por He biotope It constitutes the abiotic (non-living) component of the ecosystem. It is a geographical area with physical-chemical characteristics that allow the development of a community of living beings. The components of the biotope are the medium, the substrate and the environmental factors; of the latter, climate, soil and water are the fundamental ones.
Some of the determining factors in the conformation of a certain biotope are light, temperature, humidity and the physical-chemical properties of the medium and the substrate.
Biotopes can be terrestrial, aquatic, and mixed or transitional. Examples of terrestrial biotopes are tropical rainforests, temperate forests, and savannahs.
Among the aquatics there are marine and freshwater biotopes. The mixed or transitional ones are located in contact zones of terrestrial areas and bodies of water; Among these, the various types of wetlands such as marshes, swamps and mangroves stand out.
Components
The biotope is made up of the complex interaction of a large number of abiotic factors, which serve as a matrix of support for life in the ecosystem. The fundamental components are the medium, the substrate and environmental factors.
The middle
It is the matter in which the biocenosis is immersed. In this living organisms move and perform their functions.
The main media are air and water. However, there are very particular environments, such as the intestine of a mammal. This forms an ecosystem with a biocenosis of bacteria, fungi, and protists, and the medium is the pericellular and cellular contents of the intestinal tract.
the substrate
It is the matter on which living beings in the ecosystem settle. The most common is the soil, but in the case of many aquatic biotopes, the water is the medium and the substrate at the same time.
environmental factors
Life can only exist within a defined range of environmental conditions and each organism has optimal functioning adapted to each abiotic factor. Thus, a certain biotope has a dynamic balance of abiotic factors that allows the existence of a certain biocenosis.
Among the environmental factors we have the following:
Solar radiation
The incidence of solar radiation and its quality influence the community of living beings that can exist in a biotope. A deficit of solar radiation limits bioproductivity and affects the trophic web.
Water
If in a given area the humidity is limited, then only a particular biocenosis can develop. On the other hand, an aquatic environment determines a different biocenosis than a terrestrial environment.
Temperature
The temperature range in which living things are capable of performing their basic functions is restricted. Above a certain limit, most proteins become denatured.
At high temperatures, the number of species that can form part of the biocoenosis is very low (only thermophilic archaebacteria). At another extreme, when temperatures are very low, living beings capable of surviving are also scarce.
Chemical composition of the medium and substrate
Plant species and soil biota respond to chemical compositions and physical and pH characteristics of the substrate in a defined range.
In water, salinity and pH are determining factors. Another important element is the proportion of gases that make up the air in a given biotope.
Climate
It is decisive to define the variety of species that can inhabit a given area. In a temperate zone biotope, subjected to a four-season regime, the biocenotic characteristics are very different from those of a warm tropical regime.
Relief
The physical conformation of the terrain influences other environmental factors. Temperature decreases with altitude, while runoff and groundwater availability vary with slope.
For example, air masses rise when colliding with a mountain and condense as they rise, generating cloudiness and orographic rain. This defines very particular environmental factors, such as high humidity that favors the development of a particular biocenosis.
Guys
terrestrial biotopes
They are characterized because the biocenosis settles on the earth as a substrate and is immersed in the air as a medium.
They have a latitudinal variation, so when moving latitudinally we will find tropical, temperate and cold biotopes. In turn, in each area there will be as many biotopes as possible combinations of soil types, relief, altitude and climate occur.
aquatic biotopes
In this case, the fundamental medium in which the biocenosis that occupies it is immersed is water in a liquid state. There are freshwater and marine aquatic biotopes, which differ in depth gradient (vertical) and horizontal zoning.
It is in the marine field that a greater variety of biotopes is reached. The conditions vary depending on whether they are located in the pelagic environment (open sea), in the benthic (oceanic floor) or in the abyssal region (deep trenches).
The marine currents, the depth and the temperature are determining factors in the biocenosis that is established in these.
Transitional or mixed biotopes
The physical environment of these biotopes includes terrestrial and aquatic elements. Wetland or coastal zone ecosystems fall into this category. The biocoenosis that this type of biotopes occupies has evolved adapting to this mixed condition.
Organisms can fulfill part of their cycle in one or another area of the biotope. They generally depend on the flow of matter and energy that occurs between the aquatic and terrestrial environments. Among these biotopes we find estuaries, swamps, marshes, deltas and coasts.
Differences with habitat, biocenosis and ecological niche
All areas of the planet occupied by living things constitute the biosphere. This works as an integrated system, but from a practical point of view it is divided into smaller units.
The largest units are the biomes, defined by general climate characteristics. In turn, biomes are divided into ecosystems with different communities made up of populations of different species.
The ecosystem is the interaction of a biotic community (group of living beings of different species) with their abiotic environment.
There are various concepts linked to an ecosystem that are related to the different levels of organization. In some cases the terms can be confused, so it is necessary to establish the difference between them.
Biotope yhhabitat
Habitat refers to the geographical area occupied by one or several populations of a certain species. Although in some cases the term biotope has been used as a synonym for habitat, they are different concepts.
The concept of biotope refers to the geographical area where a community (set of populations of various species) develops. That is, the biotope includes a variety of habitats.
For example, in a tropical rainforest we can find a species of monkey whose habitat is the treetops, in the upper canopy of the forest, while a jaguar has its habitat in the understory (the jungle floor). Both species exist in different habitats, but they coexist in the same biotope that is the humid forest.
Biocenosis and biotope
Ecosystems are formed by the community of living beings, the relationships between them and their relationship with the physical environment.
The biocenosis is the living part of the ecosystem. It is made up of all the species that form populations that, in turn, are grouped into communities. This includes symbiotic relationships between different populations within a community and between communities.
Instead, as mentioned above, the biotope is the physical environment in which these communities develop.
Biotope and ecological niche
Another term that is confused with the biotope is the ecological niche. However, this category applies to species and not to communities.
It refers to the functional relationship of a species with the community of which it is a part. It includes all the adaptations of that species to its environment, especially in relation to the place it occupies in the trophic web of the ecosystem.
examples
terrestrial biotopes
Cloudy mountain rainforest
The biotope of this ecosystem has a determining influence of latitude and relief (altitude). They are areas located in the intertropical strip at altitudes between 800 and 2500 meters above sea level.
They are exposed to air masses laden with moisture that condense and form clouds as they ascend. They have high relative humidity and, due to the height, temperatures are relatively low. Another feature associated with the relief is the presence of steep slopes, so the substratum is shallow.
This biotope supports one of the most diverse biocenoses on the planet. There is a large number of species with different habitats and occupying abundant ecological niches. In addition, there are numerous complex symbiotic relationships between organisms.
The warm dry thorn bush
In contrast to the cloud forest, the espinar or warm thorn scrub is made up of a fundamentally flat relief biotope.
It generally presents sandy soils, with little organic matter and low fertility. Daytime temperatures are high and nighttime low, and there is only a short rainy period with low rainfall.
This biotope is home to a very different type of vegetation and fauna, and much less diverse than that of the wetter tropical forest.
Tropical alpine páramo or tundra
This is a dry ecosystem subjected to high radiation; however, due to the altitude (2,700 to 5,000 masl) there are low temperatures, mainly at night. The winds are dry, cold and strong.
They are high mountain areas with rocky substrates and low fertility. All this conditions a biocenosis with various specialized adaptations to withstand these conditions.
aquatic biotopes
Coral reef
It is an aquatic biotope located in warm seas in the photic zone at a depth of less than 100 meters (sunlight is received). Generally the waters in which they develop are shallow, sunny and agitated, with a low nutrient content.
The peculiarity of this ecosystem is that the fundamental part of the substrate (calcium carbonate of the barrier) is generated by the main component of its biocenosis, which are corals. The biocenosis that sustains this biotope is very diverse.
hydrothermal vents
The Galápagos Trench is a deep crack in the ocean floor. There are a series of chimneys or hydrothermal vents of water heated by the underlying rock.
Upon penetrating into the earth, the water is loaded with mineral compounds such as hydrogen sulfide, which is toxic to many species.
The trenches are located at a great depth (2500 meters), where sunlight does not penetrate. In these areas photosynthesis cannot occur, but they are home to a great deal of life.
The biocoenosis that supports this biotope includes giant tube worms, clams, crabs, and mussels. In addition, there is the presence of autotrophic bacteria…