Ecology Flashcards
Ecology
The study if plants,animals and their environment,and the relationship between them
Environment
Is everything that surrounds an animal or plant (for example air,water,rocks and soil)
Habitat
Is the place where a plant or animal lives
Community
Each habitat has its own community or organisms.Community is all the different populations that live in the habitat.E.G.Hedgehogs,snails,foxes and primroses belong the the woodland habitat
Interdependece
Is how organisms depend on each other for their survival,buttercups depend on bees(for food),bees need buttercups(for pollination)
Ecosystem
All the plants and animals in an area interacting with each other and their environment.E.G desert,tropical rainforest,grasslands,seashore
Biome
An ecosystem that extends over a very large area is called a biome
Biosphere
All of the earths ecosystems together form one large ecosystem known as biosphere
Producer
Plants that make their own food E.G.grass,dandelion,nettles
Consumer
Animals that get their food by eating plants or other animals
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
Décomposer
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 lists 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
Feeding level
The position of an organism in the food chain is called its feeding level
Feeding levels
The amount of energy gets less and less as you go along food chain
Food web
Is two or more interconnected food chains
Competition
Occurs when two or more organisms seek a resource that is limited
Plant 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 adaptation
The dandelion has a long root which means it reaches below the short root of grass to get water,dandelions are able to compete for space because they are able to spread their seeds in the Wind
Hedgehog adaptation
Have an excellent sense of smell to make them good at finding food,they have spikes to fight off predators,hedgehogs have a colour which makes them camouflaged so predators can’t find them easy
Abiotic and biotic factors
Plants and animals are affected by living and non living factors in their environment,abiotic factors are non living e.g weather (temperature,light,intensity,rainfall,wind)soil and type of landscape,biotic factors are living e.g.competition,predation,symbols,predation controls the number of organisms in an ecosystem.e.g ladybirds eat aphids lions eat zebras
Symbiosis
Is a relationship of organisms of different species where at least one benefits e.g.cleaner fish eat parasites out or the mouths of eels
Population
All of the individual organisms of the same species in a habitat
Balance of nature
Over time,the number and types of species in an ecosystem reach a steady state known as the balance of nature
Predation
Controls the number of organisms in an ecosystem through the preying of some animals on others
Predator
An animals that hunts,kills and eats other animal (prey)
Prey
An animal that is hunted,killed and eaten by another animal (predator)
Symbiosis
A relationship between organisms of different species where at least one benefits.The other organisms may be unaffected,harmed or also benefit
Interdépendance
When two organisms depend on each other for an important aspect of their survival
Niche
The role of an organism in a habitat including what it eats what it is eaten by whom it mates with and how it interacts with the non-living environment
Conservation
Is the protection,preservation and careful use of our natural resources our natural resources include land,rivers,seas,plants and animals
Pollution
Is adding unwanted wastes to the environment causing damage to it,the balance of nature can be damaged if one organism is damaged it can be harmful to many other plants and animals
Air pollution
Caused by smoke,dust and harmful gases-most of these come from cars,buses,factories and power stations
Fossil fuels
When fossil fuels are burned they produce gases called carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide,these dissolve in rainwater to form carbonic acid and sulfurique acid,this acid rain damages plants and buildings
Soil pollution
Caused by pesticides,artificial fertilisers and acid rain
Water pollution
Rivers lakes and seas are polluted by fertilisers sewage oil and detergents,fertilisers seep into rivers and cause too much plant growth,bacteria populations boom as they feed on dead plants and no oxygen is left for fish
Incinération
Burning the waste,this can release dangerous gases into the atmosphere,difficulties with location nobody wants to live near an incinerator
Landfill
Burying the waste in ground damages soil,rivers and ground water,attracts rodents,disease causing,bad smell,difficulties as nobody wants to leave near landfill sites
3 R’s
Reduce,Reuse and recycle to make sure that we do not damage our environment and that future generations will have a nice place to live
Reduce
Use your own bag,do not pick the items with extra packaging (use less extra packaging)
Recycling
Paper glass and some metals and plastics can be processed and reused,this reduces damage to the environment
Stem
Allows transport of food,water and minerals around the plant,it also supports the plant hold upright
Roots
Anchor and support,takes in water and nutrients,stores food e.g carrots and turnips
Transport in plants
There are vessels in a plant,the xylem and the phloem
Xylem
Water is absorbed up through the roots,and travels to the leaves and the tips of the plant through the xylem,minerals from the soil are dissolved in the water,and so,travel in the xylem also
Phloem
Food from the leaves travels to other parts of the plant in the phloem
Transpiration
Is the loss of water vapour from the stomata of the leaves
Stomata
Are little holes on the underside of the leaves
Transpiration stream
The flow of water from the roots,up through the plants and o the leaves are called the transpiration stream
