B16/17 - Adaptations, interdependence & competition/organising an ecosystem Flashcards
Abiotic factor
An ecological factor that concerns the non-living part of the environment, e.g. rainfall, pH, temperature, etc.
Adaption
Special feature that makes an organism particularly well suited to the environment where it lives.
Biodiversity
The number and variety of different organisms found in a specified area.
Biotic factor
An ecological factor that concerns the living part of the environment, e.g-predation, food, competition
Carnivores
Animals that eat other animals.
Communities
All the living organisms present in an ecosystem. This includes all species of plants.
Competition
The process by which living organisms compete with each other for limited resources such as food, light or reproductive partners.
Ecosystem
A biological community and the abiotic factors associated with it.
Egestion
The removal of waste products form the body as faeces.
Extremophiles
Organisms which live in environments that are very extreme, e.g. very high or very low temperatures, high salt levels or high pressures.
Habitat
The particular place where an organism lives.
Herbivores
Animals that feed on plants.
Ingestion
The method of taking food into the organism, e.g. eating.
Interdependence
Within a community each species depends on other species for food, shelter, pollination, seed dispersal, etc. if one species is removed it can affect the whole community.
Migration
The movement of a population of organisms from one environment to another.
Apex predators
Carnivores with no predators.
Carbon cycles
The cycling of carbon through the living and non-living world.
Carnivores
Animals that eat other animals.
Combustion
The process of burning.
Decomposers
Microorganisms that break down waste products and dead bodies.
Decomposition
The chemical breakdown of all living, or once living material, into simpler molecules.
Ecosystem
A biological community and the abiotic factors associated with it.
Food chain
A sequence which represents the way in which energy is transferred from one organism to another.
Herbivores
Animals that feed on plants.
Predator
An animal which preys on other animals for food.
Prey
An animal that is a source of food for a predator.
Primary consumers
An organism that feeds on plants.
Producers
Organisms that can produce their own food from simple molecules and an energy source.
Secondary consumers
A carnivore that only feeds upon herbivores.
Tertiary consumers
A carnivore that feeds on other carnivores.
Tropic levels
One of the steps in a food chain.
Water cycle
The circulation of water between the atmosphere, land and oceans.
