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Introduction to ecosystems

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Gain an understanding of the natural world and how the web of life works, with illustrations from around the world.

This course is designed to be studied for about 2 hours per week over 6 weeks. As there is no start and end date you can study in your own time and your own pace.

Throughout this free non-accredited course you will be considering the following overarching questions:

What is the importance of understanding ecosystems?
How do they work?
How crucial is their conservation?

If we don't grasp why ecosystems function, it becomes harder to determine possible reasons for when they don't, and makes it difficult to identify possible environmental threats to humans. In this course you will discover how organisms are linked together by complex interrelationships, how such links are studied and how the physical properties of a particular habitat interact with the organisms that inhabit it. Using case studies, you will come to learn how knowledge of ecosystems leads to understanding of their individual importance, and how they can be preserved.

This course is intended for those with an interest in natural history, conservation or the environment and does not require any previous experience of studying these subjects.

This OpenLearn science course is produced with the kind support of Dangoor Education, the educational arm of The Exilarch's Foundation.

Learning outcomes

When you reach the end of the course you will have explored the concept of an ecosystem and be able to:

define an ecosystem
understand the different ways in which a system can be analysed
use your knowledge of the key features of ecosystems to determine interrelationships between organisms in a simple ecosystem
describe adaptations shown by animals to extreme desert and polar environments
discuss how small organisms in marine systems contribute to energy flow through ecosystems
explain how humans impact on three examples of fragile ecosystems.

Record of achievement

By enrolling on this course you can track your progress in your My OpenLearn profile and earn a free Open University statement of participation on completion.

This course is also available to study on FutureLearn where you will have the opportunity to purchase a FutureLearn certification on completion.

Browse this course before enrolling

First Published: 04/06/2014

Updated: 18/12/2019

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Course content

- week1Week 1: What is an ecosystem?
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Throughout this course you will be considering these overarching questions:What is the importance of understanding ecosystems?How do they work?How crucial is their conservation?But first, what constitutes an ecosystem and how is an ecosystem defined? Consider the habitats shown in Figure 1. Are they individual ecosystems or groups of ecosystems? Could there be different ways of defining ecosystems?By the end of this first week you will be able to explain how an ecosystem is defined, in terms...
- 1 Define an ecosystem
- 2 Investigating ecosystems
  - 2.1 The rockpool
- 3 Study a habitat
- 4 The wetlands of Wicken Fen
  - 4.1 Following the food web in Wicken Fen
  - 4.2 Managing habitats in Wicken Fen
- 5 Week 1 quiz
- 6 Summary of Week 1
- Acknowledgements
- Week 1: quiz
- week2Week 2: Understanding ecosystems
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Ecosystems comprise more than relationships between organisms in the habitat. They are affected by factors such as light, water, carbon dioxide and nutrients and, of course, human activity.It is nearly impossible to understand all the interactions occurring in a given ecosystem at any one time, but it is possible to observe the types of interactions that are present – and there are six, described by Dr Mike Gillman in the following video. Analysing interactions in terms of these types...
- 1 The carbon cycle
- 2 Exploring oak woodland
  - 2.1 Following a food chain
- 3 Fungi and the woodwide web
  - 3.1 Unearthing the woodwide web
  - 3.2 Mutual benefits and competition
- 4 Life in trees
- 5 Week 2 quiz
- 6 Summary of Week 2
- Acknowledgements
- Week 2: quiz
- week3Week 3: Animals and ecosystems at the extremes
- Current section:
  Introduction
  Studying ecosystems in the most inhospitable places reveals a range of adaptations to survival. Desert or polar ecosystems seem remote, but their links with other ecosystems are very important.Conditions in deserts and around the poles are harsh and the organisms that live in these habitats have a range of adaptations that enable them to live there, though often on the margins of survival. So, understanding how organisms survive is part of our understanding of the ecosystems as a whole. Stud...
- 1 Deserts
- 2 Cold environments
  - 2.1 Life on land at high latitudes
  - 2.2 Life in the polar seas
- 3 Apply your knowledge of ecosystems
- 4 Week 3 quiz
- 5 Review of Weeks 1 to 3
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week 3: quiz
- week4Week 4: The unseen world
- Current section:
  Introduction
  This week you will learn about the smaller organisms at the base of food chains in simple and complex ecosystems. Then look for organisms in your own area and identify them using the iSpot community.Three-quarters of the Earth’s surface is covered with water, and that water is full of particles and a vast array of different kinds of creatures make their living by filtering those particles out of the water. There are many very small organisms that inhabit the water world. Understanding...
- 1 Seas, ecosystems and small organisms
- 2 Analysing ecosystems – a summary
- 3 Identifying organisms
- 4 Week 4 quiz
- 5 Summary of Week 4
- Acknowledgements
- Week 4 quiz
- week5Week 5: Human impact
- Current section:
  Introduction
  How do humans affect ecosystems? Early humans were components of the ecosystem in which they evolved. Modern humans spread across a range of systems that differ from those in which the species originated. Ecosystems satisfy our needs for food, water and shelter, but unfortunately, human activities inevitably have an impact and may disrupt many ecosystems, some of them permanently. Human impacts may alter the interactions that take place within an ecosystem, or affect the productivity of the...
- 5.1 Managing or meddling
- 5.2 Managing an ecosystem – the art of coppicing
- 5.3 The survival of Wicken Fen
- 5.4 Conserving a rare species
- 5.5 Week 5 quiz
- 5.6 Human influences on ecosystems
- Acknowledgements
- Week 5: quiz
- week6Week 6: Fragile ecosystems
- Current section:
  Introduction
  We bring the last five weeks together, looking at issues of large scale management and conservation, concluding with a study of the Galápagos archipelago World Heritage Site.
- 1 Gorillas and tourism
- 2 China’s Loess Plateau
- 3 Galápagos
- 4 End of course quiz
- 5 Conclusion
- 6 Beyond ecosystems
- Acknowledgements
- End of course quiz

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Creative commons: The Open University is proud to release this free course under a Creative Commons licence.

However, any third-party materials featured within it are used with permission and are not ours to give away. These materials are not subject to the Creative Commons licence. See terms and conditions³⁷⁷ and our FAQs³⁷⁸.

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Introduction to ecosystems

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