{{Short description|Interacting organisms living together in a habitat}} {{more citations needed|date=January 2016}} [[Image:FoodWeb.svg|thumb|{{center|A [[freshwater]] [[Aquatic ecosystem|aquatic]] and [[Ecoregion#Terrestrial|terrestrial]] [[food web]]}}]]
A '''biocenosis''' (UK English, '''biocoenosis''', also '''biocenose''', '''biocoenose''', '''biotic community''', '''biological community''', '''[[Community (ecology)|ecological community]]''', '''life assemblage'''), coined by [[Karl Möbius]] in 1877, describes the [[Biological interaction|interacting]] [[organism]]s living together in a [[habitat (ecology)|habitat]] ([[biotope]]).<ref>[[Karl Möbius|Möbius, Karl]]. 1877. ''Die Auster und die Austernwirtschaft.'' Verlag von Wiegandt, Hemple & Parey: Berlin, [https://archive.org/details/dieausterunddie00mbgoog]. (English translation: The Oyster and Oyster Farming. ''U.S. Commission Fish and Fisheries Report'', 1880: 683–751, [https://penbay.org/cof/cof_1880.html].)</ref> The use of this term has declined in the 21st сentury.
In the [[palaeontological]] literature, the term distinguishes "life assemblages", which reflect the original living community, living together at one place and time. In other words, it is an assemblage of [[fossil]]s or a community of specific time, which is different from "death assemblages" ([[Thanatocoenosis|thanatocoenoses]]).<ref name=Ager>e.g. Ager, 1963, Principles of Palaeoecology</ref> No palaeontological assemblage will ever completely represent the original biological community (i.e. the biocoenosis, in the sense used by an [[ecologist]]); the term thus has somewhat different meanings in a palaeontological and an ecological context.<ref name="Ager"/>
Based on the concept of biocenosis, ecological communities can take various forms: *Zoocenosis for the [[fauna]]l community, *[[Phytocenosis]] for the [[flora]] community, *Microbiocenosis for the [[microbe|microbial]] community.
The [[geography|geographical]] extent of a biocenose is limited by the requirement of a more or less [[uniform distribution (ecology)|uniform]] [[species composition]].
==Ecosystems== {{Main|Ecosystem}} An [[ecosystem]], originally defined by [[Arthur Tansley|Tansley]] (1935), is a biotic community (or biocenosis) along with its physical environment (or ''[[biotope]]''). In ecological studies, biocenosis is the emphasis on relationships between species in an area. These relationships are an additional consideration to the interaction of each species with the physical environment.
==Biotic communities== [[Image:Tide pools in santa cruz.jpg|thumb|The side of a [[tide pool]] showing [[sea star]]s (''Dermasterias''), [[sea anemone]]s (''[[Anthopleura]]'') and [[sea sponge]]s in Santa Cruz, California]] Biotic communities vary in size, and larger ones may contain smaller ones. Species interactions are evident in food or feeding relationships. A method of delineating biotic communities is to map the [[food chain|food network]] to identify which species feed upon which others and then determine the system boundary as the one that can be drawn through the fewest consumption links relative to the number of species within the boundary.
Mapping biotic communities is important identifying sites needing environmental protection, such as the British [[Site of Special Scientific Interest]] (SSSIs). The [[Australia]]n [[Department of the Environment and Heritage (Australia)|Department of the Environment and Heritage]] maintains a register of ''Threatened Species and Threatened Ecological Communities'' under the [[Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999]] (EPBC Act).
==See also== {{Portal|Environment|Ecology|Earth sciences|Biology}} * [[Biosphere]] * [[Biota (disambiguation)|Biota]] * [[Community (ecology)]] * [[Hylozoism]] * [[Population biology]] {{Clear}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== {{Wiktionary}} * Kendeigh, S. Charles. 1961. ''Animal Ecology''. Prentice-Hall, Inc., Englewood Cliffs, N.J., 468 p. * Tansley, A. G. 1935. The use and abuse of vegetational concepts and terms. ''Ecology,'' 16(3): 284–307.
{{Biological organisation}} {{Authority control}}
[[Category:Biogeography]] [[Category:Ecology]] [[Category:Ecology terminology]] [[Category:Habitats]]