Ecology Flashcards
Environment
Everything that surrounds an animal or plant ( for example air , water , rocks and soil )
Habitat
The place where a plant or animal lives
Interdependence
Is how organism depend on each other for their survival
E.g buttercups depend on bees , bees need buttercups
Ecosystem
All the plants and animals interacting with each other and their environment e.g dessert , tropical rainforest , grasslands , seashore
Producer
Plants that make their own food e.g grass , dandelion , nettles
Consumer
Animals that get their food by eating plants or other animals e.g herbivore and carnivore
Herbivore
An animal that eats plants only e.g rabbit , sheep ,slug , snail .
Carnivore
An animal that eats other animals only e.g fox , hawk , ladybird .
Omnivore
An animal that eats both plants and animals e.g badger , thrush , blackbird , humans .
Decomposer
Organisms that feed on dead plants and animals e.g earthworms , bacteria , fungi .
Ecology
The study of plants , animals and their environment , and the relationship between them
Energy
The energy in any food chain comes from the sun. The amount of energy gets less and less as you go along a food chain
A food web
A food web is two or more interconnected food chains
Competition
Occurs when two or more organisms seek a resource that is limeted
Plants
Compete for light , water , minerals and space
Animals
Compete for food , shelter , territory and mates
Adaptations
Are features that give an organism a better chance of surviving in their habitat
Dandelion adaptations
Long roots to get water
Compete for space because they are able to spread their seed in the wind
Hedgehog adaptations
Excellent sense of smell to make them good at finding food
Spikes to fight off predators
Colour which makes them camouflaged so oredators cant find them easily
Conservation
Is the protection , preservation and careful use of our natural resources
Pollution
Is adding unwanted wastes to the enviroment causing damage to it
If one organism is damaged it can be harmful to many other plants and animals : the balance of nature can be damaged
Air pollution
Caused by smoke , dust and harmful gases - most of these come from cars , buses , factories and power stations
Acid rain
When fossil fuels are burned they produce gases called carbon dioxide and sulfer dioxide. These dissolve in rainwater to form carbonic acid and sulfuric acid . This acid rain damages plants and buildings
Soil pollution
Caused by pesticides , artificial fertilisers and acid rain. Chemicals sink into the soil and can be absorbed by plants , get passed up the food chain and can cause illness . The chemicals can also seep into rivers and cause pollution there .