### scheme:

Ecosystem
* All ecosystems adjust in response to change in an attempt to maintain a state of dynamic balance.
* All ecosystems are linked within the planetary biosphere
  - open, that is, they exchange biotic and abiotic elements with other ecosystems
  - collectively form the biosphere
* All ecosystems depend on a continuous stream of energy from the sun
  - upon a diverse group of species to survive
  - exist as a balance between biotic and abiotic factors
  - have organisms that play the same roles
* All ecosystems have the ability to withstand stress
  - same parts
  - three characteristics in common
  - involve the transfer of energy from one organism to another
  - rely on a particular nutrient that is in short supply
  - together make up the biosphere, the thin layer of life that encircles the earth
  - use sunlights as their primary source of energy
* Any ecosystem product of physical, biological, and chemical processes.
* EcoSystems addresses our connection to nature, natural cycles, animals, and the Earth.
* Every ecosystem contains species of plants and animals
  - depends on the continual flow of natural cycles
* Every ecosystem has a different food chain, depending on which animals and plants live there
  - dynamic structure, a unique web of life
* Every ecosystem is controlled, somewhat, by local, regional, and global geologic processes
  - interconnected with all other members of the system
* Many ecosystems play a crucial role in chemical cycling that keeps the ecosystems in balance
  - provide several different goods and services to society
* Most ecosystems are extremely complex, containing many different kinds of biological relationships
  - moderately to highly sensitive to changes in climate
  - derive their energy directly or indirectly from the sun
* Most ecosystems get energy from the sun
  - their energy from the sun
* Most ecosystems have a number of different primary pro- ducers
  - only four trophic levels, and the top carnivores are very rare
  - primary producers , primary consumers , secondary consumers , and decomposers
  - start with the sun's energy creating photosynthesis
* Some ecosystems are microscopic and the largest comprises the biosphere
  - more resistant to acid rain than others
  - depend on sharks
  - have four or more levels of consumers
  - produce more than others
  - provide fish
  - rely on other energy sources however
* also have complex system cycles because community assembly follows a complex cycle
  - provide places for recreation and learning
  - regulate local and global climate
* are also spatial and temporal
  - always more stable if they have more biodiversity
  - both fragile and complex
  - capable of complete recycling
* are communities of interacting organisms and the physical environment in which they live
  - living things undergoing evolution
  - organisms and their abiotic environment
* are complex and can be viewed on different scales or levels
  - diverse, with many levels and intricate relationships between organisms
  - dynamic entities that use energy, produce wastes and recycle nutrients
* are complex and the complexity can be difficult to study
  - parts are interrelated
  - associations of organisms that have evolved together over time
* are composed of communities of plants and animals and their physical environment
  - living things and the physical environment with which they interact
  - crucial to human survival and well-being
  - dependent on interrelationships within the environment
* are dynamic and constantly changing, just as populations and communities are
  - in space and time
* are dynamic, and characterized by changes
  - complex, and difficult to define or delimit in space and time
  - their properties and species compositions change over time
  - ever-changing and interdependent
  - extraordinarily dynamic, complex, and unpredictable
  - extremely complex and interlinked
  - fairly robust and can cope with fluctuations in climate over the year
  - functions of the past
  - geographic areas defined by biologically significant environmental boundaries
  - groups of plants and animals and their nonliving environment such as air and water
  - highly vulnerable to the projected rate and magnitude of climate change
  - important in terms of understanding the causes and impacts of global change
  - in a constant state of change
  - indispensable for the support of life, and essential to our wellbeing
  - influences both by biotic and abiotic factors
  - large and complex
  - living communities
* are made of parts that function together
  - up of both living and nonliving factors
  - most vulnerable to disruption at their edges
* are natural conveyor belts in which the living re-cycle waste and dead products
  - resources including animals and plants interrelated in the environment
  - necessary for the survival of the planet
  - numerous and complex
* are open systems that can and do change and interact with one another
  - through which energy flows and materials are cycled
  - open, within the biosphere
  - powered by the sun
  - process-oriented and more easily seen as temporally rather than spatially ordered
  - self-contained regions that include both living and nonliving factors
  - self-organizing
  - specific environments where there well-organized food web
  - structures
* are the basic ecological units within the biosphere
  - context of speciation
  - mainstay of all life on Earth
  - parts of nature most strikingly analogous to cities
  - plant and animal communities living together in a given area
  - unaffected by organic evolution
  - unique mixtures of plants and animals that are connected through food chains
  - very complex
  - workshops of evolution
* begin with the establishment of a biofilm.
* breakdown and collapse with the loss of diversity.
* can be as small as a rotting log or as large as an ocean
  - rotting log or as large as the whole world
  - large or small
  - reasonably stable over hundreds or thousands of years
  - regenerative
* can be very large or very small
  - large, or very small, but they are all fragile
  - change over time in response to physical conditions or interactions among organisms
  - endure large stresses
  - show a complex relationship between the living and non-living factors
* change constantly through natural succession
  - little over time
* circulate, transform, and accumulate energy through structures.
* come in a variety of sizes
  - three types
* comprised of different kinds of microorganisms living together are known as consortia.
* consist of non-living and living components
  - the interactions between biotic and abiotic processes
  - various components
* contain biotic or living, parts, as well as abiotic factors, or nonliving parts
  - interconnected food chains known as food webs through which energy flows
* depend on fungi as decomposers and symbionts.
* exist in a delicate balance which has evolved over millions of years.
* form distinct regions on Earth's surface, which vary in size, shape, and complexity.
* function across many scales.
* generally experience a mix of all three.
* go through constant change.
* grow and reproduce.
* have bursts of creation followed by slow death, extended by renewed bursts of creation
  - contiguous volume
  - impact on aerosol distributions
  - many different processes, some of which take very long times to come to fruition
  - no particular size
  - structure, like the rows of stone in a pyramid
  - their own unique climax communities
* includes hierarchies.
* interact with each other
  - other ecosystems through the exchange of matter and energy
  - the atmosphere, adding and subtracting gases
* involve complex feedback interactions between the environment and numerous species
  - systems of biological controls over pests and pathogens
* make up biomes, which compose the biosphere
  - the biosphere, which includes all life on Earth
* naturally change with time.
* normally evolve slowly.
* occur at various scales.
* perform many important functions
  - services essential to our existence
* possess mosquitoes
  - several mechanisms for self-healing
* provide a variety of goods and services upon which people depend
  - mankind with numerous benefits
  - many essentials including food, materials, medicines, energy and water resources
* receiving more nitrogen than the plants require are called nitrogen-saturated.
* refer to the web of plants and animals across a wide scale of size and area.
* regenerate, withstand, and are forever adapting to fluctuating environments.
* reorganize themselves in response to human actions.
* require constant inputs of from sunlight or chemicals.
* respond differently to long-term, gradual change than to abrupt episodic change.
* rule the net world as well as the biological world.
* serve humans because they provide natural functions.
* strive for balance.
* sustain natural processes such as soil creation and the oxygenation of air and water.
* tend to be linked in space by unidirectional flows
  - more resilient near the equators and less so nearer the poles
  - change with time until a stable system is formed
  - have cyclic fluctuations around a state of equilibrium
  - toward maturity
* typically contain many complex interactions that occur simultaneously.
* vary greatly in size and characteristics.
* vary in diversity
  - size and can be as small as a puddle as large as a forest