ecosystem

[ek-oh-sis-tuh m, ee-koh-] /ˈɛk oʊˌsɪs təm, ˈi koʊ-/
noun, Ecology
1.
a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their environment.
2.
any system of interconnecting and interacting parts, as in a business: The success of Apple’s ecosystem depends on hardware/software integration.
Manufacturers, retailers, and customers are all part of the automotive industry’s ecosystem.
Origin
1930-35; eco- + system
Can be confused
biosphere, ecology, ecosystem, environment, habitat.
Examples from the web for ecosystem
  • Scientists come from around the world to study the impact of the radiation release on the surrounding ecosystem.
  • Milburn advised publishers to “know your ecosystem.
  • Along with the new bid for money, the government presented a plan for cleaning up the ecosystem.
  • Wildebeests, also known as gnus, shape the ecosystem as they move.
  • Not all exotic species are introduced to the ecosystem by accident.
  • San Francisco's new science museum hosts its own rooftop ecosystem.
  • Most ecosystems are complicated.
  • Students will learn why sharks are important members of the ecosystem.
  • Some worry that more pollution could cause the Gulf's ecosystem to collapse.
  • We're trying to restore an already damaged ecosystem.
British Dictionary definitions for ecosystem

ecosystem

/ˈiːkəʊˌsɪstəm; ˈɛkəʊ-/
noun
1.
(ecology) a system involving the interactions between a community of living organisms in a particular area and its nonliving environment
Word Origin
C20: from eco(logy) + system
Word Origin and History for ecosystem
n.

1935; see eco- + system. Perhaps coined by English ecologist Sir Arthur George Tansley (1871-1955).

ecosystem in Medicine

ecosystem ec·o·sys·tem (ěk'ō-sĭs'təm, ē'kō-)
n.
An ecological community together with its environment, functioning as a unit.

ecosystem in Science
ecosystem
  (ē'kō-sĭs'təm)   
A community of organisms together with their physical environment, viewed as a system of interacting and interdependent relationships and including such processes as the flow of energy through trophic levels and the cycling of chemical elements and compounds through living and nonliving components of the system.
ecosystem in Culture
ecosystem [(ee-koh-sis-tuhm, ek-oh-sis-tuhm)]

A collection of living things and the environment in which they live. For example, a prairie ecosystem includes coyotes, the rabbits on which they feed, and the grasses that feed the rabbits.

Note: Chemical substances move through ecosystems on the Earth in cycles (see carbon cycle).
Note: The source of energy for almost every ecosystem on Earth is the sun.