Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
ecosystem
References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images & Videos
A tundra landscape in summer on the Yamal Peninsula, Siberia, with grassy hills, scattered rocks, and shallow lakes or streams under a cloudy sky.
How an ecosystem works: Producers, herbivores, and carnivores
How an ecosystem works
Illustration of an ocean food chain showing sunlight supporting one-celled life like dinoflagellates and diatoms, which are eaten by shrimplike copepods. These are consumed by small fish, which are then eaten by mackerel, followed by tuna, and finally a large shark at the top of the food web. Diagram of a terrestrial food chain showing plants as primary producers, eaten by herbivorous mammals and insects, which are consumed by small and large predators, with decomposers like fungi, bacteria, and earthworms recycling organic matter. A diagram of a temperate forest food web shows energy flow from the sun to an oak tree (producer), then to primary consumers like field mouse, quail, beetle, and squirrel, followed by secondary consumers such as hawk, frog, and raccoon, and tertiary consumers including wolf, red fox, and black bear. Arrows indicate feeding relationships. Detritivores like turkey vulture and crow, and decomposers such as bacteria and fungi, recycle nutrients back into the soil, nutrients, and water. An energy pyramid diagram showing four levels: producers like grass at the base, primary consumers such as rabbits above, secondary consumers like snakes next, and a tertiary consumer, an eagle, at the top. Arrows indicate energy transfer upward and energy loss at each level. Illustration showing four ways to measure biodiversity: species richness, genetic diversity, endemic species, and ecosystem diversity, using a landscape with varied habitats, marked species, and unique ecosystems. Diagram showing energy transfer through an ecosystem, with solar energy absorbed by plants (producers) at the base, then moving up to herbivores (primary consumers), small carnivores (secondary consumers), and large carnivores (tertiary consumers), while most energy is lost as heat at each step. Illustration showing three ecological scales: a single forest patch at the top, a cluster of forest patches in the middle, and a greater patch mosaic with forests, fields, and a river at the landscape level.
Quizzes
Chutes d'Ekom - a waterfall on the Nkam river in the rainforest near Melong, in the western highlands of Cameroon in Africa.
Ecosystems

ecosystem: References & Edit History

Article Contributors

Primary Contributors

  • The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
    Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.

Other Encyclopedia Britannica Contributors

Article History

Type Description Contributor Date
Modified link of Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Ecosystems. Sep 18, 2026
Add new Web site: Cell Press - Current Biology - When ecosystems collapse. Aug 01, 2025
Updated to modernize spellings throughout. Jul 23, 2024
Add new Web site: NASA - Terra - Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems. Jul 11, 2024
Add new Web site: National Center for Biotechnology Information - PubMed Central - Population and community ecology: past progress and future directions. May 02, 2024
Add new Web site: National Geographic - Ecosystem. Feb 12, 2024
Links added. Jun 01, 2023
Added a food web diagram. Jan 11, 2023
Add new Web site: Biology LibreTexts - Ecosystems. Dec 04, 2022
Add new Web site: The Canadian Encyclopedia - Ecosystem. Aug 22, 2022
Article revised and updated. Aug 11, 2021
Deleted videos. Nov 22, 2019
Add new Web site: Khan Academy - What is an ecosystem? Feb 13, 2019
Changed "the sun" to "the Sun." Dec 19, 2017
Added illustrations of a terrestrial food chain and an energy pyramid. Dec 19, 2017
Add new Web site: Kids Geo - Kids Geography - The Earth�s Biosphere. Jun 04, 2017
Add new Web site: Easy Science for Kids - Ecosystem. Jun 04, 2017
Added video. Sep 04, 2015
Added video. Apr 30, 2015
Add new Web site: Rader's Geography4Kids.com - An Ecological System. Feb 06, 2014
Video describing energy flow in an ecosystem added. Feb 04, 2013
Add new Web site: NeoK12 - Educational Videos and Games for School Kids - Ecosystem. Nov 03, 2011
Video depicting the basic components of ecosystems added. Oct 14, 2011
Added diagram of oceanic food web. May 17, 2010
Photograph of the tundra ecosystem of the Yamal Peninsula, Russia, added. Jan 21, 2009
Added new Web site: Estrella Mountain Community College - Community and Ecosystem Dynamics. May 21, 2008
Added new Web site: Environmental Literacy Council - Ecosystems. Sep 19, 2007
Added new Web site: University of Michigan - SEAS - Ecosystem Science and Management - Conservation Ecology. Sep 18, 2007
Article revised and updated. Mar 16, 2007
Article added to new online database. Jul 20, 1998
View Changes:
Article History
Revised:
By: