: the number of individuals per km². If density is too high, food may become scarce, which can hamper survival, and high density can also become a problem for reproduction.
• Birth rate: the number of births per 100 individuals in a given time.
• Mortality rate: the number of individuals that die per 100 individuals in a given time.
• Immigration rate: the number of individuals that enter the population from other populations per 100 individuals.
• Emigration rate: the number of individuals leaving the population per 100 individuals.

Another characteristic of populations is that their size fluctuates over time, changing the number of individuals. These fluctuations are due to changes in the environment, migrations, and factors such as predation. Fluctuations often appear cyclical and show a degree of regularity.

Adaptations of living organisms to the biotope depend on its physical and environmental factors. Species that best adapt to the conditions of their environment develop morphological and physiological characteristics that allow them to survive in the environment they colonize.

Aquatic life: organisms in aquatic ecosystems tend to live in water. Their body is supported by water, which absorbs heat more effectively than air, so they do not need body heat conservation. Many aquatic organisms, such as nudibranchs, have naked skin and do not need structures to avoid dehydration. Water has greater density than air, which allows many organisms to live without needing hard, rigid body parts to support themselves. For example, aquatic algae and plants stay upright without the rigid tissues that land plants need.

Terrestrial life: in terrestrial ecosystems, living organisms live on the surface of the land, in contact with air. The air is characterized by scarce water, large oscillations in temperature, and lower density than water. Terrestrial organisms have developed structures to capture and retain water and avoid dehydration, and have developed rigid structures to support themselves in the air. Temperature oscillations on land are due to the fact that air and earth heat and cool faster than water, causing daily and seasonal temperature differences.

Energy and nutrients: the cycle of matter and the flow of energy are carried out through trophic nutrition. Heterotrophic organisms need energy to build, maintain their structures and perform other vital functions. The main source of energy in the biosphere is solar energy. Photosynthetic organisms capture solar energy and use it to produce organic matter. Heterotrophs depend on autotrophs for survival. This interdependence can be represented through a trophic chain. Each organism occupies a position in a trophic level, and each level feeds on the level below it.

• Producers: the first level of the chain, made up of autotrophs that convert inorganic matter into organic matter.
• Consumers: the following levels, made up of heterotrophic organisms. Primary consumers are herbivores that obtain food from producers. Secondary consumers are carnivores that feed on herbivores.
• Decomposers: organisms that act on dead organisms and waste, transforming organic matter back into inorganic matter. Examples include bacteria, fungi and some protists.

Species within the same food chain feed on each other, but a species can feed on several other food sources. These relations are called food webs. Changes in the number of individuals in any trophic level can substantially alter the ecosystem.

Energy flow and trophic relations are represented by ecological pyramids, in which each trophic level's quantity of organic matter is shown. The energy flow: a portion of the incoming solar energy that reaches Earth's surface is absorbed by living organisms. Autotrophs transform part of this energy into organic matter. Heterotrophic organisms use organic matter as a source of chemical energy to perform their vital functions, transforming it into thermal and mechanical energy. A portion of solar energy dissipates into the atmosphere as heat and movement.

Inheritance