Bison are sometimes mistakenly called buffalo. Bison, a large grazing animal native to the Great Plains, became the most important biotic factor in many Plains Indians cultures, such as the Lakota or Kiowa. Many Native American tribes of North Americas Great Plains developed a complex lifestyle based on the native plants and animals of plains ecosystems, for instance. Many cultures developed around nearby ecosystems. Threats to Ecosystems For thousands of years, people have interacted with ecosystems. ![]() ![]() Only a few mosses grow in this desert ecosystem, supporting only a few birds, such as skuas. Antarcticas thick ice sheet covers a continent made almost entirely of dry, bare rock. Even the cold desert ecosystems of the Gobi are distinct from the freezing desert ecosystems of Antarctica. As a result, these Gobi ecosystems have grazing animals such as gazelles and even takhi, an endangered species of wild horse. Some grasses are able to grow in the cold, dry climate. Unlike the Sahara, the Gobi has ecosystems based not in sand, but kilometers of bare rock. The Gobi is a cold desert, with frequent snowfall and freezing temperatures. The biome of the Sahara Desert, for instance, is very different from the biome of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia and China. Even similar-sounding biomes could have completely different ecosystems. Shrubs and animals that feed on small trees, such as goats, live in this Sahara ecosystem. The Sahara even includes a marine environment, where the Atlantic Ocean creates cool fogs on the Northwest African coast. Organisms in these ecosystems, such as snakes or scorpions, must be able to survive in sand dunes for long periods of time. The Sahara also has dune ecosystems, with the changing landscape determined by the wind. Within the Sahara are oasis ecosystems, which have date palm trees, freshwater, and animals such as crocodiles. The arid climate and hot weather characterize the biome. The biome of the Sahara Desert, for instance, includes a wide variety of ecosystems. Within each forest, each pond, each reef, or each section of tundra, you'll find many different ecosystems. They're organized very generally, based on the types of plants and animals that live in them. Forests, ponds, reefs, and tundra are all types of biomes, for example. Biomes are large sections of land, sea, or atmosphere. Ecosystems are often connected in a larger biome. The whole surface of Earth is a series of connected ecosystems. In this way, the biotic parts of the ecosystem depend on abiotic factors. Other organisms, such as hermit crabs, cannot live underwater and depend on the shallow pools left by low tides. Some organisms, such as seaweed, thrive in an aquatic environment, when the tide is in and the pool is full. Tide pools depend on the changing level of ocean water. Carnivores such as sea stars eat other animals in the tide pool, such as clams or mussels. ![]() Herbivores such as abalone eat the seaweed. Tide pools contain seaweed, a kind of algae, which uses photosynthesis to create food. Tide pools, the ponds left by the ocean as the tide goes out, are complete, tiny ecosystems. Ecosystems can be very large or very small. Animals that depend on plants for food and shelter will have to adapt to the changes, move to another ecosystem, or perish. A change in the temperature of an ecosystem will often affect what plants will grow there, for instance. Every factor in an ecosystem depends on every other factor, either directly or indirectly. Abiotic factors include rocks, temperature, and humidity. Biotic factors include plants, animals, and other organisms. Ecosystems contain biotic or living, parts, as well as a biotic factors, or nonliving parts. An ecosystem is a geographic area where plants, animals, and other organisms, as well as weather and landscape, work together to form a bubble of life.
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