B7 Ecology

Question 1

Habitat

Answer 1

The place where an organism lives

Question 2

Population

Answer 2

All the organisms of one species living in a habitat

Question 3

Community

Answer 3

The populations of different species living in a habitat

Question 4

Abiotic factor

Answer 4

Non-living factors of the environment (e.g. temperature)

Question 5

Biotic factor

Answer 5

Living factors of the environment (e.g. food)

Question 6

Ecosystem

Answer 6

The interaction of a community of living organisms with the non-living parts of their environment

Question 7

What do plants compete for?

Answer 7

Light
Space
Water
Mineral ions from the soil

Question 8

What do animals compete for?

Answer 8

Space/territory
Food
Water
Mates

Question 9

What is interdependence?

Answer 9

When species in an ecosystem depend on each other for things like food, shelter, pollination and seed dispersal

Question 10

What does interdependence mean?

Answer 10

Any major change in an aspect of the ecosystem (like a species being removed) can have far-reaching effects for other parts of the ecosystem

Question 11

What is a stable community?

Answer 11

A community where the species and environmental factors are in balance so the population sizes are mostly constant (sometimes they move in cycles)

Question 12

Abiotic factor examples

Answer 12

Moisture level
Light intensity
Temperature
Oxygen/carbon dioxide levels
Wind intensity and direction
Soil pH and mineral content

Question 13

Biotic factor examples

Answer 13

New predators
Competition
New pathogens
Availability of food

Question 14

How could an abiotic factor affect a community?

Answer 14

A decrease in the mineral content of soil could cause nutrient deficiencies for plants

Question 15

How could a biotic factor affect a community?

Answer 15

A new predator could cause a decrease in the population of the prey

Question 16

Structural adaptation

Answer 16

Features of an organisms body structure. For example:
White fur for camouflage on Arctic animals
Thick layer of blubber on whales to keep out the cold
Camels have large surface area to volume ratio to lose heat

Question 17

Behavioural adaptation

Answer 17

The way organisms behave, For example:

Migrating to warmer climates during the winter to avoid the problems of living in a cold environment

Question 18

Functional adaptations

Answer 18

Things that go on inside an organism’s body. For example:
Desert animals conserve water by producing very little sweat and small amounts of concentrated urine
Brown bears hibernate and lower their metabolism during the winter to conserve energy

Question 19

Extremophiles

Answer 19

Microorganisms that are adapted to live in very extreme conditions, such as high or low temperatures, high salt concentration and high pressure

Question 20

Food chain/web stages

Answer 20

Producers - usually plants and algae that get their energy from the Sun
Primary consumer - eats producers
Secondary consumer
Tertiary consumer
Apex predator - organism at the top of the food chain

Question 21

Predator-prey cycles

Answer 21

Population sizes of predators and prey go in cycles because each population affects the other. A larger prey population means more food for predators, but when the predators have eaten all the prey they have less food and the prey population rises again.

Question 22

Why are predator-prey cycles out of sync with each other?

Answer 22

It takes a while for one population to respond to a change in the other

Question 23

Distribution

Answer 23

Where an organism is found