Ecology Flashcards
What is a habitat?
the place where an organism lives
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 is an ecosystem?
The interaction of a community of living organisms (biotic) with the non-living (abiotic) parts of their environment
What do plants compete for?
- light
- space
- water
- mineral ions (nutrients)
What do animals compete for?
- space/territory
- food
- water
- mates
What is interdependance?
All living things in an ecosystem rely on each other so any major change in an ecosystem can have far-reaching effects.
What are abiotic factors? (and examples)
non-living factors of the environment
eg. temperature, moisture, light intensity, soild pH and mineral content, oxygen/carbon dioxide level, wind
What are biotic factors? (and examples)
living factors of the environment
eg. competition, pathogens, predators, availability of food
What are adaptions?
the features/characteristics that allow organisms to live in different environmental conditions.
What are the three types of adaptions?
structures
behavioural
functional
What are structural adaptions?
features of an organism’s body structure
eg. colour (fur)
surface area to volume ratio
shape
What are behavioural adaptions?
how organisms behave
eg. migration
What are functional adaptions?
things going on inside an organism’s body that can be related to processes such as metabolism and reproduction
eg. conservation of water, hibernation
