An ecosystem refers to all the animals and plants that live together in one place and interact with each other. Different ecosystems can exist close together and some animals belong to multiple ecosystems. Every aspect of an animal's environment, including where it lives and the other organisms it interacts with, affects it. Animals are adapted to their environments through traits that help them survive, such as streamlined bodies that aid fish in swimming or thick layers of fat that insulate seals. A habitat is the place where an animal lives and finds what it needs to survive, like food, water and shelter. All living things require food and organisms in an ecosystem depend on each other for nourishment, with some animals eating plants or other animals. Food chains illustrate pred