Ecology DEFINITIONS

Question 1

A Habitat

Answer 1

is a place where a plant or animal lives

Question 2

A Species

Answer 2

is a group of similar individuals capable of breeding with each other and producing fertile offspring but not capable of breeding with the other spicies

Question 3

A Population

Answer 3

is all the members of the same species living in a habitat

Question 4

A Community

Answer 4

are all the different populations in a habitat

Question 5

A Producer

Answer 5

is an organism that can produce its own food either by photosynthesis or chemosynthesis

Question 6

A Consumer

Answer 6

takes in food .relies on another food source

Question 7

primary consumer =

Answer 7

feed on vegetation

Question 8

secondary consumer =

Answer 8

feed on primary consumers

Question 9

what feeds on secondary consumers and is at the top of the food chain/web

Answer 9

tertiary consumers

Question 10

A food chain =

Answer 10

is a sequence of organisms where each one is eaten by the next member [is a flow diagram that begins with a plant and shows how food /energy is passed through a series of orgainsms in a community]

Question 11

A Network of linked food chains=

Answer 11

is called a food web

Question 12

A Trophic level

Answer 12

is a feeding stage in a food chain

Question 13

A Pyramid

Answer 13

of numbers describes the numbers of individuals at each trophic level in the food chain

Question 14

A Niche

Answer 14

is the functional role of an organism in its community,its way of life

Question 15

Pollution

Answer 15

is any harmful addition to the environment

Question 16

pollutanta

Answer 16

are substances that cause pollution

Question 17

consevation

Answer 17

is the wise management of our natural resources in order to maintain habitats and to prevent extinction of our species

Question 18

competition

Answer 18

occurs between two organisms when a resource is i short/or limited supply

Question 19

contest competition

Answer 19

is when there is an active physical contest/confrontation between two individuals and one individual will get the resource .this leads to the fittest in the group surviving and therefore reproducing. its good as it get rid of the weaker individuals in a species

Question 20

scramble competition

Answer 20

is when all the individuals get some of the resource ,but possibly do not get enough to grow and reproduce efficiently.it is not beneficial for the species and reduces numbers hugely in a species

Question 21

INTRA- specific competition

Answer 21

takes place between members of the same species

Question 22

INTER-specific competition

Answer 22

takes place between members of different species

Question 23

predation

Answer 23

is a calculating ,killing, and eating of another organism

Question 24

a predator

Answer 24

does the catching , killing and eating of prey

Question 25

the prey

Answer 25

is the organism caught ,killed and eaten by predator

Question 26

a parasite

Answer 26

lives off another living organism .it can also be ecto-parasite [living outside the body of its host]. it can be an endo-parasite[living inside the body of the host]]

Question 27

symbiosis

Answer 27

is a relationship between two organisms of different species in which at least one benefits from the association

Question 28

mutualism

Answer 28

is a form of symbiosis . in which both organisms benefit from the association/relationship

Question 29

an adaption

Answer 29

is a feature that allows the organism to live more successfully in its environment. it improves efficiency

Question 30

ecosystem

Answer 30

a community of living organisms interacting with one another and their non-living environment within a particular area e.g grassland

Question 31

energy flow

Answer 31

is the pathway of energy transfer from one organism to the next in an ecosystem due to feeding e.g along a food chain

Question 32

nitrogen fixation

Answer 32

is the term used to describe the conversion of nitrogen gas into ammonia or nitrates

Question 33

subjective estimate

Answer 33

because you are deciding what predominant plant is for the square ( not 100% accurate)

Question 34

objective estimate

Answer 34

this is more accurate because you are selecting the plant that touches the top right point of each square.

Question 35

assimilated

Answer 35

plants are eaten by animals and therefore there is a transfer of carbon from plant to animals

Question 36

ecology

Answer 36

is the study of the interactions between living organisms and between their environment

Question 37

biosphere

Answer 37

is the part of the planet containing living organisms

• the atmosphere=> the air
• the hydrosphere=> the oceans and seas
• the lithosphere => soil, rocks