In ecology there is such a term - biocenosis.Simply put, it refers to the totality of all living beings, living in a particular area, as well as the structure of their relationships.For the purposes of normal coexistence of different creatures in the biocenosis inevitably produced a rather complex system of relationships and dependencies, which forms a natural community.So what is it?Natural communities - is the relationship of the elements of animate and inanimate nature in a certain geographical area.There are natural community created by nature, and communities that are built man - artificial.
addition to internal relationships, such as food relationship, each natural community is closely related to certain conditions, terrain and climate, the determining factor of inanimate nature.In the science section of inanimate nature associated with a certain biological community, called biotope.As a natural habitat could be considered the territory of different scale: forest, steppe, desert mainland.Natural Community (field, meadow, pond, etc.) smaller habitat in any case, be part of the natural community, belonging to a larger biotope.
Food relationships - is the basic form of communication in the biocenosis.From food relationships are built so-called food chain.An example of a unit of the food chain can serve as such: the predator eats the herbivore that eats the plant.Plants are populated with a natural community in most cases no one eat as a source of energy they use the process of photosynthesis, directly related to sunlight.Typically, the food chain is much more difficult because, firstly, larger predators can feed on smaller, so the cat will eat with pleasure insectivorous bird of prey or pike.Secondly, many animals are relatively omnivores, for example, Bear.Third, you need to understand that food chains are largely closed since the corpses and wastes are recycled special class of beings - saprophagous, which are dominated by fungi and bacteria, and then consumed by plants from the soil.
But the relationship between living organisms that inhabit natural communities, can not be reduced solely to the food, they are much more diverse.One of the most illustrative example is, of course, part of animals and insects in the breeding cycle of many plant species.It is in most cases insects pollinating flowering plants, and animals often take part in the distribution of seeds.Other examples of this symbiosis can be attributed the existence of bacteria in the microflora of the stomach or animal anemone, settled on the shell of a hermit crab.In most cases, the symbiosis beneficial to all participants, but even if this type of parasitic symbiosis, where one of the symbionts harmed, it will be an important part of the natural community.
