Natural interactions
An ecosystem is impacted by natural forces and is always changing. It is more dynamic than many people realise.
When we study ecosystem dynamics we investigate what are the changes and patterns of change.
An interaction occurs when two or more objects or forces have an effect upon one another.
When studying interactions and how they change many people organise their thinking around the concept of "biotic and abiotic factors" where the biotic factors refer to all the living things present, and the abiotic factors refer to all the non-living components like physical conditions and chemical agents.
The photos below show some examples of the natural interactions that shape this dynamic environment. See if you can identify some the biotic and abiotic factors at play.