How do microorganisms help maintin the ecological balance?
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Microogranisms provide massive amounts of oxygen to the environment. Also, they help to decompose dead organic matter.
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In ecology, the word ecosystem is an abbreviation of the term, ecological system. Some consider this the basic unit in ecology.\n\nIn general terms an ecological system can be thought of as an assemblage of organisms (plant, animal and other living organisms—also referred to as a biotic community or biocoenosis) living together with their environment (or biotope), functioning as a loose unit. That is, a dynamic and complex whole, interacting as an "ecological unit".\n\nEarly conceptions of this unit were as a structured functional unit in equilibrium. This equilibrium was characterized by energy and matter flows between its constituent elements. Others considered this vision limited, and preferred to understand an ecosystem in terms of cybernetics. From this view an ecological system is not a structured functional unit in equilibrium, but a functional organisation at dynamic equilibrium, or what was also called steady state. This branch of ecology that gave rise to this view has become known as Systems Ecology. Steady state is understood as the phase of an ecological systems evolution when the organisms are "balanced" with each other and their environment. This balance is achieved through various types of symbiosis, such as predation, parasitism, mutualism, commensalism, competition, and amensalism. Introduction of new elements, whether abiotic or biotic, into an ecosystem tend to have a disruptive effect. In some cases, this can lead to ecological collapse and the death of many native species. The abstract notion of ecological health attempts to measure the robustness and recovery capacity for an ecosystem. That is, how far the ecosystem is away from steady state.\n\nThe size and scale of an ecosystem can vary widely. It may be a whole forest, as well as a small pond, or even the geobiosphere itself. Different ecosystems are often separated by geographical barriers, like deserts, mountains or oceans, or are isolated otherwise, like lakes or rivers. As these borders are never rigid, ecosystems tend to blend into each other. As a result, the whole earth can be seen as a single ecosystem, or a lake can be divided into several ecosystems, depending on the scale used.
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I'm not certain anyone but a biologist can answer this one correctly, but I'll take a stab: the organisms in any ecosystem are related to each other in a hierarchy, like a food chain. Other relationships are helping, symbiotic or parasitical relationships in which one organism's function allows another to live. An ecosystem thrives when all its organisms are in balance.
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Try a mini ecosystem in a 2-liter coke bottle. Study it for a few months and see how it changes. Record what plants and animals you put in too.I suggest putting in some worms, moss, and an up-right plant
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Without producers, life could not exist.  Producers take energy in from the sun and create the necessary biproducts for all other life.  Without the producers, primary consumers would have nothing to eat.  Without the primary consumers, secondary consumers would have nothing to eat, and so on and so forth.  Producers can utilize the light energy that no other life on Earth can, and without that energy, life on Earth could not survive.
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Bacteria is essential in the breakdown of matter.  Ecologically, bacteria breaks plant and animal matter down into nutritious soil for new plants to grow.\n\nEconomically? Compost, antibiotics, yogurt, etc. all need bacteria.  Also, if bacteria didn't help break down matter, we would have to pay to get rid of it.
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The major groups of microorganisms—namely bacteria, archaea, fungi (yeasts and molds), algae, protozoa, and viruses
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Hint - \n\nBiotic factors = living things, eg animals & plants\n\nAbiotic factors = non living things, like climate\n\nPick an ecosystem - like a forrest, or a lake, and a examine the climate and how it affects the system.\n\n(How heat controls the vegitiation growth in a desert, how the animals live in that environment)
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Ecosystem-balance!!!!!!
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E.\nBecause bacteria can obtain nutrition chemically, they can live in conditions that no-one thought possible, for example in volcanic vents at the bottom of the ocean.
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Species are dying out all the time. And this effects the ecological balance. Therefore conservation biology can help to maintain species and prolong others lives. This is a must in research otherwise there will be nothing to research.
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Biotic factors include the plants, animals, fungi, bacteria and any other living things that live in an area. Categories include: \n\nProducers or autotrophs make their own food. Producers, such as plants, make food through a process called photosynthesis. In photosynthesis, plants use carbon dioxide and water to make sugar. This food is used by the plant for its own energy or may be eaten by consumers. \nConsumers or heterotrophs need to eat food that autotrophs have produced. There are different types of consumers. Herbivores eat plants. Carnivores eat animals. Omnivores eat both plants and animals. \nDecomposers are heterotrophs that break down dead tissue and waste products. They play a very important role in the ecosystem because they recycle nutrients. Bacteria and fungi are decomposers. \n\nTemperature - the ability to withstand extremes in temperature varies widely among plants & animals \nAnimals respond to variation in temperature both physiologically and behaviorally. Birds and mammals are endotherms ('hot-blooded') & maintain relatively high body temperatures using the heat by their own metabolism. Other animals (such as reptiles, amphibians, fish, & insects) are called ectotherms & their body temperatures are largely set by the ambient (surrounding) temperature. \nEctotherms - use sources of heat such as solar radiation (direct and indirect) & conduction to help adjust their body temperature \nEndotherms - may maintain body temperature by: \nchanging the position of fur or feathers (like the Carolina Chickadee below) \nsweating & panting \nshivering \nbehavioral means such as seeking shade or water, burrowing, or varying periods of activity \nEndotherms - may avoid extended periods of low or high temperatures by hibernating or estivating \nHibernation - winter dormancy \nEstivation - summer dormancy \ncommon among some desert animals (permits conservation of water)\n\nWater \nprecipitation determines, along with mean temperature, the world-wide distribution of biomes \nPrimary problem for plants in areas like deserts is a lack of water. Plants adapted for arid conditions include: \nXerophytes, such as cacti (pictured below) and joshua trees, that usually have special means of storing and conserving water. They often have few or no leaves, which reduces transpiration. \nPhreatophytes - plants that grow extremely long roots, allowing them to acquire moisture at or near the water table.
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Biotic factors are not only the organisms themselves, but also their relationship and effect on the surroundings. For example, forest soil aeration might be caused by worms living underground, which might help the trees grow better, etc.
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Biotic vs. Abiotic \n \nAbiotic Factors\nAbiotic factors are those non-living physical and chemical factors which affect the ability of organisms to survive and reproduce.    \n\nSome Abiotic Factors\n \nlight intensity \ntemperature range \ntype of soil or rock \npH level \n(acidity or alkalinity) \nwater availability \ndissolved gases \nlevel of pollutant \n \n\nAbiotic factors vary in the environment and determining the types and numbers of organisms that exist in that environment.   Factors which determine the types and numbers of organisms of a species in an ecosystem are called limiting factors.   Many limiting factors restrict the growth of populations in nature.  An example of this would include low annual average temperature average common to the Arctic restricts the growth of trees, as the subsoil is permanently frozen.\n\nBiotic Factors\nBiotic factors are all the living things or their materials that directly or indirectly affect an organism in its environment.   This would include organisms, their presence, parts, interaction, and wastes.  Factors such as parasitism, disease, and predation (one animal eating another) would also be classified as biotic factors.\n\nSome Biotic Factors\n \nparasitism \ndisease \npredation \n \n\nCarrying Capacity\nCarrying capacity is the maximum number of organisms the resources of an ecosystem can support.   The carrying capacity of the environment is limited by the available abiotic and biotic resources (limiting factors), as well as the ability of ecosystems to recycle the residue of dead organisms through the activities of bacteria and fungi.\n\n http://regentsprep.org/Regents/biology/units/ecology/biotic.cfm\n\nThat was a little intro.  Now think about it how does light intensity and temperature affect us and our environment(those would be abiotic.  They help us and other organisms to grow and survive among other things)  and how does disease and stuff affect our lives(biotic)?
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Most systems, when left alone, will tend to come to a "steady state" or be at rest.  In the case of balancing the ecosystem, overpopulation is a situation that I tend to think would eventually be controlled by the environment.\n\nAs an example, consider bacteria and viruses for which not everyone is immune nor is there necessarily a vaccine.  The increase in population ensures: a) that there are more hosts for these agents to travel; and b) that the agent doesn't have that far to travel, so it does so quickly.  Epidemics have a way of balancing out overpopulation.\n\nIn some cases, people make the mistake of introducing some 'agents' (not necessarily viruses, but such as in a recent case with toads) into an environment in which they help control the population in one aspect, but then the agent itself overpopulates.  Eventually, as it runs out of food (unless it has several plentiful sources in the environment to which it's been transplanted) it too will experience a loss in population.
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Bacteria are involved in decomposition, fixing Nitrates into the soil and digesting plant matter in the guts of herbivorous animals, for starters. Without this crops wouldn't grow, animals couldn't eat them and dead bodies wouldn't break down.
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Stationary phase means they are growing as fast as they are dying, and the population is a steady state.  Basically the question assumes that the bacteria are in a equilibrium, where  waste and nutrients are balanced.  Gene expression changes in response to stimuli such as nutrients or waste, since this is a steady state there would not be any meaningful changes in gene expression.  It's a trick question.