Ecology & Conservation: Primorsky Krai
What Is Ecology?
Ecology is the scientific study of both Biotics (Living) and Abiotics (Non-living) and how they interact with each other in the ecoystems that they reside in.
What is a Biome?
When various Ecosystems are found in a similar environment, and hold the same characteristics, they're catergorised into the same Biome. A biome is a collection of ecoystems.
For example, a Temporate Deciduous Forest is a type of Biome, yet it can be located in various parts of the world, such as the United States, Europe, and China (SoftSchools, 2005). All of these places are different ecosystems, yet they all share the same trait of having Deciduous trees (these shed their leaves during colder Winter climates) (Oxford University Press, 2015).
Below (figure 2) is a map showing various biomes from across the world, and where they can be located.
What is an Ecosystem?
An Ecosystem is established through a community of organisms that reside within the same area, and explores how they interact with the environment around them and how they effect each other (Giardina and Sheppard, 2015). Abiotics can both limit and fluctuate the survival rate of Biotic organisms, just how Biotics can affect Abiotics in turn.
For example, a Biotic, such as a plant, can affect the soil value in the environment, which is an Abiotic. in turn, an Abiotic, such as temperature, can affect the growth and development of the Biotic plant species (see figure 1).
Figure 1. A list of examples of Abiotic and Biotic Factors in an Ecosystem (Bharat, 2014).
Figure 2. A Global map showing the locatinon of all Biomes (Marietta College, 2015).