Do ecosystems contain both plants and animals?

Answer 1

The ecosystem is a large community with dynamic interactions between the flora, fauna, and micro organisms within that physical environment (this includes the soil, rocks, water bodies, etc. too). Examples of ecosystems include deserts, prairies, tundra, ponds, forests, plains, to name a few.

There are autotrophs and heterotrophs in each system. The autotrophs provide food for the organisms in the higher level of the Biological Pyramid, while the heterotrophs consume the organisms from the lower level. Consider a very conventional ecological system: the forest.

------------------------------------------------- Level 4 : Decomposers ------------------------------------------------- Level 3 : Secondary Consumers ------------------------------------------------- Level 2 : Primary Consumers ------------------------------------------------- Level 1 : Producers -------------------------------------------------

The lowest of the Pyramid would be the plants that the herbivores eat, like grass, fruits, etc. These are autotrophs. The plants produce the energy from the sunlight and from the nutrients in the soil in which it grows. The animals on the higher level the herbivores consists of rabbits, deer, etc. They are called the primary consumers. The animals in the next level the carnivores can be lions, tigers, etc. There is also another set of heterotrophs, the omnivores that eat plants as well as animals. These are known as the secondary consumers. The last of this level usually include the micro organisms that divulge in breaking down of the dead and decayed organisms back to the soil for the plants to obtain nutrients from.

All biological activity within ecosystem should maintain the energy level balance.

One food chain for the above system would go as follows: Grass -> Rabbits -> Tigers

If the number of tigers is increased, the rabbit population would decrease and the grass growth increases, too. Hence, tigers wouldn’t live longer, eventually, leading to the extinction of two heterotrophs. This leads to imbalance in the Biological Pyramid. This could give rise to lots of environmental problems.

Answer 2

Of course there are. Look around you. Are you not surrounded by plant life? You're an animal, aren't you?

*An Ecosystem is a entire place example. the ocean, a forest etc, so yes naturally there are many diffrent kinds of plants, animals and other life living in the same ecosystem