Ecosystem organisation Flashcards
What is a population?
Total number of organisms of the same species that live in a specific geographical area
What is a community?
Group of two or more populations of different species living in a specific geographical area
What is an ecosystem?
The interaction of a community of living organisms with the non-living parts of their environment
What is competition?
Contest between organisms within a community for resources
What is interdependence?
When species in a community depend on others for resources an shelter
What do animals often compete for?
Food, mates and territory
What do plants often compete for?
Light, spaces, water, and mineral ions
What is an abiotic factor?
Non-living factor that can affect a community
List the abiotic factors that affect a community?
Carbon dioxide levels for plants, light intensity, moisture levels, oxygen for animals that live in water, soil pH, mineral content, temperature, wind intensity and direction
What is a biotic factor?
Living factor that affect a community?
List the biotic factors that can affect a community
Availability of food, new predators, new pathogens, competition between species
What is a stable community?
When all species and environmental factors are in balance, so population sizes remain fairly constant
What are the three types of adaptations?
structural, behavioural, and functional
What is an extremophile?
An organism that lives in a very extreme environment
What do we use to sample plants in an environment?
A quadrate
