Organisms in the Environment Flashcards
1
Q
Ecosystem
A
Community of living organisms together with their non-living environment
2
Q
Community
A
All organisms of all species found in a particular area at a certain time
3
Q
Habitat
A
The place where an organism lives
4
Q
Biodiversity
A
The amount of variation shown by organisms in an ecosystem. A measure of number of species and abundance of each species
5
Q
Population
A
All the organisms of one species living in a particular habitat at a certain time
6
Q
Describe an experiment to measure the population of an organism in an area
A
- Use two 10m tape measures to form the axis of a grid
- Generate random coordinates and place a 1m squared quadrat at the location on the grid
- Note down the number of desired species within the quadrat
- Repeat for more different coordinates then average and find the mean population of the species per square metre
- Repeat at a different location and compare the populations
7
Q
Describe an experiment to measure the biodiversity of an area
A
- Use two 10m tape measures to form the axis of a grid
- Generate random coordinates and place a 1m squared quadrat at the location on the grid
- Note down the number of each species within the quadrat
- Repeat for more different coordinates and total the number of each different species
- Repeat at a different site and compare the biodiversity of each
8
Q
Biotic factors affecting population size and distribution of organisms
A
- Availability of food and competition for food
- Predation
- Parasitism
- Disease
- Presence of pollinators
- Availability of nesting sites
9
Q
Abiotic factors affecting population size and distribution of organisms
A
- Climate, such as light intensity, temperature and water availability
- Hours of daylight
- Soil conditions, such as clay content, nitrate level, particle size, water content and pH
- Other factors specific to particular habitats, such as salinity in an estuary, flow rate in a river, or oxygen concentration in a lake
- Pollution
