CB9 Ecosystems Flashcards
Ecosystem
All the organisms and the environment that they live in
Population
Groups of the same species that form in an ecosystem
Community
All the populations of organisms that live and interact with each other within an ecosystem
Herbivore
An animal that eats only plants
Producers
Plants that produce their own food using sunlight
Omnivore
Animals that eat both plants and animals
Carnivore
Animals that eat only other animals
Habitat
Where an organism lives within the ecosystem
Primary consumer
Herbivores - eat the producers
Secondary consumers
Carnivores - eat the primary comsumers
Tertiary consumer
Carnivores - eat the secondary consumers
Biotic
Any living factor that affects another organism, or shapes the ecosystem in some way
Abiotic
Non-living parts of the environment that can affect organisms
Give a few examples of abiotic factors
- the pH content of the soil
- light intensity
- temperature
- moisture levels
Give a few examples of biotic factors
- predation
- availability of food (biodiversity)
- new pathogens
- competition
What word is used to describe plants when they are fixed in place by their roots (cannot move) ?
Sessile
Individual
A single organism
Species
A group of similar organisms that can reproduce to give fertile offspring
Mutualism
A relationship between two organisms, from which both organisms benefit
Give an example of mutualism
Bees and flowering plants
Parasites
An organism that lives very closely to another organism, taking what it needs to survive without benefitting its ‘host’ organism
Give an example of a parasite
Fleas on dogs
What’s the word used to describe how organisms in communities rely on each other ?
Interdependent
Describe a practical that could be carried out to study the distribution of small organisms
Reference:
- Using quadrats
- Randomly sampling
- Counting occurrences within the quadrat
- Repeat and work out the average
How would you work out the mean number of organisms per quadrat?
Total number of organisms / number of quadrats
Why is it important that the quadrat is positioned randomly each time ?
So that you don’t influence the results, and your results will be representative of the whole area
How would you calculate the mean population size in a given area?
Work out the mean number of organisms per m^2 , then multiple this by the total area
