Components of the Ecosystem and Its Ecological Relationships

Ecosystems include all biotic and abiotic factors in one particular environment. Biotic components are
the living parts of an environment. A list of biotic factors includes those organisms that are producers,
consumers and decomposers. They rely on each other for survival. The producers provide the food,
generally in the form of plant life. The consumers eat the producers. Some consumers eat other
consumers in the case of carnivores, a meat eater animals. At the end of an organism’s life cycle,
decomposers like bacteria, worms, and fungi turn the organism’s remains into organic material that can
be used to provide energy for a new generation of producers. In the ecosystem biotic components
interact with one another and also interact with the abiotic factors in order to survive thus interaction
takes place.Abiotic components are the non-living parts of the ecosystems necessary to sustain life.
Common examples of abiotic factors include: water, temperature, atmospheric pressure, light and soil.

Ecological Relationship describe the interactions between and among organisms within their
environment. These interactions may have positive, negative or neutral effects on either organism’s
ability to survive and reproduce. The following are the five ecological relationships: 1. Predation- A
relationship where one organism benefits while the other is eaten. In a community predation is very
common. An animal that kills and eat other animals is called predator. An animal that is killed and eaten
by its predator is called a prey. In some case, a predator’s prey may be another prey’s predator. This
means that while an animal hunts and feeds upon another animal, it can also become prey to a larger
and stronger predator. In figure 1, mice is the prey and the snake is the predator. 2. Competition- A
relationship between organisms that strive for the same resources in the same place. Figure 1. Snake
haunting mice There are two types of Competition: a. Intraspecific competition occurs between
members of the same species compete for limited resources. In figure 2, mongo seeds compete for a
limited resources. b. Interspecific competition occurs between members of different species competing
for the same resources in an ecosystem. In figure 3, a cow and a horse compete for the same resources
which is the grassland. Figure 2. Mongo seeds sown in a pot of soil Figure 3. A cow and a horse in a piece
of grassland3. Mutualism- A relationship where both organisms benefit from the relationship. Example is
an egret that feed on the ticks on the back of the carabao, see figure 4. 4. Commensalism- A relationship
in which one organism benefits while the other organism is unaffected. Example is a bird that lives in the
hollow of trees, see figure 5. 5. Parasitism- A relationship in which one organism benefits (parasite)
while the other is harmed (host). A parasite gets its nutrients from a living host harmed by the
interaction. An example is a lice on human scalp, see figure 6. Figure 4. Egrets feed on the ticks on the
back of the carabao Figure 5. Bird that lives in the hollow of trees Figure 6. Lice on the human scalp