The biosphere is a collection of complex ecosystems. This results in oxygen depletion below the thermocline in summer due to the high rate of aerobic decomposers. Lakes may also be classified as oligotropic when organic matter and nutrients are relatively scarce. These factors interact producing prevailing winds and ocean currents that influence global climate patterns. Climate affects the physical and chemical development of soils and sediments.
Specific populations have characteristic properties such as size, density, and dispersion.
A niche is a populations place or role in an ecosystem. The biotic potential is the rate at which a population increases when there are no limits. A population will stabilize at a certain size, called the carrying capacity of the particular place where the population lives. As a population approaches the carrying capacity, competition for resources, emigration, and accumulation of toxic waste all increase. Demography is the statistical study of populations.