Ecology Flashcards
Habitat
Environment where an organism lives
Population
The total number of organisms of the same species living in the same geographical area
Community
The populations of all the different species that live in the same habitat
Unlike the population, which is the same species
Biotic
Living things
Examples of biotic things
Animals plants and bacteria
Anything that is living
Abiotic
Un living things in an environment
Examples of abiotic things in an environment
Water and minerals in a soil
Ecosystem
A combination of the biotic and abiotic parts of an environment and how they interact
What is competition and what is it caused by?
In an ecosystem, organisms require ‘resources’ / ‘materials’
Like food from plants
However these are limited and in short supply so they have to compete with other
How do plants compete with each other?
Light and space for photosynthesis
Water and mineral ions in the soil for photosynthesis
How do animals compete with each other?
Food and water
Mating partners and territory
Food factor
If food availability falls population decreases of species
New predator factor
Pray population will fall
Competing predator will fall
Pathogen factor
Can wipe out a population if it spreads
Light intensity
Plants need it for photosynthesis
But if it’s too low it falls thus plants grow slower
So animals that feed on them won’t have enough food thus decrease
Temperature
Causes distribution to change
As animals migrate or plants disappear
Water
Needed for plants and animals
PH and mineral soil
Some plants can’t grow on soil too acidic or alkaline
Also need nitrate ions
Wing intensity and direction
Winds blowing can cause plants to lose water
CO2 and H2O factors
Needed for photosynthesis
If it decreases so does growth decrease
Oxygen factor
Needed for aerobic respiration
Or dissolved in the oxygen effecting fish
Structural adaptations
Adaptations of body shape or structure
Camel adaptations
Hump = store of fat as insulator to allow heat loss in other parts of the body
By reducing water loss from sweating
Also metabolic reactions in fat to produce water
Thick coat to insulate top of camel from the sun and reduce water loss by sweating
Inside mouth of leathery = chew desert plants good source of water
Eyelashes to keep dust out of eyes
Wide feet to prevent sinking in sand
Functional adaptations
Adaptations of body functions
Camel functional adaptations
Concentrated urine and dry feces to reduce water loss
Can cope with intense heat changes
Behavioural adaptations
Changes in animals behaviour to adapt to environmental
Kangaroo ray behaviour adaptations
Nocturnal so they avoid heat if day time
Live in burrows to keep them cool
Arctic fox structural adaptations
Thick fur to provide insulation and reduce heat loss
Fur on soles of feet to reduce heat loss to ground
Small wars to reduce surface area thus reduce heat loss
Camouflage of fur to help hunt it
Cactus adaptations
Small leaves to reduce water loss or no leaves
Spine to protect from animals
Shallow and extensive roots to catch as much water as possible
Store water in stem so can survive without rain for many months
Extremophiles
Adapted for extreme conditions
Example of extremophiles
Bacteria living in deep sea vents
Producer
Beginning of food chain
Normally a green plant
Why are producers important?
Synthesise important molecules
Source of all biomass in a community
Biomass
Important molecules like food that gets passed down food chains
Primary consumer
Eats the producer
Secondary consumers
Eat the primary consumer
Tertiary consumer
Eats the secondary consumer
Predators
Animals that kill and eat other animals
Prey
Animal that gets eaten
Predator prey numbers graph
Numbers of predators and prey rises and falls in cycles
Eg if pray increases so does the predator after some time
Therefore the prey will decrease and over time the predator falls
And prey can therefore increase as less predators
So it’s a cycle
Stable community
All biotic and abiotic factors are in balance
Carbon cycle 2 key process
Carbon dioxide in atmosphere enters through plants taking it in for photosynthesis
Returns back to atmosphere by aerobic respiration
Carbon cycle stages
Carbon in atmosphere
Taken in by plants and algae to make carbohydrates, fats or proteins
These respire so some released back into atmosphere
But some plants eaten by animals which are eaten by other animals
So co2 becomes part of the molecules in cells of animals
Animals also respire so released back into atmosphere
But released as waste products and die
Decomposition of this broken down by bacteria and fungi
And respiration of this returns carbon dioxide back to atmosphere
De composers
Bacteria and fungi
Release carbon dioxide into atmosphere through respiration
Return minerals to soil
What happens if there aren’t enough decomposed conditions like oxygen?
Carbon from dead remains = fossil fuels
Decomposition conditions
High temperature = enzymes work faster in hotter conditions
But not too hot so the enzymes denature or die
Moist = chemical reactions in decay require water
Oxygen = bacteria need it for respiration
What if there’s no oxygen for decomposition?
Anaerobic decay
Produces biogas
Could be used as fuel
