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5. Development
An ecosystem is the combination of a biological community and the abiotic environment it interacts with
Within an ecosystem, species both affect and are affected by the physical (abiotic) environment (soils, topography, climate and so on) and the other species found there. Different ecosystems have very different sets of physical attributes. Similarly, different species have different niche widths; generalists can survive over a wide range of conditions whilst specialists require more specific conditions. The niches of different species tend to show different sets of environmental tolerances (with their optimums at different position on any given environmental gradient). Thus viewed as a whole, the community will have a greater tolerance of a broad range of environmental conditions than its component individuals or species.
What is an ecosystem?