Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
An ecological community is a group of different species that live together and interact in a specific habitat or ecosystem.
Related terms
Niche: This refers to the role or function that an organism plays within its environment.
Ecosystem: This is a larger concept that includes not only the living organisms (biotic factors) but also non-living components (abiotic factors) such as water, soil, light, temperature etc.
This term refers to the variety of life forms present in any given ecosystem. It can be measured on several levels including genetic diversity within a species, diversity between different species and diversity of ecosystems.