A biocenosis or biological community is a set of living organisms that inhabit a certain place. We can also define it as a set of populations of various species that coexist in a given area.
The individual living things of a species are grouped into populations, for example a herd of zebras is a population. But in the same area there may be a herd of wildebeest and lions, vultures, hyenas, as well as savanna grasses and trees. All these animals and plants belong to different species, each forming their populations.
However, these species do not exist in isolation, on the contrary they are all related to each other. So that set of populations that exist in a certain region at a given time, is what we call biocenosis or ecological community..
Then, by considering the ecological community with its physical environment (the non-living components that make up the environment), the ecosystem is formed..
A biocenosis has several characteristics:
Life is a continuous system, where all species are related in one way or another, both with each other and with the physical environment. However, it is possible to define the different ecosystems and their ecological communities.
For this, the physical, climatic and biological barriers that separate one community from another are taken into account. Physical barriers refer to mountains, large rivers, deserts, and other landforms that prevent species from passing from one place to another..
As climatic barriers, they are those limitations of temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind and other elements of the climate. That is, if the species of a biocenosis are adapted to a warm climate, they will hardly move towards a cold zone and vice versa..
Finally, biocenoses are also separated by biological barriers; for example, the existence of predators. A species tends to remain in its community if outside of it it is threatened by species that can eat it.
Biocenosis is also characterized by having a certain number of species and these in turn have a defined population size. But at the same time this is not static, but changes increasing or decreasing over time.
For example, the number of individuals in the population of a certain species or all of them may change, an entire population may even disappear..
The number of species that make up the biocenosis can also change, either because new species arrive or because some disappear. This can occur due to environmental changes, migrations, prey / predator relationship and other factors..
An increase in temperature, an unusual fire, an avalanche or landslide, are environmental changes that cause changes in the community. Likewise, changes occur through migrations, that is, because new species or individuals arrive from other areas..
Likewise, it may happen that the species or individuals of the different populations move to another place, for example looking for food. On the other hand, a common fluctuation (increase and decrease in number) is that which occurs between the population of a predator and that of its prey..
Thus, in an area the number of ferrets (predators) increases, which reduces the number of rodents (prey). Then, as the rodents become scarce, the ferrets decrease, which allows the rodents to increase again and thus the cycle is repeated over and over again..
Ecological communities are stratified, that is, they can be separated at different levels based on their physical location in the habitat. This physical location refers to the place where the species lives, called the biotope..
For example, in the biocenosis of a forest, there are species whose populations live on the branches of trees (biotope). While other species occupy the forest floor, which is a different biotope or place.
Every ecological community is characterized by including a certain structure of trophic levels. This means that certain producing organisms can be found in a biocenosis, or a combination of consumers or producers and consumers..
In such a way that food chains or food webs are established. For example, if we refer to a plant biocenosis, only organisms that produce their own food (primary producers) participate there..
The different species of plants produce their food by photosynthesis from solar energy and minerals from the soil and therefore are considered the basis of food chains. While if we talk about an ecological animal community, possibly there will be herbivorous consumers and other carnivores..
Biocenoses are also characterized by occupying a certain environment, that is, it can be an aquatic or terrestrial community, and even aerial. The latter refers to the community of bacteria, archaea and fungi that float in the atmosphere..
There are even very specialized communities, such as the community of bacteria and fungi that inhabit our body. Another element that differentiates communities is their stability, that is, their ability to withstand shocks..
There are some communities more stable than others in the face of certain impacts. For example, the herb community in a savannah tends to be more resistant to human intervention than the plant community in a tropical rainforest..
It can be said that there are as many biocenoses or ecological communities as there are ecosystems and therefore, there are many on the planet. However, a more general classification of types of biocoenosis can be established..
Biocenoses are classified into various types according to the type of dominant populations. In such a way that if we talk about a plant biocenosis it is called phytocenosis, de fito = plant and cenosis = community.
Whereas if the community is made up of animals is named zoocenosis, and it will be a microbiocenosis if they constitute it microorganisms. The latter include bacteria, archaea, microscopic fungi, and protozoa..
There is also talk of agrobiocenosis, to refer to the biocenoses that form in the crops and farms. However, in most cases we refer to comprehensive biocenoses or simply biocenoses, which include species of plants, animals and other organisms..
Ecological communities or biocenoses can also be classified according to the type of relationship between their species. In such a way that there may be parasitism, symbiosis, commensalism, competition and thanatochresis.
That is, one species can parasitize another (parasitism) and two species can help each other (symbiosis). There are even species that benefit from others without harming them (commensalism).
The most common of all biocoenotic relationships is species competition for scarce resources. While thanatocresis refers to those communities of organisms dedicated to feeding on the remains of living beings.
Similarly, biocenoses vary according to the environment in which they develop, and can be terrestrial, aquatic and even aerial. Depending on whether their populations live above the ground or below the ground, in some body of water or float in the atmosphere.
In a strict sense, the biocenoses that exist on the soil surface are air-terrestrial, since they live on the border between the air and the earth..
A garden is an agrobiocenosis, since the plants that grow there are cultivated by humans. This biocenosis includes, in addition to the populations of cultivated plants, others that are weeds.
As well as pollinating insects such as butterflies and bees, along with others that eat plants, which we call pests. In addition, other species of insects can be found that eat the pests. Also birds or small mammals that eat insects.
A pond is an aquatic biocenosis where various species live, including algae and aquatic plants, fish, frogs, insect larvae, and other organisms..
In a jungle there are different ecosystems and therefore different biocenoses. However, in a simple scheme, in biocenosis of the American tropical forest for example, diverse species are found.
Among them there are carnivorous consumers such as the jaguar and the ocelot. As well as herbivorous consumers such as the capybara and deer, also omnivores such as the peccary, which in addition to fruits consume small vertebrates.
On the other hand, there are also populations of primary producers such as the various species of herbs, shrubs and trees..
In this case, it is the populations of bacteria and yeasts that inhabit our intestines. These cover a large number of species with millions of individuals, being an example of microbiocenosis.
Among these microorganisms, most are beneficial and help us in the digestive process and even protect us against other harmful organisms.
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