Ecosystems Flashcards
Habitat
The place where an organism lives
Population
A group of organisms of the same species
Community
The total sum of all the living organisms in an area. All animals and plants living in an area
Ecosystem
The community living in a particular habitat and the non-living components with which the organisms interact
Niche
The role of an organism within the food chain
What are biotic factors
Hm……….
Factors relation to living things e.g. Predation
What are abiotic factors
Factors relation to non-living things e.g. Weather
Name 4 abiotic factors
pH
Light intensity
Temperature
Rainfall
Name 4 Biotic factors
Predation
Competition
Food availability
Disease
Why are green plants called producers
The make their own food
What are consumers
Non-green plants and animals that obtain their food through eating other organisms
Herbivore
Only eats plants
Carnivore
Only eats meat
Omnivore
Eats meat and plants
Predator
Hunts and kills animals for food
Prey
Killed by predator
Decomposer
Bacteria/Fungi that break down dead plants/animals releasing nutrients back into the soil
What is biodiversity
The number of different organisms in a particular habitat
Why is biodiversity important
Because each organism has an important role to play and they rely on eachother to survive which means there is a wider food source available.
Dercribe an abiotic factor test (pH)
A pH test is when a soil sample is ground up and placed into a solution of universal indicator. The colour of that solution tells us the pH of it when we look at the chart
Describe a biotic factor test (pitfall trap)
A pitfall trap is used to sample small invertibrates living in leaf litter. First dig out a hole to fit cup and make sure there are no gaps. Balance a leaf or stone over the top and wait for a small insect to come by and fall into the trap.
What do the arrows show on a food chain
The direction of the energy flow
Name 2 rules about a food chain
The producers are always at the start and the sun is a source of energy for all food chains
What’s a food web
A complex interaction of several food chains
What are adaptations
Characteristics which make an organism suited to the environment it lives in
What are 4 types of adaptations
Physiological
Structural
Bahavioural
Behaviour
What is physiological adaptation
Adaptations inside the organism
What is structural adaptation
Physical features of the organism (shape, body, covering)
What is behavioural adaptation
Changes the way an animal behaves
What is behaviour adaptation
It can be split into two categories, innate and learned
What is innate behaviour
Something an organism already knows how to do without having to learn like sucking, crying or migrating
What is learned behaviour
Something an organism has to learn to do like swimming or walking
What is competition
When animals compete for the same resources and are in short supply
What would Green plants compete for
Soil nutrients, water and light
What would animals compete for
Shelter, water, mates and food
What is interspecific competition
When members of different species compete for the same resources and have the same niche in their food chain
What is intra specific competition
Competition between members of the same species
Why is intra specific competition more competitive
As the same species they need the same resources, its more intense, weaker individuals die and its leads to territorial behaviour
Why is nitrogen essential for plants and animals
It’s the building block of proteins
Where do plants get nitrogen from
The soil
What is nitrogen in the form of in soil
Nitrates
Why do farmers add fertiliser to plants
It contains nitrogen and other nutrients to help them grow
What do fertilisers contain apart from nitrates
Magnesium and potassium
Apart from man made fertilisers what can farmers use
Natural fertilisers like dung
What can happen to fertiliser when it’s near a river or pond
It’s can get washed into the river which causes algae to grow on the surface (algal blooms)
Why is it bad to have algae on the surface of water
It kills all the plants underneath as it blocks the light
What happens to the dead plants in the water
They get eaten by decomposers (bacteria)
What do bacteria use a lot of
Oxygen
Why is it bad that bacteria eat the dead plants
They eat the oxygen and kill all the animals
Overall why is it bad for fertiliser to be washed into rivers
Biodiversity decreases
What happens when there’s dead plants
Bacteria multiply
What affects biodiversity
Deforestation
Fertiliser in water
Natural disasters
Pollution
