ECOSYSTEMS

Question 1

Habitat

Answer 1

a place where an organism resides (and its needs are met)

Question 2

Community

Answer 2

the sum of all living organisms in a habitat

Question 3

Environment

Answer 3

the abiotic (non-living) and biotic (living) components which may affect
an organism’s survival in an area

Question 4

Ecosystem

Answer 4

A community, its environment and the interactions between them

Question 5

Ecology

Answer 5

the study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment.

Question 6

Biodiversity

Answer 6

the variety of (and between) organisms within an ecosystem

Question 7

Abiotic factors:

Answer 7

non-living, physical factors
such as water, temperature, fire,
light, soil type, oxygen levels

Question 8

Biotic factors

Answer 8

living factors
such as predators, parasites, fungi, bacteria & viruses, competitors for food and the availability of breeding partners

Question 9

Competition

Answer 9

relationship between organisms that are trying to use the same limited resource
Dingo and a wedge tail eagle both compete for rabbits

Question 10

Predation

Answer 10

relationship where one organism kills and eats another organism and feeds off it
Hawk eating a budgie

Question 11

Symbiosis

Answer 11

relationship between two or more organisms that live closely together. There are several types or classes of symbiosis
Clown fish on anemones

Question 12

Mutualism

Answer 12

relationship between two organism living closely together, where each benefits.
Flagellates and termites- Flagellates live in the termites guts which provides shelter and
protection, Flagellates digest wood so it can use it for food

Question 13

Parasitism

Answer 13

relationship where one organism lives on or in another ecosystem and harms the host
Mosquito Bites

Question 14

Commensalism

Answer 14

relationship where one organism benefits and the other is not affected
Whales and barnacles. The whales are unaffected but the barnacles benefit from food and habitat

Question 15

Sustainability

Answer 15

an ecosystem that has the ability to maintain suitable living conditions for the community.

Question 16

For an ecosystem to sustain itself, it needs:

Answer 16

A supply of substances necessary for survival and growth i.e. water and nitrogen
Energy, usually from sunlight
A wide range of species living in the ecosystem

Question 17

Food Chains

Answer 17

Food chains are used to show a sequence of feeding relationships
They are drawn using arrows. The arrows represent ‘energy is passed to’ though people often say ‘is eaten by’

Question 18

Two reasons you eat:

Answer 18

to build new cells for growth and repair of cells
to provide energy for movement and internal processes

Question 19

90-10 rule

Answer 19

90% of it has already been released in the process of living.
Only the 10% that is stored in its cells is passed on to the next organism

Question 20

Pyramid of energy

Answer 20

The energy losses along a food chain can be represented in a diagram
IT SHOWS:
-That the amount of available energy decreases down the food chain
-It takes a large number of producers to support a small number of primary consumers
-It takes a large number of primary consumers to support a small number of secondary consumers