Essay - The Word 'Ecosystem' is Used Frequently in the Popular Media...

The word "ecosystem" is used frequently in the popular media, and yet most people do not have a cle*****r, working definition of an ecosystem. An ecosystem simply refers to all ***** the organisms and *****ir physical environment that exist within a certain, specific area. This includes all plants, animals, and their environment, which can include water, dirt, rocks, ***** the air ***** surrounds them. For example, all of the organisms that live in a New England tide pool, plus their physical ***** would make up an *****. In addition, a deciduous forest *****nd a s*****lt pond marsh are also ecosystems.

A biosphere is an aggregate ***** m*****y ecosystems rather than a single ecosystem. The ***** is made up of the entire portion of ***** earth that s*****ports life. It encompasses many communities and ecosystems.

***** the simplest terms, ***** biosphere is the surface of ***** earth, and all the organisms contained within. A more complex definition argues that a biosphere is stable, and capable of adaptation, and also capable of being a m*****jor geological force. Using this more complex *****, a ***** could be said to exist on an asteroid, ***** the ice caps on Mars, or even under ***** oceans of Jupiter's moon, Europa.

***** food web is the interconnected and elaborate feeding relationship between ***** in a single ecosystem. In contrast, a food chain simply refers to the pathway in which food (energy) moves from trophic level to trophic level. A food web allows us ***** show the diversity ***** an ecosystem's ***** relationships, as it allows that omnivores like humans ***** eat both consumers and producers.

***** a deciduous *****, a ***** web can be a complex ent*****y. Primary producers make photosynthetic products, ***** ***** the forest, they include the trees and grass. ***** consumers ***** usually herbivores that eat the primary producers, and ***** caterpillars, mice, ants, deer, and chipmunks. Secondary consumers eat ***** primary *****, and include carnivores ***** wolves and bears that eat ***** ***** *****, and snakes ***** eat *****. In the ***** forest, humans can function as tertiary consumers, by *****ing secondary consumers like bears (although this is clearly uncommon).

In addition, ***** ***** as ***** consumers when they eat mice. Humans, bears and snakes can act as primary consumers when they ***** primary ***** like berries.

***** owl ***** eat ***** tertiary consumers like snakes ***** ***** ***** like mice.

***** high-***** consumer like the grizzly bear requires a large range to survive, which can encomp*****s anywhere from 11 square miles to 1000 square ***** of habitat. In ***** Brooks Range of Alaska, where there is minimal human interference, the average grizzly bear home ***** is 521 square miles. This need is based on the basic principles that underlie energy flow, trophic structure and ecological pyramids.

Trophic ***** simply refers to ***** different feeding ***** ***** an ecosystem. It governs the route of energy ***** in ***** ecosystem. Energy flow is ***** path that energy that is originally derived from the