Biology Stack Exchange
Biology Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [ecosystem]

An interconnected system of biotic and abiotic elements in a given area.

Questions should NOT use this tag to pertain to general "ecosystems", but rather the tag should be applied to questions pertaining to the ecological definition of ecosystems (i.e., relating to the biological, ecological, and biogeochemical patterns and processes between and among organisms and their abiotic environment)

related:

55 questions
26
votes
7 answers

What prevents predator overpopulation?

I've often heard that a population, human or otherwise, will continue to grow as long as there is food available (assuming nothing else is killing them off). It makes sense: if you have food you can live, and if nothing is hunting you you'll…
Nerrolken
  • 977
  • 9
  • 14
15
votes
1 answer

What are the requirements for a stable carbon cycle in sealed "bottle gardens"`?

The most famous example of a sealed bottle garden is David Latimer's bottle with a Spiderworth plant, pictured below, which has been sealed for 40 years. My own attempt at a bottle garden is failing and I'm looking to "debug" what's going on. My…
Abulafia
  • 245
  • 1
  • 11
12
votes
1 answer

What is the non-local impact of a large-scale destruction of coral reefs?

I'm reading today that the "bleaching" of coral reefs is progressing with unanticipated speed. Bleaching is occurring at a scale which was previously believed to be decades in the future. Bleached corals, according to the article in the New York…
Peter - Reinstate Monica
  • 721
  • 1
  • 4
  • 15
9
votes
1 answer

At what temporal scales do forest structures change?

At which time scales do forest stand characteristics (i.e. stand density, species composition, & diameter distributions) change in a temperate European forest which is not managed? Ideally, I'd like to conclude if a certain quantitative description…
erc
  • 93
  • 6
9
votes
1 answer

Do camels pose an environmental threat to kangaroos?

Camels, once used for transport across the Australian outback, were set free, and are reproducing at an uncontrolled rate in the empty interior of Australia. Do the ecosystems of camels and kangaroos overlap? Are camels competing with kangaroos…
Gordon Stanger
  • 731
  • 3
  • 12
7
votes
3 answers

What is the contribution of the cockroach to the ecological environment?

I've read a lot about cockroaches but was unable to find how they contribute to the ecological environment. Does anyone know?
Itai Ganot
  • 197
  • 1
  • 1
  • 7
7
votes
1 answer

What physics knowledge can be applied to biology of organisms and ecosystems?

In the wiki page of Biophysics: Biophysics spans all scales of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems. But after searching on the internet; the dominant application of physics in biology that I see is…
Ooker
  • 578
  • 4
  • 21
6
votes
3 answers

How much carbon does a forest contain?

Trees in a forest, alongside the fungi, animals and plants that live there in, capture atmospheric carbon dioxide and store it inside their tissues and in the soil as humus. It is possible to estimate the amount of carbon stored in some portion (say…
altroware
  • 195
  • 1
  • 7
6
votes
1 answer

What are the branches of system ecology?

What are the branches of system ecology that scientists research in nowadays? Or what can system ecology can applied to, or be used? I have read its Wikipedia page, but sadly it doesn't answer my question. The most relevant section of it is the…
Ooker
  • 578
  • 4
  • 21
5
votes
0 answers

What is the thickness of the biosphere?

In other words, what is the vertical distance between the deepest and highest point on Earth where life is found? Life has been discovered at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 13 km below sea level. It's hard to get deeper than this, but I'm not…
Riialto
  • 51
  • 1
5
votes
1 answer

Nutrient limitation in terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems

In terms of primary production, it is often described in textbooks that nitrogen is the most limiting nutrient in terrestrial ecosystems, while phosphorus is the most limiting nutrient in freshwater ecosystems. What creates this difference?
quibble
  • 662
  • 7
  • 17
5
votes
3 answers

The effect of depth on net primary production in aquatic ecosystems

The figure shows the relationship between the water depth and net primary production (=P-R). I want to know why the production (P) initially increases with water depth near the surface? I have seen similar relationships from other sources but never…
quibble
  • 662
  • 7
  • 17
5
votes
1 answer

How can omnivores be in more than one trophic level?

I'm learning about the ecosystem and its relation to organisms, So organisms in a food chain can be put from producers to tertiary organisms. I just don't get the part where an organism can be labeled into 2 trophic levels ? how is it placed in the…
Mareim
  • 61
  • 4
5
votes
1 answer

How much cost would artificial pollination add to common products (fruits etc.)?

I've read about ecosystem services and their possible valuation - statements like "honeybee pollination service in the US is worth 1.6 billion dollars". Is data available on how this would affect the cost a consumer pays for a given product? For…
Kozuch
  • 221
  • 1
  • 4
5
votes
1 answer

Mesophytic Climax community in succession?

My textbook says that in all cases of ecological succession (xerarch, hydrarch, etc.), the ultimate climax community, assuming constancy of environment, is a mesic community. Xeric or hydric pioneers are ultimately succeeded by mesic climax…
stochastic13
  • 4,649
  • 4
  • 24
  • 47
1
2 3 4