L 4.2 Niches and Community Interactions Flashcards
What is a niche?
the range of physical and biological conditions in which a species lives and
the way the species obtains what it needs to survive and reproduce.
Tolerance
the ability to survive and reproduce under a range of environmental circumstances.
habitat
the general place where an organism lives.
Resource
any necessity of life, such as water, nutrients, light, food, or space
For plants, resources can include sunlight, water, and soil nutrients.
For animals, resources can include nesting space, shelter, types of food, and places to feed.
How does competition shape communities?
By causing species to divide resources, competition helps determine the number and kinds of species in a community and the niche each species occupies.
The competitive exclusion principle states
that no two species can occupy exactly the same niche in exactly the same habitat at exactly the same time.
How do predation and herbivory shape communities?
Predators can affect the size of prey populations in a community and determine the places prey can live and feed.
Herbivores can affect both the size and distribution of plant populations in a community and determine the places that certain plants can survive and grow.
predation
An interaction in which one animal (the predator) captures and feeds on another animal (the prey)
herbivory
An interaction in which one animal (the herbivore) feeds on producers (such as plants)
What are the three primary ways that organisms depend on each other?
mutualism, parasitism, and commensalism.
mutualism
the kind of relationship between species in which both benefit
parasitism
relationships in which one organism lives
inside or on another organism and harms it
commensalism
a relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed.
intraspecific competition
when competition occurs between members of the same species
interspecific competition
when competition occurs between members of different species
