Although humans are primarily land dwellers, the Earth’s surface is largely water. The world’s oceans make up 99% of the planet’s biosphere and contain the greatest diversity of life. Even the most biologically rich tropical rain forests cannot match the biodiversity (measured by the number of species) found in a coral reef community.
Rain forests, deserts, coral reefs, grasslands, and a rotting log are all examples of ecosystems.
Since the oceans seemed limitless for thousands of years, it’s hard to understand pollution’s heavy impact on plant and animal marine species and ecosystems. Within the last 30 years, population increases, new technology, increased seafood demand, and many other factors have impacted marine ecosystems in ways unknown 100 years ago. With the planet’s population having now passed six billion, scientists, economists, policy makers, and the public are becoming increasingly aware of the strain on the ocean’s natural ecosystems and resources. Climate impacts on coral reefs and forest ecosystems have affected associated industries and jobs (lumber and fishing).
An ecosystem is a complex community of plants, animals, and microorganisms linked by energy and nutrient flows that interact with each other and their environment.
The idea of a biologically diverse environment is easy to imagine in the middle of the tropical rain forest, where there are living organisms all around you, but what about the desert? A lot of sand, cactus, scrubby plants, and stunted trees may not seem important, but they are. Every member of a particular environment or ecosystem has a specific purpose, or ecological niche.
An animal or plant with a specific relationship to its habitat or other species, filled by that organism alone, exists within an ecological niche.
The interrelationships between the ecological niches make up a complex ecosystem. Whenever a major overlap exists between species or a foreign species is introduced, the ecological balance is upset and things get out of whack. A new ecosystem balance must be achieved for the natural system to work smoothly. If biodiversity is unbalanced and a species eliminated, then niches within the system must adjust. Some adjustments are minor, but more often a domino effect takes place, with all members of the ecosystem rebalancing. The groups that cannot make the change die out.
Biodiversity is a measure of the number of different individuals, species, and ecosystems within an environment.
Use the video below to learn more about Ecosystems and Biodiversity
Mr. Aly's Science Classroom 
Hi Mr. Aly I like how this article talks about the balance in ecosystems, how extinction or changes in relationships between organisms change then there can either be a huge effect or a small effect. When an organism fails to rebalance it dies out and I like how it compares it to a domino effect which gives me a better understanding. I like how Bill Nye talks about how the living and non living things depend on each other in ecosystems for support and food for survival. I also like how Bill Nye uses a model to show the balance needed in ecosystems or else the ecosystem almost falls apart as the model that Bill Nye knocked down when he didn’t carefully take certain things out.
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Hi mr Ali I liked that it talked about different biodiversty
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Some the ecosystems in the video is the lithosphere ,hydrosphere,atmosphere
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Hi Mr Aly thank you for posting this document on the ecosystems also thank you for providing the bill nye video. I will try to use this on the upcoming test and make sure to memorize the ecosystems and know what they’re about.
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I like how the article has pictures as examples and how it says multiple examples of an ecosystem. the pictures helped me see what it looks like and I also was interested with the balance of ecosystems and I liked the video. From this article I also learned more about the balance of the ecosystems.
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Hello Mr.Aly I liked the jenga theory it makes a lot of sense when explaining how biodiversity relates to it.
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