2.1 Bio ecosystems and ecology Flashcards
what is the definition of a species?
a species is a group of individuals with common characteristics that can interbreed to create fertile of-spring.
what is a habitat?
a habitat is an environment where a species usually lives.
what is a population?
a population is a group of organisms of the same species living in the same area at the same time, and which are capable of interbreeding.
what is an abiotic factor? Can you give 5 examples?
a non living, physical factor that influence organisms and ecosystems. Key examples include temperature, PH, precipitation, sunlight and salinity.
what is a biotic factor, can you give 6 examples?
the interactions between living organisms influencing organism and ecosystem,
for example predication, herbevation, disease, mutualism, parasitism and competition.
what is the herbivore interaction and is it negative or positive?
when animal feeds on plant. Can benefit plant but can also kill it.
what is predation?
when an organism (predator) feeds on another (pray)
what is parasitism?
the interaction between parasite and host. parasite benefits of the expense of the host.
what is mutualism?
where two organisms live together and mutually benefit.
what is competition?
when organisms compete for the same, often limited resource.
what is intrAspesific completion?
when the same species compete for a reasorce.
what is intrEspesific
when two different species compete for a resource.
what is the niche of an organism?
a niche describes the particular set of abiotic and biotic conditions and resources to which an organism or population respond.
Can you give an example of a niche?
grasshopper, eats bugs, gets eaten by birds, lives in grass, waste is fertiliser, they can become a pest, killing crops.
what is a fundamental niche?
the full range of resources and conditions which a species could survive and reproduce on.
what is a realised niche?
the realised niche is the actually rage of resources and conditions which a species exists due to biotic interactions.
what are some natural factors effecting population growth and size?
predators, resource availability and disease.
what do limiting factor do?
slow the growth of a population as they reach their carrying capacity.
what is a carrying capacity?
the maximum number of organisms an specific environment can support.
when we see and S-curve on a population graph it means its a…
logistic growth
when we see a J-curve on a population graph it mean its a..
expotentional growth
what is enviromental resistance?
factors that tend to reduce population growth rates.
what to S and J curves discribe?
a generalised response of populations to a particular set of conditions both biotic and abiotic.
