Ecosystem |
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Seals are part of the ecosystem in the Danish Wadden Sea. Photo: Svend Tougaard |
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| An ecosystem is a functional unit consisting of all the living organisms (plants, animals, and microbes) in a given area, and all the non-living physical and chemical elements in their environment, linked together through nutrient cycling and energy flow. Ecosystems vary in size, from a log, a pond, a field, a forest, at one end of the scale, to the earth's biosphere, at the other. However, they always function as a whole unit. | ||