Topic 7- Ecology

Question 1

Define habitat.

Answer 1

Habitat- the place where an organism lives.

Question 2

Define population.

Answer 2

Population- all the organisms of one species living in a habitat.

Question 3

Define community.

Answer 3

Community- the populations of different species living in a habitat.

Question 4

Define abiotic factors.

Answer 4

Abiotic factors- non-living factors of the environment, e.g. temperature.

Question 5

Define biotic factors.

Answer 5

Biotic factors- living factors of the environment, e.g. food

Question 6

Define ecosystem.

Answer 6

Ecosystem- the interaction of a community of living organisms (biotic) with the non-living (abiotic) parts of their environment.

Question 7

What do organisms do?

Answer 7

Organisms compete with other species (and members of their own species) for the same resources.

Question 8

What do organisms need in order to survive and reproduce?

Answer 8

Organisms need things from their environment and from other organisms in order to survive and reproduce.

Question 9

What do plants need?

Answer 9

Plants need light and space, as well as water and mineral ions (nutrients) from the soil.

Question 10

What do animals need?

Answer 10

Animals need space (territory), food, water and mates.

Question 11

Define interdependence.

Answer 11

In a community, each species depends on other species for things such as food, shelter, pollination and seed dispersal- this is called interdependence.

Question 12

Explain the interdependence of all living things in an ecosystem.

Answer 12

The interdependence of all living things in an ecosystem means that any major change in the ecosystem (such as one species being removed) can have far-reaching effects.

Question 13

Explain the purpose of a food web.

Answer 13

It is a diagrams which shows what eats what.

Question 14

What are stable communities?

Answer 14

In some communities, all species and environmental factors are in balance so that the population sizes are roughly constant (they may go up and down in cycles). These are called stable communities. Stable communities include tropical rainforests and ancient oak woodlands .

Question 15

Give 7 examples of abiotic factors.

Answer 15

1. Moisture level
2. Light intensity
3. Temperature
4. Carbon dioxide level (for plants)
5. Wind intensity and direction
6. Oxygen level (for aquatic animals)
7. Soil pH and mineral content

Question 16

What happens if there is a change in the environment which could increase or decrease an abiotic factor?

Answer 16

These changes can affect the size of population in a community. This means they can also affect the population sizes of other organisms that depend on them.

Question 17

Give 4 examples of biotic factors.

Answer 17

1. New predators arriving
2. Competition- one species may outcompete another so hat numbers are too low to breed.
3. New pathogens
4. Availability of food

Question 18

What happens if there is a change in the environment which introduces a new biotic factor?

Answer 18

These changes can also affect the size of populations in a community, which can have a knock-on effects because of interdependence.

Question 19

What are adaptations?

Answer 19

Adaptations are the features or characteristics that allow organisms, including microorganisms to be adapted to live in different environmental conditions.

Question 20

Give 3 types of adaptions

Question 21

Give 3 types of adaptations.

Answer 21

1. Structural
2. Behavioural
3. Functional

Question 22

Define structural adaptation.

Answer 22

These are features of an organisms’ body structure- such as shape or colour.

Question 23

Define behavioural structure.

Answer 23

These are ways that organisms behave. Many species (e.g. swallows) migrate to warmer climates during the winter to avoid the problems of living in cold conditions.

Question 24

Define functional adaptation.

Answer 24

These are things that go on inside an organism’s body that can be related to processes like reproduction and metabolism (all the chemical reactions happening in the body).

Question 25

Define extremophiles.

Answer 25

Extremophiles- they’re adapted to live in very extreme conditions.

Question 26

Give 3 facts about a producer.

Answer 26

1. Food chains always start with a producer
2. Producers make (produce) their own food using energy from the Sun
3. Producers are usually green plants or algae- they make glucose by photosynthesis.

Question 27

What happens if a green plant produces glucose?

Answer 27

Some of it is used to make other biological molecules in the plant.

Question 28

What are biological molecules?

Answer 28

These biological molecules are the plant’s biomass.

Question 29

What is biomass?

Answer 29

It is the mass of living things. It can be thought of as energy stored in a plant.

Question 30

What happens when organisms eat other organisms?

Answer 30

Energy is transferred through living organisms in an ecosystem when organisms eat other organisms.

Question 31

What happens in a food chain?

Answer 31

Producers are eaten by primary consumers. Primary consumers are then eaten by secondary consumers and secondary consumers are eaten by tertiary consumers.

Question 32

What are consumers?

Answer 32

Consumers are organisms that eat other organisms. ‘Primary’ means ‘first’, so primary consumers are the first consumers in a food chain. Secondary consumers are second and tertiary consumers are third.