ecology Flashcards
what is a habitat
the environment in which an organism lives
what is a population
the Total number of organisms of the same species living in a geographical area
what is a community
the populations of all the different species that live in the same habitat
what is an ecosystem
the biotic and abiotic parts of an environment and how they interact
what do plants compete with eachother for
space, light, mineral ions in soil, water
what do animals compete with each other for
food, water for mating partners and for territory
what is interdependence
all of the different species in a community depend on each other
what is a stable community
when all the biotic and abiotic factors remain in balance
4 biotic factors
- food availability
- arrival of a new predator
- competition between species
- new pathogens
7 abiotic factors
- light intensity
- temperature - could cause the distribution of species to change - animals may migrate - plants may disappear from an area
- water
- ph and mineral content of the soil as plants cannot grown in soil that is too alkaline/acidic
- wind intensity
- co2 and oxygen
for photosynthesis
for aerobic respiration
what are extremophiles?
organisms that are adapted to live in very extreme conditions
every food chain starts with plants called
producers
primary consumers eat
secondary consumers eat
tertiary consumer eats
the producers - plants
primary consumers
a secondary consumer
quadrats can be used to sample
plants or slow moving animals
how do you do sampling along a transect
what does it show
quadrats connecting by a transect line and placed along a habitat at intervals, then we count number of organisms in the quadrats
how numbers of different organism change across a habitat
the carbon cycle starts with
plants and algae which take in co2 from the atmosphere in photosynthesis
the carbon is used to make carbohydrates, fats, proteins
plants and algae respire so some carbon is released back into atmosphere as carbon dioxide
plants and algae can be eaten by animals, these animals can be eaten by other animals and carbon becomes part of carbohydrates fats proteins In the cells of animals
animas respire and some of the carbon is released back to the atmosphere as co2
the water cycle starts with
energy from the sun which causes the water to evaporate from the surface of the sea
the water vapour now travels into the air and cools down
when it cools the water vapours condense to form clouds
water in clouds then falls to the ground as precipitation
once the water hits the ground
some of it evaporates back into the atmosphere as water vapour
a lot of the water forms rivers or streams and some form aquifers
how do plants and organisms take part in the water cycle
plants take up water through roots, which moves up the leave through the xylem and exits out of the stomata as water vapour - transpiration
they takin in water for drinking and for food, they release it in urine, faces and when they breath in
