Competition, Abiotic/biotic Factors Flashcards
What is a population
All the organisms of one species living in a habitat
What is a community
The populations of different species living in a habitat
What are abiotic factors
Non-living factors of the environment
Eg temperature
What are biotic factors
Living factors of the environment eg food
What is an ecosystem
The interaction of a community of living organisms with the non-living parts of their environment
(Interaction of a community of biotic factors with the abiotic parts)
What do plants need to survive
Light and space
Water and mineral ions from the soil
What do animals need to survive
Space (territory)
Food
Water
Mates
What is interdependence
In a community each species depends on other species for things
What can the interdependence of an ecosystem mean
That any major change in the ecosystem can have far reaching effects
What are stable communities
Give examples
When all species and environmental factors are in balance so the population sizes are roughly constant
Tropical rainforest
Ancient oak woodlands
Give examples of abiotic factors
Moisture level Light intensity Temperature Co2 level Wind intensity O2 level Soil ph and mineral content
What can happen if abiotic factors change
Population sizes are affected
Like if light intensity or temperature change
Then planets I’ll be affected and then the animals that eat the plant could be affected
What biotic factors can affect organisms in an ecosystem
New predators arriving
Competition
New pathogens
Availability of food
What could a change in biotic factor making a change in population size do
Make a knock on effect because of interdependence
What are types of adaptations
Structural > shape or colour
Behavioural eg migrations
Functional > stuff that goes on inside a body like reproduction or metabolism
What are structural features of arctic animals
White fur to camouflage and avoid predators
What are structural features of animals that live in cold places
Whales have thick layers of blubber
Low surface area to volume ratio to help retain heat
What are the structural features of animals that love in hot places
Thin layers of fat
Large surface area to volume ratio to help lose heat
What do desert animals do with there functional adaptations
Conserve water by producing very little sweat and small amounts of Urine
What does hibernation mean
Animals lower their metabolism in winter to conserve energy so they don’t have to hunt when there’s not much food about
What are extremophiles
They’re adapted to live in very extreme conditions
What are the parts of a food chain
Producer
Primary consumer
Secondary consumer
Tertiary consumers
What do food chains start with and what do they do
Producers that make their own food using energy from the sun
What are types of producer
Green plants or algae
What is the plants biomass
It’s mass of living material
That it makes from the glucose made from photosynthesis
What can biomass be thought of
The energy stored in a plant
What is transferred through living organisms in an ecosystem when organisms eat each other
Energy
Why are predator prey cycles always out of phase with each other
It takes a while for one population to respond to changes in the other population
