Ecology Flashcards
Ecology
Is the study of plants, animals and their environment, and the relationship between them
Environment
Everything that surrounds an animal or plant (for example air, water, rocks and soil)
Habitat
Is the place where a plant or animal lives
Woodland habitat
Each habitat has its own community for example hedgehogs, foxes and primroses belong to the woodland habitat
Seaside habitat
Crabs, seaweed, shrimps and starfish can be found in this habitat
Interdependence
Interdependence is how organisms depend on each other for their survival, for example buttercups depend on bees, bees need buttercups
Ecosystem
All the plants and animals in an area interacting with each other and their environment. E.g. desert, tropical, rainforest, grasslands and seashore
Producer
Plants that makes their own food e.g. grass, dandelions, nettle
Consumer
Animals that get their own food by eating plants or other animals e.g.
Herbivore
An animal that eats plants only e.g. rabbit, sheep, slug, snail
Carnivore
An Animal that only eats other animals e.g. fox, hawk, ladybird
Omnivore
An animal that eats both plants and other animals e.g. badger, thrush, blackbird, humans
Decomposer
Organisms that feed on dead plants and animals e.g. earthworms, bacteria, fungi (Decomposers are very important as they break down dead things and release lots of minerals into the soil)
Food chain
A food chain shows how one organism eats another and so on
Food chains must start with green plants
Food chains must start with green plants because they are the only things that can make food
