Ecosystems

Navigation Survey Teacher's Curriculum Guide Student Gallery

See video and photographs of ecosystems in TIDES:

Desert
Desert
Cave
Cave
Forest
Forest
Grassland
Grassland
Wetland
Wetland    

The term ecosystem was coined in 1930 by a British botanist named Roy Clapham. Ecosystem refers to a natural unit consisting of all the plants, animals and micro-organisms living and functioning together with all of the non-living aspects of the environment, such as light, temperature, wind, and soil. All the living and non-living things in the ecosystem are related in some way and work as a whole to keep the area balanced and healthy.

Related links:
Biome map (Biomes of the World)
Ecoregions - North America (ECOWorld)
Ecoregions of North America (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
Ecoregions of Texas (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency)
Ecosystems (Environmental Literacy Council)
Organisms and their Environments (Teachers' Domain (free registration required)
Terrestrial ecosystems of the world - map (National Geographic)
Texas Ecological Regions (Texas Environmental Profiles)
World Biomes

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