Chapter 3- Ecosystems and Adaptation Flashcards
What do animals compete for?
Animals compete for food, mates, water and space
What do plants compete for?
Plants, compete for light, minerals, water and space – plants do not compete for food as they produce their own through photosynthesis
What happens when a predator feeds on does one type of prey?
When a predator only feeds on one type of prey, there is a link between predator population and the prey population. This means the changes in the population of one animal directly affect the population of the other.
What is population
Population is the number of organisms that live in the same area
What happens to the population of organisms?
The population is constantly changing – this affects of the population is in a food web
What does interdependent mean?
Interdependent is when living organisms depend on each other to survive, grow and reproduce
What is an ecosystem?
All of the organisms found in a particular location of the area they live in
What is a community in ecosystems?
The organisms in an ecosystem
What is a habitat?
Area a community lives in
What does niche mean in biology terms?
The particular place or roll an organism has within an ecosystem. This reduces competition for resources.
What is a food chain?
a series of organisms that eat one another so that energy and nutrients flow from one to the next.
What is a food web?
A food web is lots of different food chains, all linked together
What is a producer?
A plant/algae that makes its own food
What is a prey?
Type of consumer that eats the producer
What is a predator?
A type of consumers that eat other animals
What is Apex predator?
An apex predator is the last link in a food chain
Prey definition
An organism eaten by another organism
Predator definition
An organism that eats another organism
What is bioaccumulation?
The buildup of chemicals, like insecticides, passed along a food chain
What is the definition of adaptations
Adaptations of characteristics that help an organism to survive.
(E.g. cheetah is the fastest land animal. The speed makes it a very successful predator).
What are environmental changes?
Plants and animals adapt to changes in the environment. Habitats can change through climate change, human interference, or change of season.
What is interdependence? (Five things)
1) predator and prey species are interdependent
2) this occurs when a change in the population of one animal affects the population of the other
for example, Canadian lynx, and snowshoe hare interdependent:
3) when the prey (hare) population increases, the predators (lynx) have more to eat. The lynx survive longer and reproduce more, so the number of predators increases.
4) the increase in predators means more hare eaten, so the prey population decreases
5) the Princess and do not have enough food, so their numbers decrease, and the pro population increases again.
This process is a continuous loop
What is interdependence? (Five things)
1) predator and prey species are interdependent
2) this occurs when a change in the population of one animal affects the population of the other
for example, Canadian lynx, and snowshoe hare interdependent:
3) when the prey (hare) population increases, the predators (lynx) have more to eat. The lynx survive longer and reproduce more, so the number of predators increases.
4) the increase in predators means more hare eaten, so the prey population decreases
5) the Princess and do not have enough food, so their numbers decrease, and the pro population increases again.
This process is a continuous loop
