B2 - Adaptions, Natural Selection & Interdependence Flashcards
What do animals compete for?
Food, water, shelter and mates.
What do plants compete for?
Light, water and minerals.
Why will the better-adapted competitors survive and produce offspring?
Because they will get most of the resources.
What does the interdependence of organisms determine?
Their distribution and abundance
What are the two types of competition in an ecosystem?
Interspecific and Intraspecific
What is interspecific competition?
Where individuals of different species compete for the same resources in an ecosystem
What is intraspecific competition?
Where individuals of the same species compete for the same resources in an ecosystem
Why is intraspecific competition more significant?
Because the organisms have the exact same needs
What will similar organisms living in the same habitat have?
Similar prey and nesting sites
What do similar organisms living in the same habitat compete to do?
To occupy the same ecological niche
What is an ecological niche?
The place and function
Define predators.
Animals that kill and eat other animals
Define prey.
Animals that are eaten
Which will there always be more of, predators or prey?
prey
Define parasites
Organisms that survive by living off other organisms.
Give examples of parasites.
Fleas, tapeworms
What is the organism that parasites live off known as?
The host organisms
What is a mutualistic relationship?
When two organisms form a relationship from which both organisms benefit.
Give an example of a mutualistic relationship.
Oxpecker birds live on buffalos’ backs, and get a ready supply of food from the flies and ticks on a buffalo’s skin
Give two ways a buffalo benefits from a mutualistic relationship with oxpecker birds.
The birds get rid of the pests, and act as an early warning system by hissing when predators approach
What are adaptions?
Special features or behaviours that make an organism particularly well suited to its environment.
When climate changes, which organisms will survive?
Those that can successfully adapt to the new conditions will survive