B16: Adaptations, Interdependence & Competition Flashcards
What is an ecosystem?
The interaction of a community of living organisms (biotic) with the non-living (abiotic) parts of their environment
What do plants normally compete with each other for?
Light, space, water and minerals
What do animals normally compete with each other for?
Food, mates and territory
What does a specie compete with another specie for?
Food, shelter, pollination and seed dispersal
What is interdependence?
The term used if one species is removed, affecting the whole community
What are 3 abiotic factors?
Light intensity, temperature and soil pH
What are 3 biotic factors?
Availability of food, new predators arriving and new pathogens
Give 3 extreme conditions of an environment
High temperature, high pressure and high salt concentration
What are structural adaptations? Give examples of 2
The physical features that we see, for example, the organisms shape or colour
How could shape be a beneficial adaptation?
Being round allows animals to store fat and have a low surface area to volume ratio so that heat can be conserved
What are behavioural adaptations? Give examples of 2
The way an organism acts, for example elephants flapping ears due to hot environment. Swallows migration allows them to avoid cold and lack of food
What are functional adaptations? Give examples of 2
Processes inside an organism, for example, metabolism and reproductive system
Give 2 examples of extremophiles
Bacteria and archaea
What is a population?
All the organisms of a particular species that live in a habitat
What is a community?
All the populations of different species that live together in a habitat
